The Junction City Lady Jay girls basketball team ran up against a strong Emporia squad Friday night.

Emporia ( 11-7 ) defeated Junction City ( 3-15 ) 59-33.

Akia Fain turned in a strong game for the Lady Jays with 19 points.

Junction City hosts Manhattan Tuesday.

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Blue Jay wrestlers compete in the Class 6A Regional Tournament Saturday ( Feb. 21 ) at the Wichita Northeast Magnet School.

The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to the state tournament.

The Blue Jays figure to compete well after winning the Centennial League title two weeks ago.

You can get updates on the tournament beginning at 8:43 a.m. and continuing through the day on Saturday on KJCK AM, The Talk of JC. Kevin Griffith and Mike Goodwin will be covering the tournament and providing reports on The Talk of JC.

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The Junction City Blue Jay boys bowling team finished second in the Centennial League Tournament this week, while the Lady Jay bowling team finished fourth.

Junction City will host a quadrangular Tuesday at 3 p.m. at JC Bowl.

 

The Junction City Blue Jays were SPECIAL in the fourth quarter Friday night in Emporia.

Junction City trailed 41-24 after three quarters, and appeared on the way to defeat. But when the final period began the Blue Jays began one of their biggest rallies in years. They battled back to defeat the Spartans 53-50!

Junction City scored more points in the fourth quarter alone, than they did in the rest of the game….29 in the fourth compared to 24  in the first three periods combined. The Blue Jays repeatedly stole the ball and forced Emporia turnovers with a tenacious full court, pressing, trapping defense, good rebounding, and in that final eight minutes bulls eye shooting. Junction City hit three 3-point baskets, had seven players score, and went 10-12 at the free throw line..

After a series of close losses this season it was an emotional victory for this Junction City team.

Blue Jay coach Pat Battle praised the effort of his team, noting they did not give up. It was an exciting win for the players.  But the coach admitted it was for him as well. “Borderline emotional…well no totally emotional. ”

Defense keyed the comeback for Junction City. Battle started calling timeouts to set his team’s defense early in the fourth quarter. The Blue Jays used a man to man defense…full court. “Mixed up our presses. We ran some full court diamond, then we ran some man trap, then we ran some 1-2-2 stuff, we did a variety of things. I think that kind of confused them. ”

Junction City ( 5-13 ) snapped a five game losing streak with the win, with four of the five losses during that streak coming by three points or less. Emporia ( 9-9 ) was led by John Williams with 25 points. Ricardo Erans led the Blue Jays with 11 points and Tanner Lueker had 10,  with nine of those points coming in the fourth quarter.

The Blue Jays host Manhattan Tuesday night.

AP-KS–Kansas Prep Scores
Friday’s Scores
By The Associated Press
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Abilene 66, Clay Center 56
Andale 46, Clearwater 27
Andover Central 58, Goddard 38
Argonia 59, Central Burden 47
Ashland 45, Hodgeman County 29
Atchison 78, KC Harmon 64
Barstow, Mo. 89, Maranatha Academy 34
Basehor-Linwood 65, Lansing 53
Bishop Miege 48, Blue Valley Stillwell 29
Blue Valley Southwest 70, BV North 59
Bluestem 86, Belle Plaine 58
Bonner Springs 73, KC Bishop Ward 49
Buhler 64, Rose Hill 41
Burlington 66, Neodesha 48
BV West 56, BV Northwest 46
Caldwell 64, Flinthills 28
Canton-Galva 71, Goessel 47
Central Plains 65, Kinsley 20
Centralia 65, St. Mary’s 52
Chaparral 33, Garden Plain 31
Chapman 73, Marysville 71, 2OT
Chase County 74, Centre 68
Cheney 70, Douglass 19
Circle 52, Mulvane 47
Coffeyville 58, Chanute 51
Conway Springs 51, Medicine Lodge 37
Derby 62, Newton 51
Dighton 66, Rawlins County 32
Ellsworth 43, Lincoln 41
Eureka 77, Cherryvale 37
Flint Hills Job Corps 67, St. John’s Military 49
Fort Scott 73, Pittsburg 53
Frontenac 71, Southeast 51
Galena 45, Pittsburg Colgan 34
Gardner-Edgerton 55, St. Thomas Aquinas 47
Girard 56, Riverton 53
Greeley County 65, St. Francis 54
Hanover 69, Doniphan West 54
Haven 64, Larned 49
Hays 47, Garden City 39
Hays-TMP-Marian 45, Stockton 29

