Jays drop decision to Rolla, 66-55

Sterling DeSha of the Jays drives past Blaize Klossner of Rolla during Tuesday night's game at Fleming Fieldhouse.
Sterling DeSha of the Jays drives past Blaize Klossner of Rolla during Tuesday night's game at Fleming Fieldhouse.

The Jefferson City Jays made their shots Tuesday night. They just didn't get enough of them.

Jefferson City finished minus-10 in turnover differential against Rolla and dropped a 66-55 decision to the Bulldogs at Fleming Fieldhouse.

"We turned it over too much and we turned it over in bad spots," Jays coach Mark Anderson said. "There were just a lot of lazy and careless passes and that meant we didn't get enough shots."

Jefferson City finished 21-of-38 from the field, including 15-of-20 on 2-pointers, but had 19 turnovers to nearly match their total of made shots.

"That was against a team that didn't press us a lot, a lot of times it was us being sloppy," Anderson said. "I'm not sure what we were trying to do some times."

Jefferson City took its last lead of the game on a layup by Ryan Brooks that gave the Jays a 7-5 advantage with 5:30 remaining in the first quarter.

The Jays then went cold from 3, missing four in a row. The Bulldogs took advantage, posting an 11-0 run in the next 3:30 to take a 16-7 lead. Rolla led 19-12 after the first quarter.

"We guarded so poorly in the first quarter, gave up so many open looks, I'm sure the basket looked like a Hula Hoop," Anderson said. "We didn't guard and when we did, it wasn't with much intensity."

The Bulldogs led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, that coming at 26-16. The Jays trailed 28-19 heading into the final minute of the half, but rattled off seven unanswered points to cut the Bulldog lead to two points at intermission, capped by a buzzer-beater by Sterling DeSha.

"We scratched and clawed," Anderson said. "We felt lucky to be within two because we really hadn't played with a darn."

The Bulldogs opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run to extend its lead back to double digits. Rolla led 47-32 going into the fourth quarter.

"We had some momentum and came out flat in the second half," Anderson said.

The Jays were forced to foul in the fourth quarter in an attempt to get back into the game. The Bulldogs had the answer, going 11-of-12 from the line in the quarter to cap a 14-of-16 performance in the game.

"We just didn't step up to the level we needed to to compete," Anderson said. "We didn't play nearly good enough to win."

Rolla (13-4, No. 7 in Class 4) had four players in double figures, led by 19 points from Alec Buhr. Trey Brown and Trey Quick both added 13, while Muluken Pritchett chipped in with 10.

"They shoot it well and then you add in a couple of guys who hit a couple a little off the scouting report and they're going to get some points," Anderson said.

DeSha and Ben Folz, who battled foul trouble the last 21/2 quarters, led the Jays with 15 points each. Brooks added 13.

The Jays played without Brennan Jeffries (injury) and Michael Appiah-Brefo (illness).

Jefferson City (9-9) is back in action next Tuesday at Rock Bridge. The Bruins are ranked No. 5 in Class 5.

In Tuesday's JV game, Jefferson City defeated Rolla 59-36.