The JV Boys' Basketball team stormed back from an early 18-4 deficit in the first half, and closed out the ball game on an exciting 12-1 run to earn a one-point victory over East Sac County on the road. The final score after the final buzzer read 39-38 on Tuesday night, December 19th. The game was played in Sac City.

The Raiders implemented a 2-3 zone defense and the Jaguars were rusty offensively to start the contest, trailing 13-2 after the first 6:00 period of the game. With four minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter, the Jaguars witnessed a 18-4 deficit and needed to get a run going to get the score to a respectable range by half-time. In the final 4 minutes of the 1st half, the Jaguars kept the Raiders of East Sac scoreless for over three full minutes and closed out the 1st half on a 8-2 run, now trailing 12-20 entering the intermission break. Over half of the Raider points were scored on 2nd or 3rd chance opportunities and the coaches addressed that at the half-time break, that the defensive rebounding must improve in the 2nd half.  

The 3rd quarter was much better for the Jaguars, especially compared to the first quarter. The Jaguars outscored the Raiders 9-8 in the 3rd, with a score of 21-28 going into the final 6:00 of the game. The scoring difference hovered around a 9 to a 11 point gap the first 4 minutes of the 4th quarter before the Jaguars got things going in regards to momentum and utter excitement. Down by ten, with a score of 27-37, the Jaguars needed to get stops on the defensive end of the floor and turn Raider mistakes and turnovers into easy points. In just a one minute span, the Jaguars went on a 7-0 run and cut the Raider lead to just 37-34 after Freshman Karson Roper connected on a 3pt field goal that got the visiting crowd a rockin' and the team pumped up. In the final two minutes of the ball game, the Jaguars held East Sac to just one point scored; and Ian Brunner was dominant in the paint, as he made his final four field goal attempts in crunch time, scoring the go-ahead bucket with just 8.7 seconds remaining. With a final East Sac last second heave from half-court that missed to the right, the Jaguars escaped with a thrilling road victory. The Jaguars scored 27 points in the second half, and 18 in the fourth, with 12 of them scored in the final two minutes of the ball game where the Jaguars won after a 12-1 run to close out the game. 

Statistically for the Jaguars, the team earned 21 total steals on the night, with 6 of them coming in the 4th quarter. The Jaguars only had 12 turnovers total, but 5 of them came in the only quarter SV lost, that being the 1st quarter and the slow start offensively. Brunner scored 24 points on 10-17 shooting from the field and 4-6 (3-5 in the 4th) from the charity stripe, while also securing 7 total rebounds, 5 of them on the offensive end. Brunner also had 4 steals in the game, 3 of them coming in the 4th quarter as the enforcer in the full court man press. Tyler Jondle added 5 points and also matched Brunner with 4 steals on the defensive end of the floor. Jondle also added one blocked shot. Roper had that huge three pointer late in the 4th quarter, for his 3 points in the ball game, and added 3 offensive rebounds and 3 steals along with zero turnovers. Nick Field scored 3 points and had two big rebounds in the second half. Bryce Harrison and Spencer Peterson each scored 2 points, but their defensive energy was significant in the comeback. Peterson managed to come away with 6 steals while also having three early fouls in the 3rd quarter.  Harrison also had 4 steals, 6 rebounds, and one blocked shot. Ethan Tucker earned one offensive rebound, one steal, and one blocked shot. Lincoln Akins also had one blocked shot, and added an assist in the offense. Hayden Greene played just a minute or two in the 3rd quarter, securing one defensive rebound. Also playing in the game was Preston Kennedy and Cornell Lowery.  

End of Quarter Scores: 1st Q: SV 2, East Sac 13; 2nd Q SV 12, East Sac 20; 3rd Q: SV 21, East Sac 28; 4th Q: SV 39, East Sac 38.

An Interesting Tidbit: It was just last season, February 3rd, 2023 that the East Sac County Raiders and the SV Jaguars had another close ball game played in Sac City, which ended in a 42-42 tie after one overtime period was played and action was called due to Varsity action was set to follow. Similar to last year, a huge three pointer made was the catalyst to start the come from behind run and momentum changer. Last year it was Cale VanSickle who calmly knocked down a three pointer to cut the margin to just three points. This year it was Roper.  And like last year, the Jaguars made free throws in crunch time, last year being Hane Sorenson, this year being Brunner. And like last year, it was SV that trailed by two to four possessions in the 4th quarter and stormed back from behind to take the lead or tie the ball game. Last year SV trailed 33-39 with a couple minutes to spare, and tied it at 39 all to send it to the 1st OT period. (Even the final scores after regulation were almost identical!!) This year it was 27-37 with two minutes to go. But the biggest difference between the two games from last season at East Sac and this season was the final desperate half-court heave as time expired. Fortunately for this game, it was that East Sac's final heave was off; last season it was East Sac's desperation shot at the buzzer that went in and sent the game to a 42-42 double overtime, but was unfortunately unable to be continued. So many similarities, mirroring moments and actions.  

The JV record now sits at 4-4 entering the Holiday Break. The Jaguars open up the 'second half' of the season with South Hamilton on the road on Tuesday, January 2nd. Congrats on the come from behind victory, and enjoy your time off with family and relaxation. Go Jaguars!