Basketball Game Preview: Jefferson County Patriots vs. Morristown-Hamblen East Hurricanes

Jefferson County and Morristown-Hamblen East are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2017, but not for long. The Jefferson County Patriots will head out to square off against the Morristown-Hamblen East Hurricanes at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Jefferson County has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the game with seven straight losses, while Morristown-Hamblen East will come in with three straight wins.

On Tuesday, Jefferson County was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 50-44 to Volunteer. While the Patriots didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Falcons 16-6 in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Morristown-Hamblen East faced Bearden in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Monday. Morristown-Hamblen East narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Bearden 60-58.

Jefferson County better focus on containing Harmony Sullivan and Hannah Hall as the pair were huge in Morristown-Hamblen East's win. Sullivan went 9 for 19 on her way to 29 points along with eight boards and five assists, while Hall dropped a double-double on 21 points and 12 rebounds. The contest was Sullivan's third in a row with at least ten points. Ella Wampler was another key player, putting up three points and nine boards.

Morristown-Hamblen East smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in November of 2024.

Morristown-Hamblen East has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 21-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.0 points per game. As for Jefferson County, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-11.

Jefferson County took a serious blow against Morristown-Hamblen East in their previous meeting back in January, falling 58-27. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Jefferson County was down 35-13.