Waterloo West just too much for Cedar Rapids Jefferson boys’ hoopsters

CEDAR RAPIDS - This was comparatively better, which is great.

You don’t want the kind of beating Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s boys’ basketball team absorbed this past Friday night against city rival Cedar Rapids Kennedy. No one wants to take a beating like that.

Ever.

But Tuesday night still wasn’t overly good when it came down to it. Waterloo West had four starters score in double figures and smashed Jeff, 71-34, at the J-Hawks gym.

Two season-opening wins were a godsend for a club without much returning scoring and without much returning experience. You hope these last three losses, two by blowout, don’t have a lasting effect for Jefferson (2-3), which is still trying to find its way and the right player combinations.

“We’ve got to go up,” Jefferson Coach Wes Bruns said. “We’ve got nowhere to go but up.”

West (3-1) blew out to a 21-9 lead after the first quarter and just kept extending its edge. It was a 19-point game at halftime and a 26-point game after three. The Wahawks scored a lot of points in transition and passed the basketball expertly in their half-court sets.

Basically, West got whatever it wanted offensively. Si’Marion Anderson and Jahlil Manago had 15 points apiece for the Wahawks, with Keishaun Pendleton added 12 and Keadyn Leiss-Demus 10.

Jefferson, meanwhile, turned it over too much, something that played a part in that unsightly 113-35 loss to Kennedy. Ballhandling seems to be an issue at the moment, and the J-Hawks didn’t shoot it well Tuesday.

Carson Dighton finished with a team-high 11 points. Avondus Hodges added 7.

“We’ve just got to work harder and get better,” Bruns said. “(Iowa City West Coach) Steve Bergman would always say that ‘Aw, we practiced terrible.’ Then they throw the ball up there and they’d play outstanding.

“There’s a fine line, and we’ve just got to find it. We’ve got Wash on Friday and Iowa City West next Tuesday. I love these kids. They’re good kids ... They’re trying.”

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AT CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON

WATERLOO WEST (71): Jahlil Manago 6-9 1-2 15, Keadyn Leiss-Demus 4-6 2-3 10, Keishaun Pendleton 6-10 0-0 12, Si’Marion Anderson 5-13 3-6 15, Dayton Bruce 3-8 0-0 7, Joseph Hudson 1-3 1-2 3, Nasir Kuykendall 1-1 0-0 2, Shuncere Wortham 1-4 0-0 2, Depree Banks 0-0 0-0 0, Parker Berns 0-1 0-0 0, Kailib Fisher 1-1 0-0 2, Kaden McConnell 1-1 0-0 3, Torian Doss 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-57 7-15 71.

C.R. JEFFERSON (34): Jacob Strain 0-1 2-2 2, Rashad Gatewood 1-4 1-2 3, Carson Dighton 5-8 0-1 11, Avonus Hodges 3-12 0-0 7, Mateo Smallwood 0-1 0-0 0, Dom Martinez-White 2-6 0-0 4, Logan Augustine 0-1 0-0 0, Abram Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Marty Blakey 0-2 0-0 0, Adam Panoch 1-2 0-0 2, Preston Blanchett Jr. 1-2 1-4 3, Deavion Crowder 1-3 0-0 2, Rhys Mead 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Wilcox 0-1 0-0 0, Simon Ntitetereza 0-0 0-0 0, Shiaun Stevens 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Huston 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-45 4-9 34.

Halftime - Waterloo West 39, C.R. Jefferson 20. 3-point goals - Waterloo West 6-17 (Manago 2-4, Leiss-Demus 0-1, Pendleton 0-3, Anderson 2-3, Bruce 1-4, Wortham 0-1, McConnell 1-1), C.R. Jefferson 2-10 (Dighton 1-2, Hodges 1-3, Smallwood 0-1, Martinez-White 0-1, Augustine 0-1, Blakey 0-1, Crowder 0-1). Rebounds - Waterloo West 36 (Anderson 8), C.R. Jefferson 28 (Hodges 6). Total fouls - Waterloo West 10, C.R. Jefferson 12. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Waterloo West 6, C.R. Jefferson 17.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com