Ross Thompson’s shot evades the block attempt of Allen East’s Logan Rex and tied the score at 64 early in the fourth Tuesday night at Wapakoneta. The Jefferson junior put in game highs of 26 points and 14 boards as the Wildcats outscored the Mustangs 18-5 over the remaining 5:45 to grab a 13-point triumph.

The Wildcats got the better of the deal, outscoring the Mustangs 29-11 in the final period to grab an 82-69 victory in Division III action at Wapakoneta.

“We wanted to get into a quick pace. We felt that we had better athletes at several positions and didn’t want to let them force a grind-it-out game; that’s what they wanted,” Jefferson coach Marc Smith noted. “We got off to a good start with some pressure defense but we couldn’t do it the whole game. That was the key later in the third period and at the start of the fourth; we made some shots, got into our pressure and it seemed in 30 seconds, went from six down to leading.”

The Mustangs (3-18) held a 58-53 lead at the end of three periods and won the first part of the fourth period 6-5 to lead 64-58. The Wildcats (5-17) got a putback by sophomore Ross Thompson (double-double with a game-high 26 points and 14 boards) at 5:56 and Smith called time. The Wildcats then slapped on their trapping full-court pressure that forced four quick turnovers in the next five Mustang possessions (17 for the game) that resulted in seven points and a 67-64 edge — taking the lead for good on a free toss by senior Zach Ricker at 5:28. The Wildcats continued that trend with their defense doing the damage, building up a 74-64 spread on two singles by Ricker at 2:56. The closest the Mustangs could get the rest of the way was eight as the Red and White canned 10-of-13 free throws in the final period — all in the final 5:28 — to seal the victory.