“Defensively in the half court I think our guys really picked it up,” GFW head coach Ryan Jacobson said. “I think we started the game much flatter than I would have liked to see us start the game, but to their credit, our guys came out and kind of dialed in defensively and got after it and started to rebound the basketball. That led to some baskets, some easy ones in transition. That got us going and got a little energy into the gym.”

Both sides of the ball picked up in the second half as the Firebirds settled into the game.

“I just thought we started the game flat,” coach Jacobson said. “I don’t know if it was, I hate to say a Monday game or whatnot, but we didn’t start with a lot of energy and there wasn’t a lot of talk defensively. That was the whole focus at halftime was for us to talk and play together. If you’re a team, you’ve got to open your mouths, and that was a missing component that got a lot better in the second half. To our guys’ credit, they responded.”

Cole Jacobson led the way for GFW with 26 points, while Luke Bastian had 11 points and Kaden Rieke had 9 points. Brandon Long and Matthew Lee each added 8 points.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop’s Cole Jacobson fights through two BOLD defenders for a layup during a nonconference boys basketball game on Monday at GFW High School. Jacobson led the Firebirds in a 66-42 rout with 26 points.

GFW started off the game with an 11-4 lead, helped by several steals on the defensive end, including two by Rieke. The Firebirds continued to hold the lead with layups from Matthew Lee and Luke Bastian, but BOLD cut into the advantage with a 3-pointer from Derrick Bahl. A cutting Bastian scored to keep a hold of a 20-16 lead, and a 3-pointer from Cole Jacobson made it a 25-18 game.

BOLD fought back with a 6-0 run to keep it a 1-point game, but a layup from Long and a pair of free throws from Cole Jacobson extended the lead to 29-24 before halftime.

After a mid-range jumper from Bahl coming out of the second half for a 31-28 game, the Firebirds went on a tear, outscoring the Warriors 18-2, with Cole Jacobson scoring 9 points during the run with a 3-pointer and two converted and-ones. Up 49-30, GFW maintained the lead with a layup from Lee and a steal-and-score from Cole Jacobson before both teams had a parade to the free-throw line. Still, the Firebirds stayed ahead, and after a pair of putbacks from Long and Rieke and a 3 from Bastian, reserves entered the game with 1:39 to play.

GFW (3-1) plays at Minnesota Valley Lutheran on Tuesday in a nonconference game.