With the district tournament here at last, the Jamestown Eagles boys basketball team (10-9) is looking to continue its momentum.
The Eagles, coming in as the number two seed in the Class 1 District 10 tournament, played the winner of the matchup between Community and Madison at 6 p.m. on Feb. 23 at Community High School.
Following a 58-53 win Feb. 12 over Calvary Lutheran, the Eagles had won three of their last four games.
Head coach Jay Thompson said last week that he thinks it is extremely important to have some momentum heading into Districts.
"Just from a confidence standpoint, for the players they go out there and they play to their full potential when they are feeling the best about themselves, they believe in themselves, and they believe in each other," Thompson said.
As the season has gone along, Thompson said when the team has it going, shooting is a strength for the team. Thompson also said that can be a weakness for the team, however.
"We feed off of each other; when one of us shoots the ball well, it seems like we do as a team," Thompson said. "At the same time that can be a weakness, where we have struggled individually and we have also struggled as a team."
Defense has been another strength for the Eagles this season. On defense, the team has held its opponents to less than 50 points 12 times. The Eagles are 9-3 when they hold their opponents to less than 50 points in a game.
"It seems that just about every game, our defense comes ready to play," Thompson said. "I think we are holding our opponents to around 40 points a game, which I will take every time."
Thompson said he thinks consistency has been a key reason for the team's success on defense.
"We have been doing the same thing defensively, this is the third year now and they know what is expected of them," Thompson said. "They are put in situations they are familiar with in practice and it carries over to the game."
There are multiple players that have had a impact on the team this season, Thompson said.
"Tristan Jones, for one, his leadership. I knew coming into this season that he was going to be our vocal leader," Thompson said. "He has been great on both ends of the floor and he has been great (at) communicating. Cole Higgins, he does all the dirty work for us, he gets the offensive rebounds, he gets the defensive rebounds, he gets the break away lay-ups and steals. Mack Sorrells went out of the game for about a quarter and a half the other night and you saw the difference he makes when he is on the floor, with shooting the ball, with taking care of the ball, and helping getting guys in the right spots."
Heading into their final regular season games before districts, Thompson said last week he would like to see the team work on eliminating some of the mistakes it makes at times that allows its opponents to go on short runs.
"If (the opponent scores), I want us to respond right away," Thompson said. "And continue to shoot the ball well and hope it carries over to districts."