The Junction City Blue Jays ( 5-8 ) led by 12 points in the first half and by six in the fourth quarter, but were unable to put up any field goals in the closing minutes of a 61-59 loss to Shawnee Heights ( 8-4 ) at the Shenk Gym.

Aside from two free throws by T. J. Poole the Blue Jays did not score in the closing minutes. They were outscored 10-2 down the stretch.

In the final seconds the Blue Jays came down the court with a chance at one final shot but a drive to the basket by Ricardo Erans ended with a missed shot from under the basket, and Shawnee Heights held on for the win. Blue Jay coach Pat Battle said it was the right play call. “We had the right shot. We had the right kid with the ball in his hands there down the stretch. He took the ball to the basket.” He added a Shawnee Heights player caused some disruption for Erans on the final drive, causing the Erans to go underneath the basket.

Overall, Erans had an extremely good game, scoring 26 points and hitting four 3-point shots for Junction City. In the first half alone had 17 of Junction City’s 33 points.

Junction City plays at Topeka High next Friday.