The free throw line can often be an intimidating place. On Tuesday night, Jefferson found it to be quite the contrary as they made themselves at home at the charity stripe.

The J-Hawks made 24 of 26 free throws, most of them late in the fourth quarter, as they went on to defeat Dubuque Wahlert, 63-54, at the Jefferson gym.

“They had ice water in their veins,” said Jefferson Coach Stu Ordman of his group of savvy foul shooters. “Twenty-four for 26 is not bad in my book.”

Jefferson (9-7, 6-5) was led by junior point guard Jacob Olson at both ends of the floor. He poured in 25 points while hitting 12 of 13 free throws and grabbed a few big rebounds in the waning minutes of the game.

“I thought he did a tremendous job at realizing his matchups down the stretch,” said Ordman. “He also did a nice job defensively in the second half and grabbed some key rebounds.”

Even before the opening whistle, the game had a unique start. Wahlert was charged with a technical foul for a mishap with the lineup sheet and instead of a tipoff, Jefferson’s Ky Kramer stepped to the line and buried two foul shots. The J-Hawks then got possession and hit a quick bucket, making it 4-0 after six seconds.

They would not surrender the lead the entire night. After an explosive first quarter of 22 points, the J-Hawks slowed a bit and led 31-22 at halftime.

The third quarter belonged to Wahlert (6-10, 5-6). The Golden Eagles spurted to a 12-5 run coming out of intermission, drawing to within 36-34 late in the period. But Olson and the J-Hawks found a way to ride it out and remain in control.

“We had incredible foul problems in the second half, some of their guys were really distorting our defense,” said Ordman. “But I was proud when we were able to hold down the fort out there.”

They salted it away at the line down the stretch, as Olson made big free throws and Layne Sullivan hit four in a row with under two minutes left in the game.

Kramer finished with 17 points.

WAHLERT (54): Zevnik 6 1-2 15, Nemmers 1 0-0 2, Walker 0 0-0 0, Burgmeier 3 5-7 11, Pemsl 5 7-9 17, Lattner 0 1-2 1, Adams 1 0-0 2, Potts 2 0-0 6. Totals 17 14-20 54.

JEFFERSON (63): Kramer 4 7-8 17, Olson 6 12-13 25, Robinson 2 0-0 6, Sullivan 2 5-5 9, Van Ort 1 0-0 2, Larson 2 0-0 4, Floyd 0 0-0 0 Wiederin 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 24-26 63.

Halftime - Jefferson 31, Wahlert 22. 3-point goals – Wahlert 4 (Zevnik 2, Potts 2), Jefferson 5 (Kramer 2, Robinson 2, Olson 1).