Class 2A Valley Falls Boys Sub-State Bracket.

For three and a half quarters, the Valley Falls boys’ basketball team stuck right with the No. 9 team in 2A down just five with 4:50 remaining in the game.

But when it counted, Jefferson County North proved why they earned the No. 2 seed in the Class 2A Valley Falls sub-state going on a 7-0 run close the door on an upset and advance to the semifinals of the tournament with a 52-38 win over the Dragons Monday night in Winchester.

Entering the contest knowing they didn’t have the fire power to stick the high-powered JCN offense, the Dragons decided to slow the game down and hold onto the basketball just across half court to force the Chargers out of their 2-3 zone.

The stall tactic worked for a majority of the first half, as the Dragons went up by as much as five point midway through the second quarter. But, the JCN offense couldn’t be held down the remainder of the half, as senior post Braden Schneider scored nine point in the second quarter to spark an 8-0 JCN run to end the half and put the Chargers up three at halftime.

JCN rode that momentum into the third quarter holding Valley Falls to just three third quarter points pushing their lead up to eight heading into the fourth.

The Dragons had one more run left in them as sophomore guard Grayson Haag came off the bench and drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to start the fourth and cut the deficit down to just five midway through the quarter.

But, again, the Chargers had an answer as junior Brayden Summers closed the game with 10 fourth quarter points to silence any type of upset.

JCN now moves on to the semifinals of the sub-state Thursday, and will take on 3-seeded Bishop Seabury at 7 p.m. on the KAIR Sports Channel. The Seahawks advanced to the semifinals with a 69-45 win over Marantha Monday and enter Thursday with an overall record of 16-4.

Valley Falls ends their season at 6-15, and send off eight seniors; Justin Meyers, Kyle Reichart, Jason Myers, Dawson Gatzemeyer, Tucker Sherretts, Chris Yates, Dalton Barnett and Ty Martin.

JCN: Braden Schneider – 17, Brayden Summers – 13, Joel Abel – 10, Brysen Weishaar – 6, Boston Lane – 3, Bryce Fowler – 3.

Valley Falls: Dawson Gatzemyer – 13, Grayson Haag – 6, Dalton Barnett – 5, Nathan Pickerell – 5, Ty Martin – 3, Tyler Lockhart – 2, Jason Meyers – 2, Chris Yates – 2.