The Harvester Bees defeated the Suns last night in their first playoff match, 107-98, to advance to the NJCAA Division III South Central District Semifinals. They are now 18-13 overall.

“It was an up-and-down game,” DQuarius Burton said. “It was a team win though.”

Cedar Valley came out strong and gained an early lead of 19-13, but Eastfield rallied and pulled ahead before the end of the half to make 47-42.

Jayden Jackson went on a streak in the first half, scoring twice without interruption then passing the ball to Javen Hutton for an assist after a steal. Burton ended the half with 13 points.

“It starts with belief and with my teammates trusting me,” Burton said. “I wouldn’t have done any of that without my teammates.”

Eastfield returned after halftime and put up another 60 points to win without losing their lead. The team shot 41% from the floor with five Harvester Bees netting over 10 points.

Jackson led the team with 20 points and 5 steals. Vashney Wright III scored 18 points and hit five 3-pointers. Burton and Dezmon Dudley picked up 17 and 16 points, respectively, and 3 steals each.

“We got to tighten up little stuff,” Burton said. “Every game is gonna be a better game.”

Eastfield’s next game is at 8 p.m., Feb. 29 against Richland at North Lake.