By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
Coming off a win over defending Class 6A state champion Wichita Heights, the Washburn Rural boys wanted to come out of winter break the same way they went in.
With 24 points in the fourth quarter, they were able to do just that, knocking off Junction City 64-58 in both teams' Centennial League opener.
“All league games are huge, especially with the league shrinking down, there’s not as many games so you really have to capitalize on the opportunities you get so it was good to hold serve at home,” said Rural coach Alex Hutchins, who earned his first Centennial League win as head coach.
Senior Jack Bachelor (center) scored 21 points to lead the way in Washburn Rural's 64-58 Centennial League win over Junction City. [Photo by Trevor Falcon/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural junior JC Heim drives to the basket in Tuesday's 64-58 Centennial League win over Junction City. [Photo by Trevor Falcon/Special to TSN]
Senior Jack Bachelor led the way for the Junior Blues, finishing with 21 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter.
Bachelor played lead guard in a team performance that coach Hutchins was pleased with in crunch time against an aggressive defense.
“I thought the guys did a pretty good job of handling pressure, I don’t know that we really turned it over too much against the press from Junction,” Hutchins said. “I was proud of the way we gutted it out and finished.”
Washburn Rural jumped out to a 7-0 lead early. After allowing a few shots inside the Junior Blues led 13-9 after the first quarter with six different Rural players entering the scoring column.
A three-point play from junior JC Heim put Rural up by nine in the second quarter before the offense went cold.
The Blue Jays finished the second period on an 11-0 run, and went into halftime leading 25-53.
Washburn Rural quickly took the lead in the third, on a top of the key three by Bachelor. The Junior Blues knocked down four triples in the third quarter to both re-take and maintain the lead. Rural led 40-35 heading into the fourth.
In the final quarter, Bachelor scored the first eight points for Washburn Rural, converting old-fashioned 3-point plays on back-to-back possessions.
“Jack did a great job of adjusting today … in the fourth quarter he did a good job of taking advantage of the space that the defense was giving him,” Hutchins said. “He’s done a good job all year of attacking off the bounce and getting into the paint and I think he did that tonight.”
Junction City kept it close by knocking down two 3-pointers in the final two minutes, but the lead never got smaller than four with Washburn Rural going 8-8 at the line down the stretch.
Both teams scored at least 23 points in the final quarter, with the Junior Blues escaping with a 64-58 win.
“I thought we really responded to start the second half, we opened the third quarter with a lot of energy,” Hutchins said. “It was a mixed bag, I don’t know that we played the smartest … (but I’m) overall pleased because usually the first game after Christmas break you don’t know what you’re gonna get.”
Bachelor’s 21 points paced both teams. Junior Griffin Durst and sophomore Max Bettis each had eight points in a balanced offensive effort.
Senior Sheldon Butler-Lawson ended with 12 points to lead Junction City, both senior Deontae Baker and sophomore Jackson Austin had nine.
Washburn Rural will play its first Centennial League road game on Friday against Hayden.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 64, JUNCTION CITY 58
Junction City: 9 16 10 23 -- 58
Washburn Rural: 13 10 17 24 -- 64
Junction City (4-3, 0-1) – D. Baker 2-6 4-4 9, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Antry 2-5 4-6 8, Austin 3-7 0-0 9, Jackson 3-3 1-4 7, Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Butler-Lawson 1-8 9-10 12, A. Baker 1-1 0-0 2, Boganowski 3-6 0-0 6, Turner 2-3 1-1 5. Totals 17-42 19-25 58.
Washburn Rural (4-2, 1-0) – Jones 2-3 3-6 7, Ballard 1-4 4-4 6, Morris 0-3 0-0 0, Hirschi 3-3 0-0 7, Bachelor 6-13 10-11 21, Durst 3-8 0-0 8, Heim 2-5 2-2 7, Bettis 3-5 0-0 8. Totals 20-44 20-24 64.
3-point goals – Junction City 5 (Austin 3, Butler-Lawson, D. Baker), Washburn Rural 6 (Durst 2, Bettis 2, Hirschi, Bachelor), Total fouls – Junction City 22, Washburn Rural 21. Fouled out – D. Baker). Technical foul – Bachelor.
