Basketball – Page 2

Red Devils face Bedford North Lawrence at homecoming game tonight

by Austin Bainbridge

Jeff is looking to get back into the win column at tonight’s Homecoming game after a three-game slide as the Red Devils make their final push to sectionals.

Jeff faces Southern Indiana rival Bedford North Lawrence at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Johnson Arena.

“I think that this upcoming game is just a must win. We’ve been having a hard season and a hard time connecting as a team. So hopeful we can breeze through this game and prepare ourselves for sectionals,” said sophomore center Mason Longest.

The players are always looking for a good crowd to get them ready to play.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of important people at that game, and it’s just going to give us the fire to win and we’re just going to play hard,” said sophomore center Demauri Crosby.

But having the belief in their skills has gotten the team as far as they are.

“I see a lot of confidence in the team, and that doesn’t come from nowhere; it comes from success, and I think a win against BNL would definitely help with that confidence,” said head coach Sherron Wilkerson.

BNL is struggling in the height department, topping out at 6 ‘3, and Jeff is waiting to exploit that.

“I think we’ll be able to get a lot of post touches, and we should be able to easily get a lot of rebounds,” said Crosby.

The first stat everyone looks at is the team’s record, but the players say it hasn’t been that simple with many of the teams they’ve played.

“Don’t look at the (opponent’s)record. I mean, it’s an Indianapolis team, so they’re obviously going pay hard. So, we just need to come home and play harder. We played a Warren Central team with a bad record and lost, so don’t regard that,” said Crosby.

This is Senior Night and homecoming, where a king and queen will be crowned, and with that the coaches don’t just see a celebration, but a lesson.

“I hope it affects the seniors in a way that we’re running out of games. We’re running out of opportunities to get the stuff that needs to be addressed addressed, so there needs to be a sense of urgency,” said Wilkerson.

Moving forward after BNL tonight, Jeff will end this season playing four straight games against .500 teams, and they’re looking to make final adjustments before the playoffs.

“Those teams obviously aren’t powerhouses, but we can’t count them out. I think they will be a great chance to get everything in tune for when it matters most in sectionals,” said Longest.

13 Feb 2026 by jhshyphen

Red Devils defeat Seymour 69-41 on Senior Night

All photos by Magdalene Conrad, Kirk Owen, and Parker McCloskey. Click on each photo in the gallery below.

Sophomore MaKenna Taylor highfives her teammates during the announcement of the starting five. Photo by Parker McCloskey.

22 Jan 2026 by jhshyphen

Red Devils enter Senior Night tonight

20 Jan 2026 by jhshyphen

JHS defeats New Albany 60-48 in Hoosier Hills Conference match-up

All photos by Magdalene Conrad and Parker McCloskey. Click on each photo in the gallery below.

Senior Kelis Dansby is called during the starting five walkout and performs her signature handshake with junior Lila Schur before last night’s game at New Albany High School. JHS won 60-48. Photo by Magdalene Conrad.

16 Jan 202616 Jan 2026 by jhshyphen

Red Devils play Highlanders at Floyd Central tonight

16 Jan 2026 by jhshyphen

Red Devils play rival New Albany tonight at NAHS

15 Jan 202615 Jan 2026 by jhshyphen

New Albany defeats JHS 79-56

All photos by Magdalene Conrad, Malachi Conrad, Parker McCloskey and Mackenzie Stubblefield. Click on photos in the gallery below to view images.

Senior Cash Whitehead looks to play defense against the Bulldogs. Photo by Magdalene Conrad.

9 Jan 2026 by jhshyphen

Red Devils battle New Albany tonight at 7:30 p.m.

by Austin Bainbridge

The Red Devils enter a hostile environment tonight against an imposing New Albany team after dropping three out of the last four games.

The environment at New Albany should add to the excitement of the rivalry game.

Head coach Sherron Wilkerson talks to his team in the third quarter of the Lawrence North game on Jan. 3. The Red Devils face New Albany tonight at 7:30. Photo by Malachi Conrad.

“New Albany’s a loud environment that really helps their players along with getting in the opponent’s head,” said sophomore guard Cornelius Weobong.

Red Devil fans are also ready to see Jeff get back to form.

“I don’t think New Albany has the basketball IQ to beat our guys,” said sophomore fan Preston McCombs.

Jeff is looking to get back in the win column by changing their approach.

“I think as a team we need to pick it up in practice and work hard to prepare for this team,” said senior point guard Elijah Cheeks.

The team is also looking for leaders to help get the young team ready to play.

“Me and (Terrence) Nord need need to pick up our leadership in game and practice; we have to get people to give it their all,” said Cheeks

The New Albany team is headlined by stars like sophomore shooting guard Noah Washington, who will be a struggle to stop.

