Jimtown High School

Jimmies fare well in action against South Bend St. Joe By Red Williams Freelance Sportswriter ELKHART – Overwhelming odds means digging deeper. Jimtown High School’s men’s basketball squad faced one of Indiana’s top teams Tuesday night and showed some progress, according to Coach Tyler Leighton. “I’m proud of their effort,” he said after the game, which was won by South Bend St. Joseph, 77-42. “After a dismal game last Friday against Riley, they responded well to our weaknesses and hung in there.” In fact, falling behind 13-4 after the first period, the Jimmies fought back in the next quarter and actually took the lead 19-18 with 1:28 left to the half. A 15-5 blitz against the Huskies made it a game. The rally started with a 3–point basket at the top of the key by sharp-shooter Dylan Fey. That was followed by excellent work in the lane by Branden King, scoring eight points, and single baskets by Javen Jackson, Ed Potter and Will Spurgeon. St. Joe reacted with a 6-0 spurt, to lead at the half by a slim three points, 24-21. “St. Joe is a tremendous team,” Leighton said. “They’re very athletic with great shooters and great rebounders.” The Huskies (10-1) played a suffocating defense, forcing the Jimmies into 31 turnovers, many of which led to easy baskets at the other end of the court.” Eric Gaff, head coach for St. Joe, thought Jimtown (5-4) “played us tough in the first half. They’ve got some excellent players in the starting five and good support off the bench.” As for his own team, Gaff said, “We’re going in the right direction. Getting the guys to play for one another is the important part.” Jimtown, now 5-4, was led by King with 12 points. “He had an excellent game,” Leighton said, “and anchored the middle of our zone defense. He showed some good decision-making with the ball.” Fey had nine for the Jimmies, who will travel to Knox Friday for an Indiana Northern State Conference contest. St. Joe was led by Chase Konieczny with 31 points. The Huskies will battle Riley on Friday. Score by quarter: SB St. Joe 13 9 32 21 - 77 Jimtown 4 20 8 10 - 42