The Junction City Blue Jay boys basketball team will compete in the McPherson Invitational Basketball Tournament January 21, 22, and 23.

Junction City, 3-5, will meet Derby, 4-3 in a first round game at 3 p.m. on Thursday the 21st. The other first round pairings include Lawrence Free State, 5-1 vs. Wichita North 3-5;  Blue Valley West, 3-3, against Wichita-Bishop Carroll, 4-4;  and McPherson, 7-1, vs. Shawnee Mission East, 1-7.

If the Blue Jays defeat Derby in their first round matchup they will advance to play the winner of Lawrence Free State – Wichita North. If the Blue Jays lose to Derby they would then play the loser of the Lawrence Free State – Wichita North game in the consolation semifinals.

This is the 52nd year for the McPherson Invitational. The tournament championship game is scheduled at 7 p.m. Saturday, January 23.

The Junction City Blue Jays ( 3-5, 1-3 Centennial League ) used an 18-4 run in the second quarter to speed them on their way to a 67-49 victory over Highland Park in Topeka Tuesday night.

In the first half Junction City got four 3-point baskets from T.J. Poole and another one from Ricardo Erans as the Blue Jays jumped out to a 41-19 halftime lead. Highland Park ( 5-3, 3-1 Centennial League ) made a run in the second half that cut the lead to 14, but that was as close as the Scots would get.

Poole led Junction City in scoring with 21 points, while post player Alonga Range had a huge game, finishing with 17 points. During a low scoring third quarter Range scored six of Junction City’s 10 points.

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In  the girls contest Junction City ( 0-8 ) led by 10 points at halftime but couldn’t hold the lead, and wound up losing to Highland Park ( 3-5 ) 48-46.

The Lady Scots scored 21 points in the third quarter compared to 10 for Junction City. In the closing minutes Junction City had opportunities to score more points on stick back shots off offensive rebounds, but came up just one bucket short.

Alana Kramer had 11 points and Ally McKenzie 10 points for Junction City.

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The Lady Jays and Blue Jays host Washburn Rural Friday night.

 

The Junction City Blue Jay boys and girls bowling teams both finished second in their respective brackets in a 26-team tournament in Wichita over the weekend.

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In wrestling Max Bazan of Junction City finished second and Kamari Smith fourth in their weight classes at the Salina South Invitational.

The Blue Jay wrestling team competes in a two-day tournament in Newton Friday and Saturday.

The Shawnee Heights Thunderbirds ( 4-2 ) overcame a 6-point first half deficit enroute to a 65-55 win over the Junction City Blue Jay ( 2-5 ) boys basketball team.

Blue Jay coach Pat Battle noted the Thunderbirds hit some shots in the second quarter, the Blue Jays had a few missed block outs, seemed to be behind in the foul count in both halves, and Shawnee Heights shot free throws better than Junction City.

Battle noted to win his team would have needed to make some shots that they normally hit. ” But he also added, “It’s probably the best night we’ve had executing to tell you the truth.”

T. J. Poole led the Blue Jays with 21 points.

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The Junction City Lady Jays ( 0-7 )  ran into an undefeated Shawnee Heights squad Friday night in the Thunderbirds gym.

The Lady Jays fell 64-36.

Shawnee Heights ( 6-0 )jumped out to a 17-7 first quarter lead and never trailed.

The Thunderbirds got 18 points from their post player, Jazz Sweet. Junction City was led by Ally McKenzie with 10.

 

The Junction City Lady Jays ( 0-6 ) trailed by as much as 13 points in the first quarter, but rallied to lead by four in the third quarter.

The Topeka High Trojans ( 3-2 ) were too powerful in the fourth quarter, however. Led by 12 points from post player Erica Birch, Topeka High went on to defeat the Lady Jays in basketball at the Shenk Gym 59-54.

Junction City coach Derek Petty noted in the fourth quarter his team might have gotten a little tired or lost focus. “It’s a position they’re not used to being in and didn’t think some things through, and made a few mistakes here and there.”