Heritage Christian 75 St. Xavier 27
Hesston 58, Hillsboro 28
Hiawatha 58, Atchison County 22
Hill City 48, Plainville 43
Hoisington 51, Halstead 45
Holcomb 72, Goodland 29
Holton 68, Nemaha Central 58
Horton 55, Pleasant Ridge 45
Hugoton 71, Colby 46
Hutchinson Central Christian 76, Pratt Skyline 39
Independence 62, Parsons 56, OT
Inman 55, Little River 47
Junction City 53, Emporia 50
Labette County 69, Augusta 54
Lakeside 52, Natoma 28
Lakin 60, Syracuse 41
Lawrence 79, Olathe North 51
Lyndon 60, Madison 32
Maize 72, Salina South 46
Maize South 76, Andover 61
Manhattan 56, Topeka Hayden 54
McPherson 62, Hutchinson 37
Meade 75, Johnson-Stanton County 38
Minneapolis 76, Beloit 60
Moundridge 57, Peabody-Burns 43
Nickerson 57, Lyons 36
Northeast-Arma 66, Uniontown 31
Northern Heights 41, Hartford 40
Oberlin-Decatur 80, Quinter 68
Olathe East 52, Lawrence Free State 44
Olathe South 54, Olathe Northwest 51
Onaga 56, Blue Valley Stillwell 31
Osawatomie 52, Central Heights 34
Osborne 61, Chase 35
Otis-Bison 48, Ellinwood 44
Ottawa 71, Baldwin 27
Paola 54, DeSoto 32
Pike Valley 71, Wilson 48
Pratt 76, Smoky Valley 63
Pretty Prairie 57, Cunningham 53
Riley County 77, Rossville 71, OT
Rock Creek 55, Silver Lake 32
Rock Hills 68, Thunder Ridge 45
Sabetha 61, Royal Valley 37
Salina Central 45, Wichita Campus 31
Salina Sacred Heart 48, Republic County 37
Scott City 76, Ulysses 49
Sedan 49, Oxford 37
Sedgwick 64, Ell-Saline 49
Shawnee Heights 60, Washburn Rural 53
SM East 69, Leavenworth 36
SM South 80, SM North 75
SM West 51, SM Northwest 36
Smith Center 65, Phillipsburg 60
Solomon 53, Bennington 50
South Barber 73, Burrton 52
South Gray 82, Kiowa County 65
Southwestern Hts. 51, Elkhart 39
Spearville 52, South Central 41
Spring Hill 57, Louisburg 47
St. John 86, Macksville 27
St. John’s Beloit-Tipton 55, Sylvan-Lucas 41
Sterling 59, Kingman 56
Tonganoxie 59, KC Turner 27
Topeka 65, Topeka West 61
Topeka Seaman 64, Highland Park 54
Triplains-Brewster 50, Palco 32
Troy 66, Axtell 56
Valley Center 49, Goddard-Eisenhower 46
Valley Falls 53, Immaculata 42
Valley Heights 86, Cair Paravel 67
Veritas Christian 45, Marais des Cygnes Valley 37
Victoria 59, Ness City 52
Wabaunsee 63, Herington 49
Wakefield 45, Linn 32
Wallace County 84, Wichita County 44
Wamego 76, Concordia 64
Washington County 66, Frankfort 37
Wellsville 62, Santa Fe Trail 51
West Elk 61, South Haven 32
West Franklin 47, Burlingame 43
Wetmore 53, Clifton-Clyde 35
Wheatland-Grinnell 61, Golden Plains 26
Wichita Collegiate 57, Wellington 54
Wichita East 42, Kapaun Mount Carmel 40
Wichita Heights 60, Wichita Southeast 51
Wichita North 77, Wichita Northwest 73
Wichita South 66, Wichita West 39
Wichita Trinity 68, Wichita Independent 44
Winfield 67, Arkansas City 53
POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Riverside vs. Jefferson West, ppd.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Abilene 40, Clay Center 27
Andale 39, Clearwater 11
Andover 52, Maize South 49
Andover Central 58, Goddard 45
Attica 57, Stafford 15
Axtell 48, Troy 34
Barstow, Mo. 58, Maranatha Academy 42
Belle Plaine 41, Bluestem 33
Beloit 55, Minneapolis 49
Bennington 45, Solomon 43
Bishop Miege 57, Blue Valley Stillwell 43
Blue Valley Southwest 47, BV North 46
Bonner Springs 60, KC Bishop Ward 43
Bucklin 71, Satanta 67
Buhler 64, Rose Hill 41
Burlington 43, Neodesha 30
BV Northwest 50, BV West 38
BV Randolph 65, Onaga 32
Cair Paravel 55, Valley Heights 42
Caldwell 38, Flinthills 24
Caney Valley 61, Erie 28
Central Burden 45, Attica/Argonia 35
Central Heights 42, Osawatomie 19
Central Plains 73, Kinsley 35
Centralia 60, St. Mary’s 42
Chanute 45, Coffeyville 41
Chase 38, Osborne 35
Chase County 58, Centre 38
Cheylin 58, Healy 17
Circle 35, Mulvane 28
Columbus 51, Baxter Springs 39
Conway Springs 42, Medicine Lodge 32
Cunningham 29, Pretty Prairie 17
Dighton 66, Rawlins County 21
Dodge City 50, Great Bend 43
Douglass 44, Cheney 34
Ellinwood 73, Otis-Bison 45
Ellsworth 52, Lincoln 50
Emporia 59, Junction City 33
Eureka 49, Cherryvale 45
Frontenac 51, Southeast 20
Garden City 47, Hays 30
Garden Plain 62, Chaparral 23
Girard 70, Riverton 31
Glasco/Miltonvale-Southern Cloud 42, Tescott 18
Goessel 53, Canton-Galva 41
Halstead 41, Hoisington 40
Hanover 39, Doniphan West 25
Hays-TMP-Marian 70, Stockton 52

