Unable to shake South Park early in Saturday’s nonleague boys basketball game, the Jamestown head coach burned a timeout with a shade over three minutes remaining in the first half.

The brief hiatus did wonders for the Red & Green, who went on an immediate 11-0 run to build a comfortable lead at the break en route to a 65-47 victory over South Park at McElrath Gymnasium.

The win raised Jamestown’s record to 13-4 heading into this afternoon’s game, another nonleaguer, against Williamsville South, also at the “Mac.” And, without question, Miley wouldn’t mind a repeat of the way the Red & Green played in the final 20 minutes against the Sparks.

It truly was a team effort.

Jamestown’s Gavin Johnson reaches for a loose ball during Saturday’s nonleague boys basketball game at McElrath Gymnasium. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

“The last three or four minutes of the first half was really good, especially defensively,” Miley said. “I think we turned it up a little bit.”

Elijah Farmer led the way with 20 points, 15 rebounds and two assists; Dominic Gonzalez added 15 points to go along with three rebounds; Jericho Thagard finished with 12 points, five boards and four steals; and Gavin Johnson collected 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a pair of blocks.

Thagard was particularly impressive off the bench, especially in the final minutes of the third quarter when he sparked an 11-4 run, courtesy of a couple steals that led to layups as well as a hoop in transition. When combined with the Red & Green’s aforementioned 11-0 blitz to end the first half, it was too much for South Park (12-7) to overcome.

“That’s his role for us,” Miley said of Thagard. “He’s got to be that defensive sparkplug. He did a really good job today, and I think he picked his spots at the offensive end. It’s probably one of his best games of the year.”

In winning its last seven Erie County Interscholastic Conference Division 1 titles, Jamestown has posted an overall record of 82-21 during that span, including 51-13 under Miley, who is in his third season as varsity coach. The next couple of games figure to be a challenge, though.

Today’s matchup against Williamsville South (varsity tip is set for 4:30 p.m.) and Wednesday’s home game against Sweet Home (varsity tip is at 1:30 p.m.) should be good ones.

“It’s not going to be easy, the next two,” Miley said, “but hopefully they’ll get us ready for sectionals.”

Jamestown, which will be the No. 2 seed in Class AAA, will play No. 3 Niagara Falls in the semifinals at Buffalo State on Feb. 26 at a time to be announced. The winner advances to the title game, which is scheduled for 8 p.m. March 6, also at Buffalo State.

NOTES: Gonzalez (1,028) moved into 11th place on Jamestown’s all-time scoring list, passing Donn Johnston (1,021). … Jamestown shot 23 of 63 from the field compared to 18 of 45 for South Park, and the Red & Green also held a 36-26 rebounding advantage. … Justin Boykins led the Sparks with 16 points, Abdiel Medina added 12 and Julius Jackson chipped in 10. …The Red & Green junior varsity, behind 32 points from Sammy Garay and 21 from Blake Swanson, rolled to a 74-48 victory over South Park. Noah Gonzalez chipped in 12 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. … The Red & Green close out the regular season at Olean (7:30 p.m. varsity tip) on Thursday.

SOUTH PARK (47)

Medina 5 0 12, Jackson 3 4 10, Mohamed 1 0 2, Gonzalez 0 0 0, Spearson 1 0 2, Poetting 0 0 0, Cousins 0 0 0, Washington 0 0 0, Johnson 2 1 5, Perez 0 0 0, Boykins 6 1 16. Totals 18 6 47.

JAMESTOWN (65)

Farmer 9 2 20, Gonzalez 6 0 15, Johnson 4 0 10, Thagard 6 0 12, Barr 0 0 0, Braun 0 0 0, Salvaggio 1 0 3, Mims 0 0 0, Elardo 0 0 0, Spencer 0 0 0, KarMilne 2 1 5, KamMilne 0 0 0. Totals 28 3 65.

3-point goals–Medina 2, Boykins 3, Gonzalez 3, Johnson 2, Salvaggio.

South Park 10 5 17 15 — 47

Jamestown 10 19 22 14 — 65

Jayvees: Jamestown 74, South Park 48.