Early struggles hurt Patriots’ chances against South-Doyle

South Doyle came out unconscious, running out to a 28-9 lead, and held on for a 61-51 win over Jefferson County.

“I have to do a much better job of getting our kids ready to play,” Jeff County coach Matt Johnson said. “They had a lot of energy to start, and we couldn’t match it. After it got to 28-9, it was an even matchup. But you can’t take back that start.”

Jeff County dropped their third game district game with the loss. The Patriots were led by Kobe Parker with 21 points.

When things were going awry in the first half, Parker was the only one who seemed ready to play and tried to get his team back into it with nine first half points.

“I think we need multiple players to step up,” Johnson said. “I think Kobe was trying to get guys up and ready to play. And eventually we did, but with a veteran team, we have to be ready to play from the start. That’s on me and they have to be ready to.”

Along with Parker, Kawika Makua had 15 points and hit some timely three’s in the second and third quarter to keep the Patriots in the game.

After transferring from California, Makua has found a comfort zone now in east Tennessee, routinely putting up big numbers over the past month.

Noah Bowman also added eight points.

It was a combination of everyone for the Cherokees that got them off and running to start the game. The Cherokees broke out to a 17-4 lead before Parker settled the storm a little. South Doyle led 21-9 after the first.

The hot start continued for the Cherokees as they scored the first eight point of the second before Bowman broke the slump. After that, Jeff Count got hot as Parker hit two shots and Bowman hit a free throw. Back-to-back three’s from Makua and Jack Vines.

“I think that we just competed at the level our opponents were competing at (in the second quarter),” Johnson said. “We just have to do a better job of doing that right from the tip. They were going 60 mph and we were going 30.”

The improving play continued for Jeff County in the third quarter as the lead actually got down to seven after Makua hit a three with two minutes left in the quarter. A Connor Haney bucket with nine seconds left made it an eight-point game heading to the fourth.

With the momentum, Jeff County tried to keep cutting into the South Doyle lead. But the Cherokees were too strong as the Patriots tired near the end and could never get the lead down to single digits again.

Jeff County will be back in action on Tuesday for a big district matchup against Sevier County.