The Emporia High School boys basketball team lost to Junction City, 52-39, on Friday night. Emporia scored the first four points of the game, but Junction City would close the first quarter on a 14-4 run. Both teams scored 13 points in the second quarter as the Blue Jays took a 27-17 lead into the half. 

Head coach Lee Baldwin was not surprised at how Junction City played early on. “They’re the most athletic team we’ve played all year,” Baldwin said. “They’re very well-coached and their overall athleticism and quickness on the perimeter gave us a ton of problems that we can’t simulate in practice.”

The Spartans cut it to five at the end of the third quarter and made it a three-point game early in the fourth quarter, but Junction City responded with a 9-0 run to ultimately seal the deal. But Baldwin was pleased with how his guys fought back and made it a close game. “We played really hard,” Baldwin said. “Credit to our guys for getting back in it. There were three and a half minutes left and we were down three with momentum. But they hit a big-time three, we come down and miss a layup and they go and make one. I know they won by 13 but it felt a lot closer than that. 

They made the timely shots and we didn’t, and that’s what it came down to.” Jalyn King led Emporia with 15 points, 13 of those coming in the second half. Emporia was unable to generate much on offense, and a lot of that credit goes to Junction City’s athleticism. “The only guy we have that can create his own [offense] is Jalyn,” Baldwin said. “Everything else has to be manufactured through offense. When you’re playing a team that is more athletic than you on the perimeter, one of the only ways to score efficiently is to throw the ball into the post and we did not do a consistent job of doing that tonight.” 

Coach Lee Baldwin says they played well defensively, but couldn’t get any shots to fall against a quality Junction City team. Emporia (8-2) will compete in the Ralph Miller Classic in Chanute next week beginning on Thursday, Jan. 19. The Spartans begin the three-day event against Coffeyville at 4:45 p.m.

Emporia JV 32

Junction City JV 29

JV Record: 6-3


Emporia C 38

Junction City C 32

C Record: 4-2