Junction City plays at Shawnee Heights Friday night.

The Topeka High Trojans  ( 3-3 ) rallied from a 12-point first half deficit and went on to defeat the Junction City Blue Jays ( 2-4 ) 76-57 in boys basketball at the Shenk Gym.

Junction City led 29-27 at halftime, but the Trojans outscored the Blue Jays 49-27 in the second half. Blue Jay coach Pat Battle says the problems started for Junction City long before the third quarter. “It started with bad turnovers, not taking care of the ball in the second. We had a pretty decent lead that we blew.”

Battle credited Topeka High for hitting some shots, noting the Trojans shot the ball well in the game. “We’ve got to do a better job of handling ball screens.”

Junction City plays at Shawnee Heights Friday night.

The Tuesday night boys and girls high school basketball schedule finds:

–Junction City hosting Topeka High

–Seaman at Manhattan

–Abilene visits Chapman

–Topeka West visiting Emporia

–Riley County at Rock Creek

–Council Grove hosting Mission Valley

–Chase County at Herington

–Blue Valley Randolph hosting Washington County

–Clay Center travels to Concordia

–Marysville hosts Falls City, Nebraska

–Little River goes to Rural Vista

–and Wakefield plays at Elyria

 

The Junction City Blue Jay wrestling team finished tenth out of 14 teams at the Emporia Winter Classic on Saturday. Washburn Rural captured the team title with 197  points.

Highlights for Junction City included a first place finish by Max Bazan at 113 pounds. He brought home 24 points for the team with his finish.

Kamari Smith finished fourth at 152 pounds,  Jeffery Walters fifth at 220 pounds, and Terrance Adeley sixth at 182, and Tanner Bogenhagen sixth at 120 pounds.

Team Scores:

Washburn Rural 197

Maize                    160

Liberal                  144

Hutchinson           139

Pittsburg               132

Turner                   109

Basehor-Linwood 103

Lansing                     84

Emporia                    81

Junction City            71

Eisenhower               66

Wichita East              61

Topeka High              47

Chase County             23

 

 

Kansas Prep Scores
Friday’s Scores
By The Associated Press
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Abilene 67, Concordia 53
Andale 63, Circle 37
Anderson County 46, Osawatomie 41
Andover Central 64, Valley Center 52
Attica 57, Oxford 27
Beloit 55, Ellsworth 37
Blue Springs South, Mo. 71, McPherson 70
Bonner Springs 78, KC Piper 71, OT
Buhler 63, Augusta 58
Caldwell 54, Udall 31
Canton-Galva 74, Burrton 61
Centralia 63, Linn 35
Chanute 63, Fort Scott 35, OT
Cimarron 65, Elkhart 39
Conway Springs 52, Cheney 48
Derby 57, Hutchinson 47
Ellis 48, Ellinwood 38
Erie 46, Oswego 42
Goddard 57, Newton 38
Goddard-Eisenhower 51, Dodge City 49
Great Bend 49, Andover 47
Hesston 55, Kingman 28
Highland Park 68, Topeka West 58
Hoxie 72, Rawlins County 25
Hugoton 47, Scott City 43
Independence 69, Pittsburg 66
Inman 56, Hutchinson Central Christian 51
Jefferson West 66, Atchison County 33
Kapaun Mount Carmel 71, Wichita Northwest 67
Larned 55, Lyons 39
Liberal 46, Perryton, Texas 27
Lincoln 52, Wilson 28
Little River 43, Ell-Saline 38
Logan 50, Palco 41
Maize 51, Wichita Campus 39
Maize South 55, Arkansas City 52
Manhattan 78, Junction City 64
Marysville 69, Chapman 60
Meade 70, Wichita County 47
Nemaha Central 61, Perry-Lecompton 35
Ness City 62, Kinsley 20
Osage City 79, Chase County 22
Osborne 58, Tescott 41
Paola 62, Spring Hill 55, OT
Parsons 65, Labette County 56
Quinter 55, Greeley County 37
Riverside 52, Holton 50
Rock Creek 64, Wabaunsee 37
Rose Hill 53, Winfield 42
Royal Valley 52, Santa Fe Trail 43
Sabetha 41, Hiawatha 36
Salina Sacred Heart 77, Minneapolis 49
Salina South 56, Salina Central 52
Sedan 67, Cedar Vale/Dexter 23
Shawnee Heights 50, Washburn Rural 48
Smoky Valley 48, Halstead 46
Solomon 56, Elyria Christian 41
St. John’s Beloit-Tipton 53, Rock Hills 30
St. Thomas Aquinas 54, Rock Bridge, Mo. 46
Stockton 45, Plainville 42
Topeka 67, Emporia 60, OT
Topeka Seaman 57, Topeka Hayden 49
Triplains-Brewster 62, Healy 28
Ulysses 57, Goodland 42
Wallace County 56, Dighton 26
Wellington 92, Mulvane 65
West Elk 70, Central Burden 38
Wichita Collegiate 59, Clearwater 40
Wichita East 72, Wichita South 67
Wichita Independent 78, Bluestem 18
Wichita Southeast 60, Wichita Bishop Carroll 50
Wichita Trinity 61, Douglass 49

