On senior night, the J-Hawks rebounded after two straight losses with a 67-49 victory over Waterloo East. Jefferson improves to 13-4 on the year and 9-4 in the MVC. Waterloo East drops to 1-17, 0-13.

“I’m proud of our seniors, commented Coach Stu Ordman. "Each one of them hustled and did well tonight. They have a cumulative GPA of over 3.8 and have made outstanding contributions to Jefferson.”

Jefferson honored seniors Alec Brown, Alexander Denny, Alex Heying, Joe Kelly, Alexander Larson, Tyler Meiborg, Michael Rooney, Taylor Steckler, and Jarrod Uthoff.

When asked about the night, Uthoff said, “It was a very special to share senior night with a great group of guys like this. It means a lot that we were all able to get in and contribute.”

After being shut down for most of game in loss to Cedar Falls the previous night, Uthoff was able to bounce back with a strong start against an undersized East squad. He scored 19 of his game-high 36 points in the first half. Uthoff also grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with three blocks and four assists. Jefferson outrebounded East by a total of 33-20.

“We needed to execute on both sides of the court," Uthoff said. "I think we ran our stuff very well and took care of the ball. Last night was a physical game, I wanted to get the ball inside and work in the post.”

The Trojan defense was unable to keep the J-Hawks out of the lane, where they connected on all but three of their made field goals. The J-Hawks were able to consistently make runs throughout the game. Jefferson started the second quarter in the midst of an 18-8 run. They went into the half with a 17 point lead and were able to hold steady throughout the second half.

“We ran our sets pretty well. East struggled to guard Jarrod. He got some nice looks from his teammates. Mike Rooney and Tyler Meiborg had good floor games," said Ordman. Michael Rooney finished the game as Jefferson’s second leading scorer with nine points. Meiborg added six, hitting twice from beyond the arc.

Waterloo East connected on six 3-pointers. Senior guard Dequan Campbell was the Trojans’ leading scorer with 12 points. A’Darrius Riley and Demetre VanArsdale both added 10.

Jefferson's next game is Friday at home against No. 3 Kennedy in the nightcap of a girl/boy doubleheader.

“It should be an exciting atmosphere," Uthoff said. "It’s always competitive when we go against our inner-city rivals. We need to play smart and continue to execute.”

JEFFERSON (67): Rooney 4 0-0 9, Brown 0 0-0 0, Larson 0 0-0 0, Denny 1 0-0 2, Uthoff 14 8-9 36, Meiborg 2 0-0 6, Kramer 2 0-0 4, Saunders 0 0-0 0, Hemphill 2 0-0 4, Heying 2 0-0 4, Kelly 0 2-2 2, Steckler 0 0-2 0. Totals 27 10-13 67.

WATERLOO EAST (49): Riley 4 0-0 10, VanArsdale 1 1-1 4, Todd 1 2-2 4, Grant 2 0-0 4, Schutte 0 0-0 0, Campbell 4 1-2 12, Robinson 0 1-2 1, Evans 0 0-0 0, McGrain 0 0-0 0, Culp 2 0-0 4, Green 0 0-0 0, Hodges 5 0-0 10. Totals 19 5-7 49.

Halftime—Jefferson 35. Waterloo East 18 5. 3-point goals—Waterloo East 6 (Riley 2, VanArsdale 1, Campbell 3) Jefferson 3 (Meiborg 2, Rooney 1).