DUBUQUE – Taylor Olson and his Cedar Rapids Jefferson teammates found out just how tough the road can be in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

In the first of two Class 4A top-3 tests this week, the No. 8 J-Hawks struggled to overcome a poor shooting night Tuesday and fell to No. 3 Dubuque Senior, 61-46, at Nora Gymnasium.

Jefferson (7-1, 3-1 MVC) shot just 18-for-50 (36 percent) from the field in the loss. The offensive output was a far cry from what the J-Hawks produced before Christmas break.

Jefferson averaged 62.1 points per game during its seven-game winning streak to start the season.

“We had very poor shot selection, and we had very poor patience during the entire first quarter,” Jefferson Coach Stu Ordman said. “That hurt us for the entire game.”

Senior (7-0, 4-0) had a clear advantage in size. The Rams don’t have a starter shorter than 6-foot-4, and their front line of Josh Weeber, Connor Grant and Seth Bonifas goes 6-5, 6-5 and 6-9, respectively.

The Rams put the clamps on Jefferson’s leading scorer, Taylor Olson, who came into the contest as the No. 2 scorer in Class 4A at 23.1 points per game.

Olson was contained for most of the game by Senior point guard Domen Zevnik. Olson finished with 12 points, all coming in the second half.

“(Zevnik) played good defense, and he knows he’s got those big guys behind him,” Ordman said. “When Taylor did beat him, we had guys open on the perimeter. It’s tough to shoot over those guys, though.  (Zevnik) is a good player who concentrates really well on defense.”

Olson didn’t feel in sync on the offensive end.

“As a team, Dubuque Senior is really big,” Olson said. “They can sag in the lane. With them shutting down the lane, it’s hard to get my game going from inside and out.”

Senior led for the entire game until the fourth quarter, when Jefferson mounted a run. The J-Hawks took their first lead, 38-37, on Olson’s long bank shot with 7:20 remaining in the fourth.

It was all Rams after that juncture. Senior went on a 20-2 run over the next four minutes, and Jefferson never recovered.

“Going into the third quarter, I knew we had to make a run then,” Olson said. “Once we did, I don’t think we handled some situations well. Some of our rotations were bad, and some of the key situations in the end hurt us in the long run.”

Senior had a balanced scoring attack, led by Grant with 17 points. Zevnik added 15 points and Weeber 13 for the Rams, who have defeated three top-10 teams already this season.

Ky Kramer paced Jefferson with 15 points, including three 3-pointers.

The schedule doesn’t get easier for the J-Hawks. Next up for Jefferson is a home tilt Friday with No. 1 Iowa City West.

“It is what it is,” Ordman said of the tough schedule. “In the MVC, that can happen.

“We have to share the basketball and have patient possessions on offense. Defensively, we don’t have much margin for error. We have to get more consistent.”

JEFFERSON (46): Alec Saunders 2 0-0 6, Ky Kramer 6 0-0 15, Tyler Hemphill 1 0-0 2, Taylor Olson 5 2-4 12, Justin Underwood 0 0-0 0, Andre Kearney 0 0-0 0, Jacob Olson 0 0-1 0, Creighton Robinson 3 1-2 9, Layne Sullivan 0 0-0 0, Austin Goodell 0 0-0 0, Taylor Mueller 0 0-0 0, Daniel Eggers 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 3-7 46.

SENIOR (61): Domen Zevnik 4 4-4 15, Kyle Haber 3 3-5 9, Connor Grant 7 3-5 17, Josh Weeber 5 2-2 13, Kyle Holdridge 1 0-1 3, Mitch Duve 0 2-2 2, Drew Anderson 0 0-0 0, Jon Powers 0 0-0 0, Austin Clemens 0 0-0 0, Lucas Legrand 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 13-20 61.

Halftime score – Senior 29, Jefferson 20. 3-point goals – Jefferson 7 (Saunders 2, Kramer 3, Robinson 2); Senior 5 (Zevnik 3, Weeber, Holdridge). Total fouls – Jefferson 19, Senior 12. Technical foul – Kearney. Fouled out – Kearney.