The Jefferson Patriots lost against the Hillcrest Panthers back in January, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Tuesday. Jefferson was dealt a 78-48 loss at the hands of Hillcrest. Jefferson was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 44-20.
Leading Hillcrest to victory were Kurt Thomas and Creed Vance. Thomas scored 20 points along with five rebounds and four steals, while Vance scored 23 points along with five steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Vance has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Jed-ethan Nansha, who scored eight points along with ten rebounds and two blocks.
Hillcrest's lineup was just a bit different on Tuesday as Jacoby Ogbonna got a bit more time on the court (20 vs. his season average of 9.35). Ogbonna made the most of the opportunity, scoring four points along with seven rebounds. A few more games like that and he might be seeing even more time going forward.
This is the second loss in a row for Jefferson and nudges their season record down to 2-15. As for Hillcrest, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 13-14.
Jefferson will look to defend their home court on Friday against Molina at 7:30 p.m. Molina is coming into the match with seven straight wins on the road, meaning Jefferson will have to defend against a squad hungry for a victory. As for Hillcrest, they will face off against South Oak Cliff at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in South Oak Cliff's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last four contests.
