Blair Thompson is still trying to find answers for the Jefferson City's Jays' struggles.
Even after a 25-point victory, there were plenty of issues to point out.
"We'll always take wins but we always want to be making sure we're addressing the issue of us trying to get better," Thompson said following Saturday's 80-55 win against Kansas City East in the Central Bank Shootout at Rackers Fieldhouse. "And there was plenty of stuff to review and go back over and take away from that game as far as being ready to play, or lack there of. Guys being flat, not getting calls in, we had some issues with that early."
The Jays shot 0-for-4, including three 3s, and turned it over twice in the first three-plus minutes of the game. The Bears scored the first six points before Brennan Jeffries hit from deep at the 4:23 mark.
Jefferson City (8-12) then missed four straight shots in the next two and a half minutes.
Ben Folz came off the bench and helped get the Jays get going, scoring seven of his 13 points in less than two minutes to give the Jays their first lead of the game 30 seconds into the second quarter.
"We got a spark or two of the bench I thought tonight that helped us come alive a little bit," Thompson said. "In the end of the day we won, yes, but for us to win anymore games this season we're going to have to play better than that."
Addison Brown earned some extra playing time off the bench Saturday, slamming home a two-handed dunk during an 8-0 run in the second quarter, grabbing four rebounds and helping out on defense with a block.
"Addison is always going to play hard," Thompson said. "That's all we were looking for tonight, guys that play hard. He's a senior, he's been around a long time, he understands what we're talking about. We talk about urgency and starting the game fast. He gave us a spark off the bench, got a big dunk. Something like that can get you going and I thought it did. Guys got excited."
Less than 30 seconds after the dunk, Jeffries delivered a long pass to Kamari Balton for an alley-oop layup to make it 26-19 Jays with 3:32 left before halftime.
Balton scored a game-high 21 points and led the Jays with five rebounds.
A Balton steal and layup finished a 6-0 spurt late in the first half. Lex Oliver of Kansas City East made a layup at the buzzer to make the halftime score 34-25 Jays.
Jefferson City struggled to stop the 6-foot-5 Oliver and the 6-6 Aric Marks. The duo combined to score 31 points on 14-of-22 shooting and pulled down 20 rebounds. The rest of the Bears scored 24 on 10-of-27 shooting.
"A lot of that came off the slow rotations," Thompson said. "Just not recognizing where that's coming from and how to get it stopped. It's something we're good enough to get stopped, and just took us too long to do it."
Jefferson City compensated by pressuring the ball, leading to numerous transition buckets off steals. The Jays forced 27 turnovers.
Garrett Parker scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, many on transition layups.
"That was the whole gameplan was to put a ton of pressure on the ball and try to use that pressure to get us out in transition and help us score," Thompson said. "It's not a new concept, but it's one that seems to work for us when we do it well. We'll keep plugging away, keep searching for guys who are ready to play game in and game out."
The deep ball also kept the Jays close early and pull away in the second half.
Hudson Nilges made 4-of-5 from 3-point range to score 14 points. Folz was 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Jefferson City made five of its 3s in the third quarter when the Jays outscored the Bears 28-20.
"We had some guys knock down some shots late and got out in transition and got going offensively there," Thompson said. "Definitely a better second half."
Jefferson City will begin a string of three straight games against Columbia schools Tuesday against Hickman at Fleming Fieldhouse.
The Jays lost 68-65 in their first meeting with the Kewpies in December.
Jefferson City won Saturday's JV game 55-22.