MILLCREEK, Pa. — Two scoring droughts — one in each half — were the difference as Jamestown suffered a 66-40 non-league setback against McDowell, the 20th-ranked basketball team in Pennsylvania, on Thursday night.

Freshman Will Jeffress scored 18 points while junior Jack Gallagher and senior Cole Becker added 12 apiece as the Trojans ran their record to 11-2.

Matt Hill led the Red Raiders (8-4) with 12 points and three assists.

“I’m going to take a lot of positives out of it,” Jamestown coach Ben Drake said. “We’re not going to find a better team this season. … This was good for us. You can tell a lot about yourself in a game like this. I was proud of our effort. We just have to learn from some of the things tonight and, hopefully, get better.”

The game was tied 6-6 in the first quarter, but McDowell scored the final nine points of the period to gain some separation. At halftime, the host’s lead was 29-19, but the Trojans went on a 12-0 to start the second half and Jamestown was unable to recover.

“Those two runs were the story of the game,” Drake said. “Other than that, it was a pretty solid job.”

McDowell’s roster is indeed loaded.

Jeffress is a 6-foot-6 guard/forward and Ola Olamuyiwa, a 6-foot-10 junior center sidelined because of injury, has had a number of Division I college offers already.

“(Jeffress) certainly doesn’t look like a freshman,” Drake said. “He’s a good-sized kid, very smooth. He has a bright future.

“We actually played very good team defense tonight,” Drake continued. ” … I thought we did a nice job of taking away any penetration. Our team defense and our gap defense was solid. They’re big and we gave up some offensive rebounds and putbacks, and they’re a very good shooting team. When you have a breakdown, they don’t miss a lot of open shots. … To hold them to 66 wasn’t a bad defensive effort.”

NOTES: Hill drilled four 3-pointers while Marcus Rojas grabbed eight rebounds and Shaheem Freeney had six to lead Jamestown, but McDowell held a 32-23 advantage on the boards. … The Red Raiders return to action Tuesday when they entertain McKinley in another non-league game.

JAMESTOWN (40)

Hill 4 0 12, ERojas 2 1 6, Grant 1 1 3, Malarkey 2 0 5, Crofoot 1 0 2, MRojas 3 0 6, Freeney 2 2 6. Totals 15 4 40.

MCDOWELL (66)

Beck 3 1 9, Gallagher 5 0 12, Krahe 1 0 2, Hower 1 0 2, Henderson 4 1 9, Becker 4 2 12, Jeffress 7 3 18, Palermo 0 2 2. Totals 25 9 66.

3-point goals–Hill 4, ERojas, Malarkey, Beck 2, Gallagher 2, Becker 2, Jeffress.

Jamestown 6 13 7 14 — 40

McDowell 15 14 20 17 — 66

Jayvees: McDowell won.

WARRIORS EDGE PORTVILLE

PORTVILLE — The second half proved to be instrumental in Salamanca’s 52-49 CCAA Division 1 East win over Portville.

Portville led at the half, 24-14, before Salamanca (4-8, 1-4) outscored the Panthers, 38-27, in the second half to record the victory.

Braden Siebert scored all 13 of his points in the second half to pace the Warriors. Jarrett McKenna added 11 points to the winning cause.

Caden Keim had 13 points for Portville (3-11, 0-5).

SALAMANCA (52)

Hedlund 1 4 6, McKenna 4 0 11, Siebert 3 6 13, John 2 1 5, Rasha 2 3 8, Brown 4 0 9. Totals 17 13 52.

PORTVILLE (49)

DTobola 4 0 8, BTobola 1 2 4, Kloc 2 0 4, Watson 0 0 0, Keim 5 0 13, KMurray 3 2 8, BMurray 5 0 10. Totals 22 3 49.

3-point goals–McKenna 3, Siebert, Rasha, Keim 3.

Salamanca 5 9 19 19 — 52

Portville 15 6 16 12 — 49

GOWANDA

ENDS SILVER CREEK STREAK

SILVER CREEK — Gowanda ended Silver Creek’s 11-game winning streak with a 55-43 win in CCAA Division 1 East play.

Nate Brawdy’s 29 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, were a key to the victory for the Panthers (9-3, 3-2). Brawdy also had 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Gowanda also got Ture Hassler back from an ankle injury he suffered Dec. 21.

“We’ve been missing him bad,” Gowanda coach Rob Catalino said.

Hassler wound up with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan John added 9 points for the Panthers.