Jefferson returned to the hardcourt Tuesday night after the winter break with a 54-34 victory over Dubuque Senior.

With substates coming out Jan. 17, the No. 7 J-Hawks hope to get hot to start the second portion of their season.

The win moved Jefferson’s record to 6-1 and 3-1 in the Mississippi Valley Conference. The Rams dropped to 4-3, 1-3.

When asked about his team’s goals for their first game of 2011, Coach Stu Ordman said, “We wanted to see effort and execution. We were not as consistent as I hoped, but that gives up something to work on. I thought Taylor Olson had an outstanding game and Ky Kramer played a great defensive game.”

Coming in the J-Hawks ranked third in points difference in Class 4A and first in the Mississippi Valley. The Jefferson defense has been limiting their opponents to 38.7 point per game with their stifling defense. They have been defeating their opponents by an average of 26.7.

Senior’s young roster resembles a recent trend among MVC teams. The two leading scorers are sophomore Josh Weeber (19.0 ppg) and freshman Kyle Haber (8.7).

In the first quarter it was a battle between Jarrod Uthoff and Weeber. Uthoff scored the J-Hawks first 12 points, while Weeber tallied all the Ram’s first quarter points with 6. Junior guard Taylor Olson was able to split through Senior’s man defense. At times Olson was gliding through multiple defenders to get all the way to the rim. Olson totaled 12 first half points and Uthoff 14 as Jefferson took a 31-16 lead into the half.

“Our offensive movement left a lot of open lanes for me to get to the basket," Olson said. "I knew I had to be more aggressive with the attention they would give to Uthoff. Their rotations off Jarrod were slow and I was able to find the opening.”

The J-Hawks were able to continue their defensive pressure in the second half. Jefferson forced 15 Senior turnovers. Sophomore Ky Kramer had five of Jefferson’s eight steals that led to easy transition baskets. Early foul trouble forced Jefferson’s two starting posts to the bench, but the J-Hawk guard play continued to slice up the Ram defense. Jefferson also controlled the boards by a margin of 25-11.

Uthoff had a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds while Weeber led the Rams with 17 points. The J-Hawks will host a tough Iowa City West team Friday night in the second half of a boy-girl doubleheader.

JEFFERSON: Brown 1 0-0 2, Kramer 2 0-0 5, Olson 4 5-6 13, Saunders 4 0-0 8, Uthoff 9 4-4 23, Meiborg 0 0-0 0, Larson 1 0-0 3, Heying 0 0-0 0, Denny 0 0-0 0, Rooney 0 0-0 0, Hemphill 0 0-0 0, Steckler 0 0-0 0, Kelly 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 9-10 54.
DUBUQUE SR: Weeber 6 4-6 17, Haber 3 0-0 6, Duve 0 0-0 0, Grant 1 1-1 3, Holdridge 1 2-3 5, Weitz 0 0-0 0, Bonifas 0 0-0 0, Anderson 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 8-12 34.
Halftime—Jefferson 31. Senior 16 5. 3-point goals—Senior 2 (Holdridge 1, Weeber 1) Jefferson 3 (Uthoff 1, Kramer 1, Larson 1).