Jefferson Area had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 57-54 victory over the Bay Rockets on Tuesday. Given the Falcons' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 207th in Ohio, while the Rockets are ranked 438th in Ohio), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Despite the loss, Bay still got an impressive performance from Collin Melvin, who went 8-for-20 to rack up 20 points. Melvin's evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least 17 points. Ryan Miller was another key player, going 5-for-12 on his way to 15 points.
Jefferson Area is on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 17 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.3 points over those games. Bay's loss was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 12-12.
Coming up, Jefferson Area will challenge Buchtel at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Buchtel knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past nine contests -- so hopefully Jefferson Area likes a good challenge. Bay does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