“New Albany is looking dangerous this year — they have some good players, but I still have confidence we can stop them,” said head coach Sherron Wilkerson.

The team is also looking to get out to an early lead and retain it throughout the game.

“We want to come out on fire and not wait until our backs are against the wall to comeback and put up points,” said Cheeks.

Jeff has its own players to watch out for, especially junior Jacob Wilkerson.

“(Jacob) Wilkerson has to keep doing what he’s doing — he’s balling right now; he just has to keep on track,” said Cheeks.

While New Albany seems like an unstoppable team, Jeff sees weaknesses to exploit.

“They don’t play defense and don’t really want to guard the ball; I think with our offense we can take advantage of that and win this game,” said Cheeks.

8 Jan 20268 Jan 2026 by jhshyphen

Red Devils prepare to face New Albany this Thursday

Lawrence North defeats JHS 71-53 on Jan. 3

All photos by Parker McCloskey and Malachi Conrad. Click on photos in the gallery below.

The Red Devils plan out their game plan before the tip off against Lawrence North on Jan. 3. JHS plays at New Albany on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. The game was moved from Friday to accommodate the Indiana Peach Bowl game on Friday night. Photo by Malachi Conrad.

7 Jan 2026 by jhshyphen

Silver Creek defeats JHS 64-51

State championship rings handed out prior to last night’s game

All photos by Magdalene Conrad, Malachi Conrad, Parket McCloskey, and Isaiah Stewart. Click on photographs in the gallery below.

Principal Pam Hall prepares to hand out last year’s 4A state championship rings. Photo by Magdalene Conrad.

19 Dec 202519 Dec 2025 by jhshyphen

Red Devils prepare for Silver Creek tonight

by Austin Bainbridge

The Jeff boys’ basketball team faces one of the top-ranked schools in Indiana, Silver Creek, for their home opener in a big benchmark game tonight in Johnson Arena.

“This is an important game; even though it’s not a rivalry like Floyd or New Albany there is a very good team and a win would be huge,” said sophomore guard Cornelius Weobong.

Silver Creek is looking like one of the best teams in Indiana and is searching for a statement win against Jeff.

“They’re really good at sharing the basketball. They’ve got six guys that could score 20 on any given night. So they do a really good job of moving the ball,” said head coach Sherron Wilkerson.

Jeff isn’t looking as potent as last year’s state championship team but still sees this as a competitive game.

“Our biggest keys are — Number one, we’ve got to guard for basketball. Number two, we’ve got to rebound. Number three, we have to take care of it, we cannot turn the ball over,” said Wilkerson.

The fans are also looking forward to a competitive game like this early in the season.

“I’m excited to see our guys play at home. I hope that we can come away with a win against a team as good as Silver Creek — that would be a big momentum boost,” said English teacher David Kummer.

To come away with a victory Jeff is going to have to capitalize on opportunities and not give Silver Creek very many.

“We have a lot of time where you get a good cut, get the ball, and then we miss, we give them free possession again… and then on defense we have got to know where we were at and we’ve got to sprint to our spot. We can’t give them easy points,” said Weobong.

Silver Creek is good as a team, but they also have players who shine above the rest.

“Brandon Hunter — he just recently had a game where he had 13 rebounds at the point guard position. When you have a point guard putting up 13 rebounds, that means that he is worthy of being able to get you a triple double, which probably makes him the most dangerous player on the floor,” said Wilkerson.

The Red Devils are looking to overcome some of early year struggles.

“Our mental toughness and our physical toughness is probably our biggest hurdle right now. And I think that once we’re able to correct those two issues, I think then you will start to see us jell into a unit,” said Wilkerson.

This game has been on Jeffs’ calendar for some time and they’ve been preparing.

“We’ve been preparing for Silver Creek since the buzzer went off at Seymour; we’ve been gameplanning and preparing pretty intensely,” said Weobong.

This young Jeff team could put itself on the map with a Silver Creek win, and they’re ready for tonight’s challenge.

“A win would be huge for us because this particular group as a unit has not been through the fire yet. So it would be nice to be able to go through the fire and come out successful. These guys are ready to be recognized,” said Wilkerson.

In addition to tonight’s battle with the Dragons, Jeff players and coaches will be honored with the presentation of their state championship rings from last season.

18 Dec 2025 by jhshyphen

Red Devils defeat Columbus East 61-31 last Saturday, face Charlestown at home tonight

Photos by Gabrielle Watkins. Click on the photos in the gallery below.

Senior Maizy Smith inbounds the ball to senior Kelis Dansby during the Red Devil game against Columbus East last Saturday. JHS won 61-31. Photo by Gabrielle Watkins.

16 Dec 2025 by jhshyphen