Creighton Robinson wasn't sure what to think when Jefferson Coach Stu Ordman told everyone the game plan for Friday night's contest against Kennedy.

Ordman decided to use Taylor Olson, his star point guard, as a high-post center for much of the game against the Cougars and use Robinson as the primary ballhandler instead.

"I was a little shocked, but I had to step up and handle the ball," Robinson remarked.

The strategy worked fine as the 10th-ranked J-Hawks bounced the Cougars, 56-43, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game on Hall of Fame night at Kennedy.

"We were trying to cause havoc in the middle with T.O. (Olson)," Robinson explained. "It opened it up a lot for us."

Robinson poured in a career-high 19 points and handled the ball cleanly all night. Alec Saunders tossed in four 3-pointers and scored 14 points for the J-Hawks (9-2, 5-2).

Olson finished with eight points, much less than his normal average of 21.5, but he was happy to pass the ball around when the Cougars surrounded him near the foul line.

"We knew they were going to collapse on me," he said. "I had to find the open guy."

Olson was battling an illness Friday, so he was able to conserve a little energy by playing the high post instead of running the team all night, but he returned to point guard in the fourth quarter to help protect the lead.

"I'm a little bit tired, but I'm fine," he said.

Olson wasn't the only J-Hawk who was a little under the weather against the Cougars.

"So was (Tyler) Hemphill, so was Creighton, so am I, so is Jacob (Olson)," Ordman said. "That's one of the things I was concerned about. We could hardly practice all week."

Robinson swished three 3-pointers on his way to 19 markers.

"I thought he played a fantastic game, considering how sick he is," Ordman said. "He's a competitor."

Kennedy played well in the first quarter and grabbed a 17-9 advantage, but the Cougars (7-3, 5-3) scored only four points in the second period and trailed 28-21 at the break.

The J-Hawks pummeled Kennedy, 19-4, in the second period to gain control. Hemphill tied the game, 19-19, with a bucket, Robinson made it 22-19 with a 3-pointer and Saunders made it 25-19 with another 3-pointer.

Kennedy pulled within 31-28 midway through the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Cody Bell, but Robinson answered with a 3-pointer of his own for a 34-28 lead.

Trevor Heitland scored for Kennedy, making it 34-30, but the J-Hawks went on an 8-1 run for a 42-31 margin early in the fourth quarter and cruised from there.

Bell led Kennedy with 13 points and Alex Hayden scored 12, but Heitland finished with only five points and 6-foot-7 center Elliott Christians scored only three points (all on free throws) despite having a big height advantage.

"Our senior point guard (Heitland) and our senior post guy (Christians) did not help us tonight offensively," Coach Bob Fontana said.

Fontana wanted his players to perform with a high basketball I.Q., but he didn't think the Cougars came close to matching the J-Hawks. "I told everybody this is the smartest team we've played all year," he said.

Fontana will have more weapons at his disposal Saturday night against Des Moines North when Josiah Coleman and Darius Fuller return from 10-game suspensions. Coleman and Fuller are two potential starters, and the Cougars went 7-3 without them.

"We held the fort okay. Record-wise, I'm not disappointed," Fontana said. "What I'm disappointed with is our mentality in games of this nature."

JEFFERSON (56): Saunders 4 2-2 14, Robinson 6 4-6 19, Kramer 1 5-6 8, Hemphill 1 0-1 2, T. Olson 2 4-4 8, Underwood 2 1-2 5, Sullivan 0 0-0 0, J. Olson 0 0-0 0, Goodell 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 16-21 56.

KENNEDY (43): Christians 0 3-5 3, Hayden 4 1-2 12, Bell 4 4-6 13, Jahlas 1 0-1 2, Heitland 2 0-0 5, Struss 2 0-0 4, Martin 0 0-0 0, Carter 2 0-1 4, Fergus 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 8-15 43.

Halftime - Jefferson 28, Kennedy 21. 3-point goals - Jefferson 8 (Saunders 4, Robinson 3, Kramer 1), Kennedy 5 (Hayden 3, Bell 1, Heitland 1).