In a grind it out type of game the Junction City Blue Jays ( 4-5 ) relied on their defense to defeat the Washburn Rural Junior Blues ( 2-7 ) in basketball Friday night at the Shenk Gym by a score of 46-37.

Blue Jay coach Pat Battle felt the defense keyed the win. “Thirty-seven points, and they’ve got some explosive there. They’ve got some kids who flat shoot it, and I thought our kids did a good job of communicating, working, and arriving when the ball arrived. We really emphasize that.”

Senior Ricardo Erans led the Blue Jays with 17  points while Jenner Hickel had 14 for Washburn Rural.  It was the second consecutive win for Junction City, following a victory over Highland Park on Tuesday.

—

In the girls varsity game Washburn Rural ( 6-2 ) jumped out on top of Junction City ( 0-9 ) 27-18 at halftime, and then opened up a big lead in the third quarter enroute to a 65-53 victory over the Lady Jays. Junction City cut the final margin down considerably in the fourth quarter after training by 23 points at the end of the third quarter.

Kealee Rains scored 16 points for Junction City, while A’kia Fain and Ally Mckenzie both had 11 for the Lady Jays. Carly Bachelor led Washburn Rural with 21 points.