East Jay boys, girls win titles

PONETO — The East Jay Middle School eighth grade boys and girls basketball teams both the Allen County Athletic Conference tournament championship on Saturday at Southern Wells.
The boys team defeated the Leo Lions 26-20, and the Chief girls beat the Bluffton Tigers 35-11.
East Jay’s boys had a 12-7 lead after the first quarter and led just 14-12 at halftime. The Chiefs kept the Lions to just two points in the third quarter, and scored six points in each of the final two frames to get the win.
It marked the end of a 15-game winning streak to close out the season for East Jay, which lost its first two games of the year.
Ryan Schlechty paced East Jay with 11 points, and Parker Grimes and Michael Schlecthy each had six points. Isaac Moeller chipped in with three points.
Gwen Omstead and Hannah Phillips scored 11 and 10 points respectively for the East Jay girls, who kept the Tigers off the scoreboard in the first and fourth quarters.
Kendra Muhlenkamp added six points, and Klarisa Hemmelgarn added four. Kailee Denney and Hanna Dillon both tallied two points.
The Chief girls finish their season 16-1.