Jefferson started out strong Tuesday night, using a trapping man-to-man defense to force seven Dubuque Hempstead turnovers and building a 15-2 lead after one quarter.

But it was the way the J-Hawks finished that had Jeffersonn Coach Stu Ordman and his braintrust scratching their collective heads after the game.

Jefferson cruised to a 52-35 win in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball game at the J-Hawk gym. Senior Taylor Olson scored 21 points and junior Ky Kramer had 12.

Ordman said he liked the defensive pressure the J-Hawks (5-0, 2-0) put on Hempstead (0-4, 0-2) to start the game. The Mustangs turned the ball over four times before they got their first shot off and made only 1 of 7 shots in the period.

"We came out with good intensity defensively in the first quarter, and I was pleased with that, but then we dropped way off and couldn't get it back for the rest of the game," Ordman said. "I was disappointed with that."

Kramer said he could understand Ordman's disappointment, especially because of the premium the J-Hawks place upon defense.

"That's our main point in this program," said Kramer, who also grabbed nine rebounds. "We just need to keep our intensity up all game."

After building the 13-point margin, Hempstead never got closer than nine points the rest of the game. The J-Hawks led 29-17 at halftime and 40-23 after three quarters.

"I think we had a great start and then we kind of relaxed," said Olson, who scored eight points in the first quarter. "We got on our heels and kind of got nervous."

Jefferson shot 41 percent from the field, but took 18 more shots than Hempstead. The J-Hawks also held the Mustangs to 36 percent shooting.

It was Jefferson's offense that concerned Ordman most.

"I didn't think we moved the ball very well," Ordman said. "And I wasn't very pleased with out shot selection. I didn't think we did a very good job of reading what they were doing defensively."

Jefferson plays at Washington on Friday in a girl-boy doubleheader that starts at 6 p.m.

"We're going to make runs and Washington is going to make runs, so we have to handle that better than we did tonight," Olson said.

HEMPSTEAD (35): Jake Weber 4 5-10 13, Josh Viertel 1 1-2 4, Josh Dolson 3 0-0 8, Ben Goerdt 0 0-0 0, Mike Canfield 0 0-1 0, Jon Hermsen 3 0-0 6, Shawn Breitbach 1 2-2 4, Kevin Thurmon 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 8-15 35.

JEFFERSON (52): Ky Kramer 5 0-0 12, Tyler Hemphill 3 0-1 6, Taylor Olson 9 3-5 21, Alec Saunders 2 2-2 6, Justin Underwood 2 1-2 5, Jacob Olson 1 0-0 2, Layne Sullivan 0 0-0 0, Austin Goodell 0 0-0 0, Taylor Mueller 0 0-1 0. Totals 22 6-11 52.

Halftime -- Jefferson 29, Hempstead 17. 3-point goals -- Hempstead 3 (Dolson 2, Viertel), Jefferson 2 (Kramer 2). Total fouls -- Hempstead 17, Jefferson 18. Fouled out -- None.