Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Nevada Boys, Blevins Girls Take Jr. District Tourney

It took the Nevada junior boys three tries, but they finally beat Stephens.

Their first victory over the junior Roadrunners couldn't have come at a better time either, as it was in the finals of the 7AA Junior District Tournament Saturday night.

The Blue Jays held on for a 37-36 win over the only team to beat them during the regular season.

Stephens fielded a bigger team all around than Nevada. The Roadrunners took the opening tip and buried a three.

The Jays responded with a deuce and the race was on.

Both squads raced up and down the court at full tilt trying to take the trophy and bragging rights home.

Stephens managed to post a 12-11 lead at the end of the first six minutes.

This set the Jays off as they rallied the troops in the second quarter.

The second six minutes kept the fans in the packed Nevada gym on the edge of their seats and screaming at the top of their lungs. The teams, meanwhile, went back and forth with the Jays winning the second period 8-5 to take a 19-17 lead to the locker room at the break.

The two squads swapped buckets to start the second half of play, with the pace still going full blast. Both teams wanted the title of district champ and were willing to do whatever it took to get the hardware.

Nevada pulled to a five-point lead, 27-22, only to see Stephens cut the advantage to one at 27-26 a couple of minutes later.

The Roadrunners almost disdained two point shots completely in the third quarter, relying primarily on long range bombs for their offense. Nevada, though, worked inside effectively and ended the period with a 31-26 lead.

With the season on the line in the final 360 seconds both squads reached deep into their tanks for the finishing kick.

But, the start of the fourth quarter was delayed as a member of the Stephens team accidentally knocked over the water cooler, spilling water and ice onto the floor.

Once this was cleaned up to the official's satisfaction, it was Katy bar the door.

Stephens began picking off Blue Jay passes and increased its defensive intensity.

The Roadrunners also committed more fouls, with Nevada in the bonus at the 3:13 mark. Stephens, though, was forced to foul as the Jays were leading 34-29.

Time was nobody's friend in the last two minutes, as free throws became more and more important.

Stephens managed to take a 36-35 lead with 0:15 showing, only to see the Jays hit two free throws with eight ticks left to go up 37-36.

The fans for both teams screamed themselves silly during the last two minutes as these two teams battled tooth and nail for the win.

But, as time was running out, the Jays picked off Stephens' inbounds pass to seal the win.