The season started off a bit rough for the Jamestown Eagles boys basketball team. The team started the season 3-7 after the first 10 games of the year. Near the end of the regular season, the team's record was better at 7-9, but the team was still under the .500 mark after a 71-54 win against Pilot Grove at the Slater Tournament, Jan. 25.
After that win, the Eagles would win eight of their last 12 games. This included a multiple of three-game winning streaks, including a district championship before their season ended in a heartbreaking way in a 57-55 loss to Wellsville on a shot at the buzzer in the Class 1 boys sectional round.
Jamestown ended the season with a 15-13 record.
In his first year as head coach for the Eagles, Jay Thompson said he felt the team surprised a lot of people, which is something he thought they could do before the year began.
"I think they were a year ahead of schedule," Thompson said.
Thompson said he felt good about how the season turned out as a whole and how the team grew throughout the season.
"Our growth, I think that was the biggest thing I was looking for all season was how are we going to grow as a team. For me as the coach it wasn't about wins and losses, it was about our progression," Thompson said
The team's defense played a role in the team's turnaround.
"They've gone from running a zone defense the past three years under coach Seth Thomas, and they switched over to me and they went to man-to-man and it took time to figure out how to guard teams," Thompson said.
Getting experience was another factor in the team's turnaround.
"It was about getting experience and just trying to get that chemistry," Thompson said.
For next season, Thompson said, the team should shoot to be their best.
"I think our very best can bring us a long way," Thompson said. "So we will shoot to improve as much as we can and be our very best at the end of the season and see how far we can go."