The Jefferson City Jays snapped a 19-year Final Four drought last season. With a win this afternoon in Springfield against the Parkview Vikings in the Class 5 state quarterfinals, the Jays can be one of the last four teams remaining for the second straight year.
The Jays were off to the races.
Jefferson City jumped out to a 23-4 lead in the first quarter to build a 73-59 win against the Lausanne Collegiate (Tenn.) Lynx on Day 2 of the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic at Fleming Fieldhouse on Thursday.
The Jefferson City Jays had their chances. The Ensworth School, Tenn., Tigers just tipped them away. Ensworth didn’t take its first lead until less than two minutes remained in the fourth quarter, then the Tigers never let go of it, holding on for a 57-53 victory against the Jays in the first round of the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic at Fleming Fieldhouse.
The Jefferson City Jays won the Great 8 Classic last year for the first time since 2005. This year, they will look to become the first repeat champion since Father Tolton did it in 2019-20.
It is not very often a team gets to end its basketball season with a win. While it was not in the game the Jefferson City Jays wanted to be in Saturday, the Jays concluded their season with a 79-76 victory against the Pembroke Hill Raiders at Great Southern Bank Arena to grab third place in Class 5.