By Jackson Schneider
The Junction City Blue Jays Boys Basketball team fell to the Derby Panthers on Saturday night at Derby High School. The Blue Jays end their season in the 6A Sub-State Championship and finish with a record of 13-11 overall.
Game recap Derby 73, Junction City 61.
The two teams each traded early buckets to start a back and forth affair, with Junction City leading 4-2 in the opening minutes, but Derby would jolt ahead thanks to a trio of first quarter three pointers. Trailing 16-13 after the first quarter, and by as many as nine points early in the second period, the Blue Jays would answer back.
Jet Thompson knocked down three of his own shots from the outside in the second quarter to pull Junction City right back in the game. Thompson and Brody Boeckman would each lead Junction City’s offense in the first half with 11 points each, keeping the Blue Jays within three points, at 36-33 at halftime.
In the second half, Junction City’s Lovell Autry shook off his slow start by tallying the first four points of the third quarter and put the Blue Jays in the lead for the first time since the opening minutes. From there, the two teams would jostle for positioning once again, trading baskets but remaining within a possession of one another for the remainder of the quarter. Derby would keep its three point advantage at the end of the third, leading 49-46.
Autry, who scored just three first half points, would heat up when Junction City needed him most. The Senior scored a team-high 22 points in the contest. Scoring 19 of the Blue Jays 28 total after halftime.
Derby would use a quick run to extend its lead back out to nine points early in the fourth quarter, aided by the hot shooting of guard Greg Stiger, who would score 23 points in the game, but 18 of them in the second half, including nine points during the Panthers run that would eventually secure the win.
Additionally for Derby, Avant Riley would lead them in scoring overall with 25 points, while Cale Clingan added 14 points as well.
The Panthers would pull away for a double digit win despite the staunch effort of Junction City behind Autry, as well as Thompson’s 16 points.
With the win, Derby now advances to the 6A State Tournament.