Jimtown High School

Hot-shooting Jimmies trim Prairie Heights, 63-52 By Red Williams Freelance Sportswriter ELKHART - They came out with their guns a-blazing and finished with a fusilade. Jimtown’s Jimmies started off their new basketball season Tuesday night (11.25.25) with a 63-52 victory over visiting Prairie Heights. Jackson Woolwine hit three straight treys in the first quarter, and Will Spurgeon added eight points as the Boys of Baugo took a seven-point lead, 22-15, at the horn. And in the fourth period nailed 10-of-12 from the free-throw line, as the Panthers were forced to foul in order to get the ball. (Woolwine was 6-for-6, and Spurgeon three out of four.) “We have some shooters,” boasted Jimmy Coach Ryan Varga, who was happy to get his first season at Jimtown off to a good start. “The first one is the toughest,” he said. A good crowd of several hundred were on hand for the season-opener for both schools. He was especially pleased with his team’s performance in the second half, after scoring just three points in the second quarter: “We settled in and took care of the ball. We were hunting touches in the paint, and that was a big boost.” Varga went with a smaller lineup in the third period, and his defense put the clamps on the Panthers. “They’re a good team and played us tough with their hard cuts and physicality,” he said. “They didn’t give up.” Prairie Heights (out of LaGrange) played the Jimmies nearly even in the third quarter, and actually took the lead that stanza, as the game went back-and-forth. But Spurgeon, who led all scorers with 24 points, rallied the Jimmies in the closing moments with a three from the corner, a layin and three charity tosses to give his team a 46-43 lead at the stop. The Panthers never regained the lead. The Jimmies stretched their lead in the final quarter while their stingy defense held PH to just nine points. Woolwine and Zander Whitaker each netted 15 for Jimtown and he and Tucker Sahlhoff led the rebounding effort with seven apiece. Baugo shot 41 percent for the game and 42 percent from the three-point arc, while the Panthers were 39 and 33, respectively. Jimtown also out-rebounded its guests 33-26. Cade Bachelor and Leo Hare led the scrappy Panthers with 14 points each and Jake Stoy garnered ten. The Jimmies also won the junior varsity contest, 38-22. Score by quarters: Prairie Hts 15 9 19 9 52 Jimtown 22 3 20 16 63 Officials: Trent Long (South Whitley), Kirk Robinson (Akron), Tim Smith (Mentone).