Jimtown High School

By Red Williams Freelance Sportswriter ELKHART – Saint George would have relished the on-court action on Saturday night (2.22.25) at Jimtown. The renowned dragon-slayer would surely quote, “Slaying a dragon is not an easy task.” The Jimtown men’s basketball squad had to agree. The Jimmies used some late game heroics in dispatching the Argos Dragons, 48-44, in overtime before an enthusiastic crowd at Cook Court. The Boys of Baugo nailed six free-throws in the extra period. And their defense held Argos to a single basket during those four minutes, deploying a swarming half-court zone press. “Our half-court trap in the second half changed the momentum of the game,” said Jimmy Head Coach Tyler Leighton. “We had just enough to win.” Jimtown raised its season record to 11-10, with one game remaining in the regular schedule: Elkhart comes calling Tuesday night (2.25.25). Argos is now 4-17, but the Dragons seemed far better than their record would indicate. “Argos put forth a good effort,” Leighton said, “and played hard. We had trouble with their defense.” The Dragons coach, Nick Kindig, said he was pleased with that defensive effort. “We’ve been placing a lot of emphasis on defense. Our goal was to hold Jimtown under 50, and we accomplished that. Our defense was solid. “Jimtown’s a really good team,” he added. “One of the better teams we had to play this year.” The Dragons’ defense held Jimtown to two points in the first quarter, while they cashed in on three triple-pointers and a free-throw for a 10-2 lead. The Jimmies offense finally found some rhythm in the second period to narrow the Argos lead to 14-12 with 2:15 to play to the half. Jimtown eked out a 24-24 tie with 3:31 left in the third period, but the Dragons responded with an 11-4 run to take a seven-point lead into the fourth stanza, 35-28. Then the Jimmies tightened the defensive screws while the turned up the offensive heat and finally gained the lead, 42-40, at the 1:48 mark on an 18-foot jump shot by Branden King. Argos forced the game into overtime at 1:09 on a 10-footer by Luke Stults. The Dragons worked in OT to find the 6-foot-5 Stults in the lane during OT, but Jimtown’s collapsing zone hemmed him in repeatedly, and he could never get a clean shot. He led all scorers with 21. After the Jimmies took the lead in OT on a pair of free-throws by Dylan Fey, their defense rattled and confounded Argos, forcing the Dragons to foul. Will Spurgeon hit three-of-four charity tosses and King added another. The Jimmies had a balanced scoring attack led by King with 13, Spurgeon with 12 and Javen Jackson 10. Jackson’s defense and ball-stealing skills helped the Jimmies to some easy baskets. Score by quarters: Argos 10 9 16 7 2 = 44 Jimtown 2 16 14 14 6 = 48 Junior varsity: Jimtown 43, Argos 18 Officials: Jarin Bontrager (Goshen), Jerry Fitzpatrick (Granger), Sean Behensky (Elkhart)