ANNA — Jackson Center stayed in contention for the Shelby County Athletic League title on Friday by beating previously undefeated Anna 51-47.
It was the fifth consecutive win for the Tigers and their eighth in the last nine games. The only loss in that stretch was a seven-point defeat by Russia in overtime on Jan. 11.
The loss dropped Anna to 9-1 in SCAL play while Jackson Center improved to 8-2. Both squads have two conference games remaining.
Jackson Center’s stout defense held the Rockets a season-low scoring output. Anna’s previous season-low scoring output was 58 points in a win over Russia on Jan. 22.
After falling behind 11-8 in the first quarter, the Tigers took a 20-17 lead by halftime and led 36-32 heading into the fourth quarter. They led by as many as nine in the fourth quarter on their way to the win.
Aidan Reichert led Jackson Center with 20 points, with 16 coming in the second half. Trent Platfoot scored 12.
Griffin Doseck led Anna, the No. 3 ranked team in Division III in this week’s state Associated Press poll, with 16 points while Carter Elliott scored eight.
Botkins 84, Houston 55
Botkins scored early and often and put away Houston by halftime in a home Shelby County Athletic League game on Friday.
The Trojans took a 27-11 lead by the end of the first quarter and led 47-30 at halftime. They then used a 22-14 scoring advantage in the third to build a 69-41 lead heading into the fourth.
Zane Paul led Botkins with 21 points, Jaydon Priddy-Powell scored 17, Jacob Pleiman added 12 and Jaydon Wendel scored 11.
John Leist led Houston with 15 points while Jairon Douglas scored 14 and Peyton Arnold scored 10.
Russia at Fairlawn, ppd. to Feb. 4
The game was postponed to Monday.
Lehman Catholic 53, Bradford 31
No information was reported.
Versailles 66, Minster 34
Versailles’ defense stifled Minster in the first half of a Midwest Athletic Conference game on Friday and allowed the team to run away early.
The Tigers took a 13-5 lead by the end of the first quarter and used a 23-5 scoring advantage in the second to build a 36-10 halftime lead. They used a 23-10 scoring advantage in the third to boost the lead to 59-20.
Conner VanSkyock led the Tigers with 20 points while Evan Hiestand scored 15 and Michael Stammen added 12. Versailles shot 26 for 36 (72 percent) from the floor, including 20 for 25 (80 percent) from two-point range.
Mike Ketner led Minster with 12 points while Jack Heitbrink added 11. The Wildcats shot 12 for 45 (26.7 percent) from the floor.
Delphos St. John’s 54, New Bremen 51, 3OT
The Bluejays outscored New Bremen 7-4 in the third overtime to earn a MAC win on Friday.
New Bremen led 21-17 at halftime and 32-27 going into the fourth quarter but St. John’s used a 13-8 scoring advantage in the fourth to force overtime. The teams played to a 45-45 stalemate in the first overtime and 47-47 tie in the second overtime.
Bryce Blickle led New Bremen with 16 points while Nolan Bornhorst scored 15 and Patrick Wells added 10.
Riverside 52, Elgin 46
The Pirates took a 21-6 lead by the end of the first quarter and held off Elgin from there in a home Northwest Central Conference game on Friday.
“We came out with some great energy and a lot of intensity tonight in the first quarter and got off to a great start. After that, though, I thought we had a very lackluster performance and just stopped playing good basketball,” Riverside coach Seth Bodenmiller said. “We were able to hold on to a 10-point lead for a majority of the game, but we still made a lot of mistakes on both sides of the ball.
“With that being said, I was happy that we were able to close out the game with a win, but again, we still have a lot of work to do before the postseason begins.”
Lane Willoby led Riverside with 19 points while Kameron Schlumbohm scored 12 and Wyatt Auflick added nine. The Pirates shot 19 for 44 (43.2 percent) from the field and outrebounded Elgin 26-22.