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Abilene 70, Concordia 54
Andover Central 53, Valley Center 52
Arkansas City 63, Maize South 51
Attica 65, Oxford 34
Augusta 49, Buhler 38
Beloit 63, Ellsworth 36
Berean Academy 48, Peabody-Burns 11
Blue Valley Southwest 49, Gardner-Edgerton 48
Burlington 58, Fredonia 54
Caldwell 51, Udall 32
Caney Valley 57, Dewey, Okla. 27
Centralia 57, Linn 28
Chanute 59, Fort Scott 35
Chase County 75, Osage City 23
Cimarron 57, Elkhart 35
Circle 45, Andale 36
Clay Center 46, Wamego 29
Conway Springs 37, Cheney 33
Council Grove 59, West Franklin 33
Derby 47, Hutchinson 28
DeSoto 44, Ottawa 37
Douglass 47, Wichita Trinity 37
Dundy County-Stratton, Neb. 70, St. Francis 26
Ellis 56, Ellinwood 36
Elyria Christian 48, Solomon 43
Emporia 44, Topeka 27
Glasco/Miltonvale-Southern Cloud 46, Bennington 39
Goddard-Eisenhower 52, Dodge City 51
Goessel 60, Rural Vista 15
Golden Plains 48, Weskan 25
Goodland 41, Ulysses 28
Great Bend 62, Andover 52
Halstead 35, Smoky Valley 25
Hanover 59, Onaga 17
Hartford 49, Burlingame 35
Hays-TMP-Marian 63, Oakley 39
Hesston 42, Kingman 39
Highland Park 52, Topeka West 32
Hill City 72, Phillipsburg 41
Holcomb 33, Colby 29
Holton 58, Riverside 17
Hoxie 73, Rawlins County 36
Hugoton 63, Scott City 27
Inman 29, Hutchinson Central Christian 26
Jefferson West 48, Atchison County 19
KC Piper 48, Bonner Springs 37
Kinsley 51, Ness City 35
Kiowa County 44, Bucklin 29
Labette County 59, Parsons 32
Lakeside 54, Chase 26
Lakin 47, Johnson-Stanton County 38
Lawrence 49, Lawrence Free State 48
Liberal 48, Perryton, Texas 46
Lincoln 38, Wilson 36
Little River 34, Ell-Saline 33
Logan 42, Palco 13
Lyons 47, Larned 36
Madison/Hamilton 57, Lebo 47
Maize 67, Wichita Campus 40
Manhattan 63, Junction City 27
McPherson 44, Lee’s Summit North, Mo. 41
Meade 61, Wichita County 19
Minneapolis 58, Salina Sacred Heart 28
Minneola 51, Pawnee Heights 16
Moundridge 61, Pretty Prairie 22
Nemaha Central 46, Perry-Lecompton 20
Neodesha 48, Humboldt 37
Newton 36, Goddard 31
Norton 32, Smith Center 19
Norwich 50, South Haven 19
Olathe East 43, Blue Valley Stillwell 28
Osborne 44, Tescott 25
Oswego 39, Erie 25
Paola 53, Spring Hill 27
Pike Valley 44, Sylvan-Lucas 36
Pleasant Ridge 56, McLouth 21
Republic County 30, Russell 28
Rose Hill 48, Winfield 31
Rossville 62, Frankfort 38
Royal Valley 54, Santa Fe Trail 30
Sabetha 57, Hiawatha 28
Salina Central 55, Salina South 25
Sedan 64, Cedar Vale/Dexter 13
Shawnee Heights 44, Washburn Rural 38
Silver Lake 56, St. Mary’s 14
SM Northwest 74, Eudora 27
South Barber 56, Argonia 26
South Central 66, Hodgeman County 28
St. John’s Beloit-Tipton 56, Rock Hills 16
St. Paul 51, Riverton 21
Sterling 66, Nickerson 25
Stockton 70, Plainville 40
Sublette 48, Satanta 44
Thunder Ridge 67, Natoma 29
Tonganoxie 55, Basehor-Linwood 47
Topeka Hayden 54, Topeka Seaman 25
Trego 43, Oberlin-Decatur 30
Triplains-Brewster 43, Healy 9
Valley Falls 49, Jefferson North 18
Valley Heights 57, Doniphan West 43
Wabaunsee 44, Rock Creek 35
Wakefield 46, Centre 43
Washington County 75, Wetmore 50
Wellington 67, Mulvane 32
Wellsville 42, Central Heights 30
Wheatland-Grinnell 45, Northern Valley 41
Wichita Bishop Carroll 79, Wichita Southeast 26
Wichita Collegiate 39, Clearwater 34
Wichita Independent 55, Bluestem 25
Wichita North 38, Wichita West 35
Wichita South 54, Wichita East 7

