Jimtown High School

Jimmies top of season with defeat of Elkhart By Red Williams Freelance Sportswriter ELKHART – A supreme defensive effort was the magic touch Tuesday night (2.25.25) as Jimtown’s Jimmies rounded off their season with a 48-42 victory over visiting Elkhart before a raucous crowd. Jimtown ends its regular season with a 12-10 mark, and will head into next week’s sectional with a three-game winning streak. The Lions finish with a 5-16 record. “It’s crazy the way things change,” said Jimmy coach Tyler Leighton. “We were determined not to let one guy kill us, so we did a better job of handling our defense.” Senior guard Javen Jackson may have been the key figure in the Jimmies’ success. “He did a great job of handling their defense. He was awesome,” Leighton said. “He also got some key rebounds.” Jackson grabbed ten boards, matching team high with Branden King, and scored 13 points. King had 15, including 6-for-6 at the charity stripe in the second period. The Lions, under Coach Will Coatie, started off ablaze, nailing four straight three-pointers to grab a 14-13 lead at the first stop. Their trapping half-court zone defense was “scrappy,” Leighton said, and forced the Jimmies to work hard to penetrate. King did his own damage for the Jimmies with a trey and two goals under the basket in that first stanza. The third-quarter effort by Jimtown spelled the difference, outscoring the Lions 10-0 from the 3:15 mark to 1:31. Jackson had a break-away lay-in, Jackson Woolwine netted a triple, King hit a jumper and Dominic Fey finished the burst with a triple from the side. That gave the Jimmies a 40-27 lead, and Elkhart never recovered. “Jimtown had good intensity and played hard,” Coatie said. “They had good balance. Tyler knows what he’s doing.” Keaton Anderson led the Lions with nine points. The Jimmies fell in a hard-fought junior-varsity contest to Elkhart, 56-52. Score by quarters: Elkhart 14 5 13 10 = 42 Jimtown 13 12 15 8 = 48 Officials: Brandon Rogers (Granger), Jimmy Arnett (Elkhart), Kim Curry (South Bend).