Chargers heat up from outside to top Jefferson

SAN ANTONIO – Friday’s second-round playoff game between Champion and Jefferson was anybody’s for the taking.

Champion trailed for most of the first half but went on a run late in the second quarter and was up by four points at intermission. Once the second half started, the Chargers pulled away thanks to its trademark 3-point shooting.

The Chargers nailed nine 3-pointers in the second half on its way to a 68-47 victory.

Champion improves to 30-6 overall and faces district foe Buda Johnson Tuesday in the third round at Blossom, 6:30 p.m.

“My starting five can all shoot and when they get going, they’re hard to guard,” said Chargers coach Chris Adamek.

The Chargers finished with a dozen 3-pointers in the game and it was Braden Baum who hit two 3s to start the game for Champion but those were their only points in the entire first quarter and they went into the second stanza trailing, 8-6.

“We were all maybe a little nervous, Jefferson’s man defense is really good and a lot different than Glenn’s in the first round,” Adamek said. “We were trying to do some things and they didn’t work the way we wanted to and it took us a while to figure it out.”

The Mustangs went up by five points at 16-11 with 4:26 remaining until halftime but the Chargers closed out the quarter on an 11-2 spurt to take a four-point lead into the break at 22-18.

“That run to end the second was big, it put us up four and gave us a little momentum going into halftime, Adamek said. “The guys starting hitting shots and loosened up in the third quarter and built a good lead.”

Once the second half started, the Chargers pulled away. They outscored Jefferson 25-14 in the third and hit five 3s, two from Baum and one each from Charlie Georgelos, Braxton Burdick and Owen Tate.

Burdick had a tip-in at the third-quarter buzzer and it put the Chargers up 47-32 going into the final stanza.

Tate, Georgelos, Jesse Peart and Justin Hill all nailed 3s in the fourth quarter to blow it out. Champion outscored the Mustangs 21-15 in the fourth and 46-29 in the second half.

“We can shoot the 3, but after a while we started driving and kicking it to each other, pushing and getting the ball down the court,” Peart said. “We had a slow start but we knew we could push it.”

Champion swept Buda Johnson this year, but Peart said that doesn’t mean anything.

“We know what we’re going up against but we just have to come out and push each other and hope for the best,” he said.

Baum led the Chargers with 20 points, Peart added 16, Georgelos netted 13, Burdick finished with 10, Tate dropped in 6 and Hill hit a 3-pointer.

Georgelos grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 6 assists.