After a strong first quarter, three-point shooting and fast break scoring carried the Jaguars to a convincing 63-40 win over the Chieftains, which improved the Jaguars to 4-3 and dropped the Chieftains to 0-8 on the season.

Tonganoxie did have two bright spots with senior Dalton Trimble scoring 14 points and junior Tyler Novotney adding 13 points. For the Jaguars, senior Kasey Conklin poured in a game high 22 points and six three pointer, while senior Clayton Holmberg pitched in eight points.

“They’ve got a really good team,” head coach Shawn Phillips said. “They’ve got a lot of guys with a lot of experience. They’re big and they’ve got shooters, so we knew it was going to be a big challenge coming in.”

The Jaguars got a big lead early behind a full court press, which led to a lot of fast break points in the opening quarter. But midway through the first quarter, the Chieftains were down just 18-11 and had competed fairly well. But a 15-0 run by the Jaguars that extended into the second quarter gave them a 33-11 lead, which the Chieftains would never overcome.

“The game especially in the first half was played fast and very up-tempo,” Phillips said. “They did a good job pushing the tempo and we struggled a bit because that sped us up.”

During that run, the Chieftains didn’t get any looks at the basket, while the Jaguars got nothing but layups.

“We were settling for one or two passes and a shot,” Phillips said. “You can do that if they’re going in, but if they aren’t, you’ve got to be more disciplined and get shots at the rim. We did a better job of that in the second half.”

But with a 35-15 halftime deficit, it was too little too late in the second half. But despite that, they did do some good things in a second half. Phillips said that they did a better job of being more disciplined and getting good shots, and it showed on the scoreboard. After getting blitzed in the first half, Tonganoxie was outscored by just one point in the second half.

“We tell our kids we’ve got to have consistent effort all the time no matter what the situation,” Phillips said. “It’s good to see when the game is already decided that we continue to fight and play.”

Squad loses in OT

A tight contest Jan. 12 in Kansas City, Kan., against Turner almost led to the Chieftains’ first victory.

The game was close throughout and was tied at 65 at the end of regulation. The Bears, though, pulled away in the extra period and won, 72-65.