Heritage Christian 58 St. Xavier 21
Hesston 54, Hillsboro 28
Hiawatha 44, Atchison County 32
Hill City 44, Plainville 28
Holcomb 55, Goodland 52
Hugoton 76, Colby 22
Hutchinson Central Christian 52, Pratt Skyline 27
Independence 53, Parsons 33
Inman 52, Little River 15
Kapaun Mount Carmel 59, Wichita East 44
KC Harmon 51, Atchison 19
KC Sumner 63, KC Washington 27
Labette County 52, Augusta 39
Lakin 48, Syracuse 29
Lansing 36, Basehor-Linwood 25
Lawrence 52, Olathe North 43
Lawrence Free State 49, Olathe East 43
Leavenworth 68, SM East 17
Lebo 46, Southern Coffey 26
Linn 63, Wakefield 32
Logan 46, Western Plains 26
Louisburg 52, Spring Hill 36
Madison 66, Lyndon 64
Maize 56, Salina South 28
Marysville 57, Chapman 44
Maur Hill – Mount Academy 50, Jefferson North 25
McPherson 46, Hutchinson 36
Meade 64, Johnson-Stanton County 43
Mill Valley 63, KC Piper 50
Moundridge 70, Peabody-Burns 21
Natoma 41, Lakeside 40
Nemaha Central 40, Holton 23
Newton 50, Derby 39
Northeast-Arma 53, Uniontown 41
Northern Heights 56, Hartford 30
Norwich 58, Fairfield 33
Oberlin-Decatur 44, Quinter 36
Olathe South 63, Olathe Northwest 30
Ottawa 41, Baldwin 39
Paola 47, DeSoto 29
Phillipsburg 35, Smith Center 28
Pike Valley 45, Wilson 33
Pittsburg 45, Fort Scott 29
Pittsburg Colgan 41, Galena 24
Pleasant Ridge 42, Horton 34
Pratt 55, Smoky Valley 23
Remington 46, Olpe 37
Republic County 44, Salina Sacred Heart 15
Rossville 49, Riley County 45
Sabetha 66, Royal Valley 46
Salina Central 51, Wichita Campus 40
Sedan 46, Oxford 22
Sedgwick 41, Ell-Saline 25
Silver Lake 48, Rock Creek 31
SM Northwest 47, SM West 41
SM South 54, SM North 39
South Barber 61, Burrton 27
South Gray 45, Kiowa County 44
South Haven 51, West Elk 16
Southwestern Hts. 47, Elkhart 45
Spearville 55, South Central 40
St. Francis 47, Greeley County 45
St. John’s Beloit 63, Sylvan-Lucas 42
St. Paul 55, Metro Academy 38
St. Thomas Aquinas 49, Gardner-Edgerton 27
Sterling 56, Kingman 53
Thunder Ridge 60, Rock Hills 15
Tonganoxie 59, KC Turner 26
Topeka 55, Topeka West 37
Topeka Hayden 58, Manhattan 52
Topeka Seaman 50, Highland Park 29
Triplains-Brewster 52, Palco 31
Ulysses 60, Scott City 27
Valley Center 50, Goddard-Eisenhower 46
Valley Falls 54, Immaculata 29
Van Horn, Mo. 46, KC Christian 31
Victoria 54, Ness City 47
Wabaunsee 50, Herington 18
Wamego 76, Concordia 64
Washburn Rural 61, Shawnee Heights 39
Washington County 54, Frankfort 27
Wellington 49, Wichita Collegiate 37
Wellsville 62, Santa Fe Trail 33
West Franklin 31, Burlingame 27
Wetmore 52, Clifton-Clyde 28
Wheatland-Grinnell 49, Golden Plains 44
Wichita County 48, Wallace County 20
Wichita North 45, Wichita Northwest 31
Wichita South 77, Wichita West 14
Wichita Trinity 52, Wichita Independent 48
Winfield 56, Arkansas City 46
POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Mission Valley vs. White City, ppd. to Feb 24.
Riverside vs. Jefferson West, ppd.

NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball is making some changes to speed up the length of games but it won’t implement some of the more radical proposals to make game shorter.

The league and the players’ union announced an agreement Friday to enforce the rule requiring a hitter to keep at least one foot in the batter’s box in most cases. MLB also will post stadium clocks timing pitching changes and between-inning breaks.

MLB did not institute many of the ideas experimented with during the Arizona Fall League, such as a 20-second clock between pitches, a limitation of pitcher’s mound conferences involving catchers and managers, and no-pitch intentional walks. Penalties for violating the new rules start May 1 and will involve only fines. In the AFL, strikes and balls were called against violators.

There will be a pancake feed matching fundraiser by the Junction City Junior Baseball Association and Modern Woodmen of America Saturday ( Feb. 21 ) from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Knights of Columbus, 126 West 7th Street.

The cost is $5 per ticket.

 

Joe Miller hit a shot which put Topeka Seaman ( 8-9 ) up 62-60  in the late going  Wednesday night against the Junction City Blue Jays at the Shenk Gym.

Junction City called timeout with 8.7 seconds remaining and set up a play. The Blue Jays got the shot they wanted but a three-point attempt from the left corner did not go in and the Vikings held on for the two-point win….62-60.

Miller, one of the top players in the Centennial League scored 20 points to lead all scorers in the game.

Blue Jay coach Pat Battle noted his kids played hard. “We defended it well the last play where they got the basket that won the game, played that perfectly. You’re talking about though, when it gets down to it, you got a guy that’s going to Central Missouri State on a full ride scholarship. They’re defending ( NCAA Division )  Two national champions. He’s a good player.”

Ricardo Erans led Junction City with 16 points.

Junction City ( 4-13 ) plays at Emporia Friday night.

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In girls basketball Seaman took the lead early and never trailed enroute to a 47-31 win over Junction City.

Kealee Rains led Junction City with 10 points, while Seaman got 16 points from Tatyana Legette.

The Lady Jays ( 3-14 ) will also play at Emporia Friday night.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Chiefs coach Andy Reid vowed Wednesday that he will be ready for the start of the season despite needing a cane to get around the scouting combine following knee replacement surgery.

Reid skipped attending the Senior Bowl because of the procedure, which occurred after the Chiefs finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs. He joked that he “won’t be starting on PUP” – the physically unable to perform list for players that are recovering from injuries.

“I’ll be ready to go,” the Chiefs coach said.

Reid is entering his third year in Kansas City. But the team he takes to the field this fall figures to be much different than the one he inherited. The Chiefs have numerous holes to fill through free agency and the draft, and the combine is one step in that process.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Big 12 has announced its conference-wide policy for the diagnosis of concussions and managing the care of all student-athletes.

The policy, revealed Wednesday, was developed by team athletic trainers, physicians and medical support staff.

Big 12 members will be required to follow the NCAA’s 2014 consensus guidelines for concussion diagnosis and management. Each school will have on file a concussion management plan directed by a team physician with specific protocol for evaluation and management of a concussion.

Commissioner Bob Bowlsby says the Big 12 policy goes beyond what was approved during recent NCAA meetings on autonomy for the largest conferences.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — First baseman Eric Hosmer and the Kansas City Royals avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $13.9 million, two-year contract.

Hosmer gets $5.65 million this year under Wednesday’s agreement and $8.25 million in 2016.

The 25-year-old hit .270 for the AL champions with 35 doubles, nine homers and 58 RBIs. He won his second straight Gold Glove.

He made $3.6 million last year and had asked for $6.7 million when the sides exchanged proposed arbitration salaries last month. The Royals had offered $4.6 million.

Kansas City has not gone to a hearing since Dayton Moore became general manager in 2006.

 

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – Chris Washburn scored 17 points and TCU beat Kansas State 69-55 on Wednesday night, giving the Horned Frogs consecutive Big 12 victories for the first time since joining the league.

TCU (16-10, 3-10 Big 12) never trailed in the game, but had to hold on after building a 35-15 halftime lead that was bolstered by a 19-0 run over the final 7 1/2 minutes before the break.

This is the third Big 12 season for the Horned Frogs, who went 0-18 in league play a season ago after a 2-16 debut in 2013. They were coming off a 70-55 home win over No. 22 Oklahoma State four days earlier.

Kansas State (13-14, 6-8) scored 11 consecutive points in less than two minutes early in the second half. The Wildcats got as close as 41-35 when Nino Williams made a free throw after a technical foul against TCU with 11:52 left.