Eagles, Chiefs to meet in semifinal

Jay County teams will meet with a berth in the conference title on the line.

The West Jay and East Jay Middle School eighth grade boys basketball teams both won their opening-round games of the Allen County Athletic Conference tournament Monday.

At Heritage in Monroeville, the East Jay eighth graders defeated the host Patriots 44-27.

Gavin Muhlenkamp led the Chiefs (12-3) with 19 points, while Ethan Dirksen was second with seven. Adrek Pogue and Adam Muhlenkamp chipped in four points apiece.

In Bluffton, West Jay’s eighth graders knocked off the host Tigers 31-26.

Quinn Faulkner led the Eagles (7-9) with 11 points, Trenton Alexander was second with eight points and Camdin Harrison tallied seven points for third. Kess McBride contributed four points.

The Eagles host the Chiefs in the semifinal on Wednesday.

East Jay’s boys also advanced to the tournament semifinal with a 40-35 win over Heritage. Bennett Weitzel led the Chiefs (11-4) with 16 points. Josh Dowlen, Carter Link and Dawson Hundley added six points apiece.

The Eagles meet Bluffton — which defeated West Jay 43-9 on Monday — in the tournament semifinal on Wednesday at West Jay.

Skyler Bee totaled five points for the WJMS seventh graders in the loss to Bluffton. Gabe Goodspeed and Spencer Caldwell had two points apiece.



EJ girls advance

East Jay’s seventh and eighth grade girls basketball teams advanced to the ACAC tournament semifinal with wins against Heritage on Monday.

The Chief eighth graders (9-7) beat the Patriots 40-11, while the seventh graders (15-1) knocked off Heritage 38-4.

Madison Dirksen scored 14 points to lead the eighth graders. Emily Chenoweth was second with seven points as Andrea Jutte scored six points for third. Heaven Hambrock contributed five points for East Jay.

Renna Schwieterman’s 16 points were a game-high for the seventh grade Chiefs, who also got 10 points from Lydia Keihn and eight from Olivia Waters. Kylee Cross contributed two points to the victory.

The eighth graders host West Jay on Wednesday in the tournament semifinal, while the seventh graders entertain Bluffton.



Chiefs 7th top Tigers

DUNKIRK — The West Jay seventh grade girls basketball team topped the Bluffton Tigers on Monday to reach the ACAC tournament semifinal.

The Chiefs knocked off the Tigers, 30-12, and travels to take on East Jay on Wednesday.

West Jay’s eighth graders had their tournament end with a 35-22 loss to Bluffton.

Abbie Fields led the WJMS seventh graders with 10 points, and Grace Shimp added seven points to finish second on the team. Taylor Brown and Paige Mumbower both had four points while Gabi Bailey contributed three points.

Isabel Rodgers led the eighth grade Chiefs with 14 points. Kaelyn Denney recorded six points, and Bilbrey added two points.



SA 8th moves on

PONETO — South Adams’ eighth grade boys basketball team picked up a 46-30 victory over Southern Wells in the first round of the ACAC tournament Monday.

The seventh graders dropped a 44-39 contest to the host Raiders.

Aidan Wanner and Trey Schoch scored 15 and 13 points respectively to pace the eighth grade Starfires, who advance to play Adams Central on Wednesday.

Leo Palomo contributed nine points to the win as Kaleb Stevens added five points.

Kyle Minger had 12 points in the loss for the SAMS seventh graders. Matt Steiner tallied 10 points, and Gavin Myers finished with eight points.



Eagles fall

DUNKIRK — Both West Jay sixth grade boys basketball teams lost to the Selma Braves on Monday.

The A team fell 40-26, and the B squad lost 20-9.

Parker Nichols scored 19 points to lead the Eagles’ A team (4-1). Liam Garringer had six points in support of Nichols, as Ryan Cross and Tommy Adkins had two points apiece.

Peyton Lykins tallied three points for the B team, as Caleb Dollar, Logan Orso and Jason Ayala had two points apiece.



EJ gets title

The East Jay sixth grade girls basketball team finished first Saturday in the East Jay Invitational it hosted.

The Chiefs (4-0) dominated Monroe Central 35-19 in the championship game before knocking off Selma 24-16 in the semifinal.

Sophie Saxman led the way offensively with 24 points, including a 13-point effort against Monroe Central. Breanna Dirksen was second with 10 points, and Molly Muhlenkamp chipped in eight points.

Bralee VanSkyock finished with five points, and Brenna Haines and Hannah Laux both tallied six points as Cash Hollowell and Danielle May had two points.