Harlem 85, Jefferson 79: For the second straight night Saturday, Harlem had to play a high energy team with a better NIC-10 record on the road.

And for the second straight night, the Huskies walked away the winners.

“This was a very good weekend for us,” Harlem coach Mike Moore said with a smile after his team’s 85-79 win at Jefferson. “But, it doesn’t get any easier after this.”

Harlem (14-4, 8-2 NIC-10) won its 10th straight game to remain tied for second place in the conference. Jefferson (17-4, 7-3) dropped to fourth. Harlem’s win came one day after beating Auburn (13-6, 8-2) by two points.

Harlem shocked Jefferson early by pulling away with an 18-0 first-quarter run. Bo Andrews had four 3-pointers, Chaz Winters scored 16 points, and the Huskies outrebounded Jefferson 20-13 in the first half. Harlem owned a 43-30 halftime lead and led by as much as 24 points in the second.

“You can’t spot a team like Harlem that many points,” Jefferson coach Todd Brannan said. “It’s frustrating when you don’t come out with anymore effort than that when you’re trying to defend your home court.

“We just came out flat. They just outhustled us, and that’s the worst part.”

But behind their defensive press and 23 points from guard Chris King in the second half, the J-Hawks made a fast comeback and pulled as close as three points (74-71) with 3:32 left in the game on a pair of free throws by Mershon Wilkes.

But Harlem’s trio of Casey Beck (19 points, 19 rebounds), Winters (29 points) and Andrews (25 points) never allowed Jefferson any closer.

“We know where we are in the conference right now, and we had two big games this weekend that we had to win,” Andrews said. “We’re playing ball how we should play it right now.”

— Emily Tropp, rrstar.com.