The Morton Indians took on the Jayton Jaybirds this past Tuesday at Frenship high school for their UIL Boys high school regional quarterfinal matchup where the Indians lost 50-27.
For the start of the game Morton was able to keep the game close at the start they were trailing by four points due to Jayton being able to force their way into the paint.
Head Basketball Coach Zack Williams subbed out his starters to get their second string in where they would start off the game hot immediately as they earned themselves five points in the blink of an eye making the score 5-4 with four minutes left in the quarter.
Jayton kept in the Indians in the game as they would struggle with their free throw shooting and go into the second quarter with the score sitting at 10-9 leading ahead of the Indians.
The second quarter was the worst for Morton as they were not be able to get any shots off in the game while their defense would let the Jaybirds get what they wanted from beyond the arch.
Jayton went go on a 9-2 run with 4:31 left in the first half. It did not stop though as Jayton’s defense would hold Morton to only two points before the half while their offense would get five more points to end the quarter.
The score at the end of the half was Morton trailing the Jaybirds 24-11.
Going into the third quarter of the game Morton had a better showing than their second quarter but would still be outscored 12-9. The score at the end of the third had Jayton leading 36-20.
The final quarter of the game started off as a defensive battle with both teams not scoring until two minutes into the quarter. There was a timeout taken by Morton with 6:03 left in the quarter with the score sitting at 38-23 Jayton leading.
The Jaybirds took another timeout with 3:22 left in the game as they built up their lead once more, this time by 20 as the score sat at 45-25. Jayton would hold onto the ball and keep it away from Morton as the Indians would fall in the regional quarterfinals game of UIL boys basketball.
In the rebounding battle for both teams they would be even as both squads had 36 rebounds on the night.
The Morton Indians shot the ball for 20% from the field while going for 7% from beyond the arch. Although they struggled shooting from the field they shot the ball for 73% from the charity stripe on the game.
In the blocking category Morton would be outdone against the Jaybirds as the Indians would get five in the game compared to Jayton’s nine.
The Indians were able to force seven turnovers on the night, but gave the ball up another 14 times to the Jaybirds defense.