The Manhattan Indians ( 5-0 ) withstood a second half rally by the Junction City Blue Jays to win 78-64 in the Shenk Gym Friday night.

The Blue Jays ( 2-3 ) trailed throughout the game, but rallied from 14 down to within four in the closing moments of the third quarter, and then stole the ball. But on a two-on-on break following the steal the Blue Jays could not score, and then missed two free throws after Manhattan fouled on the play. Junction City would get no closer.

The Indians surged early in the fourth quarter, and reclaimed control enroute to the victory. Manhattan outscored Junction City in the final quarter 28-18.

Blue Jay coach Pat Battle noted his team missed a lot of free throws in the fourth quarter, but he also praised their play earlier.

Battle stated Manhattan is a very good team. “They came out and hit us in the mouth right there in the first five minutes of the game. And our kids settled down and they really battled right all the way up to the end of the third. Some unfortunate things, we didn’t shoot our free throws very well for a stretch. Then we turned around and didn’t defend. We got down on ourselves, and then we’re pressing and we just can’t do that.”

T. J. Poole had 30 points for Junction City while Ricardo Erans had 17. Manhattan finished with five players scoring in double figures. Tommy Eckhart scored 19 point, Gabe Awbrey  18, Tref Hudgins 16, while Cade Roberts and Grant Munsen both had 10.

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In the girls game Manhattan ( 5-0 ) jumped out to an 18-7 lead and never trailed enroute to a 63-27 win over Junction City.

Gigi McAtee led the way 12 points, followed by Kennedy Wilson with 11, and Madison Mitte 10 point.

Junction City ( 0-5 ) stayed within striking distance until late in the third quarter, and then in the fourth quarter MHS outscored Junction City 20-0.

The boys and girls basketball teams have reached the holiday break. They do not play again until January.