By Anthony Gorges
JC Post
Girls recap
In a must-win game for the Junction City Lady Jays, they played like it early. The first quarter was back-and-forth, with JC leading 12-11 with 1:45 to play in the first. Emporia went on a run to end the quarter and led 16-12 after one.
Despite the Lady Jays' strong start their offense was stale the rest of the night. Emporia began flexing its muscles in the second quarter and led 26-15 at the half.
In the third quarter, neither team scored much, combining for eight points, but the Lady Spartans led by 15. In the fourth quarter, things got out of hand, and Emporia pulled away, winning 45-20.
Junction City finishes the regular season 1-19, with their only win from December over Lawrence Free State. The Lady Jays finished 17th in 6A West and did not make it into the Sub State bracket.
Boys recap
The first matchup between the Blue Jays and Spartans was an overtime thriller. Friday night's matchup started very similar, but this time a defensive battle, tied at six at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was much of the same, with neither team taking care of the basketball, and both teams stingy on defense. Junction City led 14-12 at halftime.
In the second half, shots for the Blue Jays began to fall, as they scored 15 points in the third quarter, compared to just 14 in the first two quarters combined. JC led 29-22 at the end of three. The Emporia Spartans began the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run, and cut the deficit to two, at 31-29. Junction City pulled away late, hitting free throws and continuing their strong defensive performance. The Blue Jays won 46-32 and swept Emporia on the season.
Junction City finished the regular season 13-7, and second in the Centennial League. The Blue Jays will host the first round of Sub State on Tuesday night at Blue Jay Event Center.
The official bracket will be released by KSHSAA later this weekend.