Senior guard Deion Taylor (1) is fouled by Avion Blackwood, as he goes up for a score in Jefferson High School’s home game against Martinsburg High School on Feb. 15. David Pennock

SHENANDOAH JUNCTION — Up tempo. Up the defensive pressure. Up by 15 at halftime. Up near the close of a possible unbeaten regular season.

After stopping Martinsburg, 80-65, and Buckhannon, 69-48, last week in two home games, Jefferson carried an 18-0 record into this week’s close of the regular season.

Standing in the way of a season never seen before at Jefferson in the 50 years since the school opened in 1972 was a road game at Spring Mills on Wednesday and tonight’s finale in Shenandoah Junction versus Broadfording Academy from nearby Hagerstown.

The Cougars defeated Spring Mills, 85-42, in an earlier game and have yet to play Broadfording in this extraordinary season.

In beating Martinsburg a second time, Jefferson used its turnover-causing pressure defense to establish its usual run-run tempo and keep the Bulldogs off balance and trailing throughout.

Jefferson had a 66-47 lead after three periods and was never threatened in the fourth quarter.

Jaiden Gladney paced the scoring with his 23 points and was joined in double figures by Jamari Jenkins with 15 points, Daion Taylor with 13 points and Cam Johnson with 12 points.

In the 69-48 win over Buckhannon (9-11 overall), the Cougars already had a lengthy 25-11 lead after only one quarter of fast-paced play.

The Jefferson lead was 40-23 at the half and then 52-31 after the third quarter.

Even with Will Shively being able to play only 13 games this season, the Cougars still have five players averaging in double figures in scoring.

Cam Johnson leads the way with his 14-plus points per game. He’s followed by Jaiden Gladney, with his 13-plus points a game average and Jamari Jenkins with about 12 points a night. Daion Taylor has averaged over 11 points per outing and Will Shively over 10 points per game. Johnson, Will Shively and Bryson Fleming have been Jefferson’s leading rebounders — Johnson and Shively averaging over six rebounds and Fleming a little over five a game.

Lodging the loudest calls around the state to Jefferson’s No. 1 ranking among Class AAAA schools have been Morgantown, Parkersburg South (with only two losses), George Washington and South Charleston. Capital, University and Huntington are other teams that could win their way into the eight-team, big-school field at the Charleston-based state tournament coming up in March.

Jefferson will be the No. 1-seeded team in the local Sectional tournament where Musselman will host Washington in the first round. There are three schools in the Class AAAA Sectional.

An undefeated Jefferson regular season would be a first in school history.

And if Spring Mills falters again against the sometimes withering Jefferson pressure, and then Broadfording has no answers to the same sort of defensive treatment, the Cougars will be the lone unbeaten Class AAAA team in the state going into the postseason.