The Rivertown Classic got underway on Monday night with the opening rounds of the Junior Varsity tournament.
Switzerland County’s girls and boys jayvee teams played South Dearborn at Switzerland County; while the junior varsity teams for Rising Sun and Lawrenceburg played on Monday in the Shiner gym.
The winners will play for the jayvee championships this Monday, January 9th, at Lawrenceburg.
Lady Pacers
Switzerland County’s Lady Pacer squad battled South Dearborn throughout the game, but fell in the end by a final score of 27-23.
Neither team was able to find much offense in the contest, as Switzerland County led by a 3-2 score at the end of the first quarter.
Lauren Smith’s basket and a freethrow from Isabella Breeck provided the scoring for the Lady Pacers in the opening stanza.
Switzerland County continued to hold a lead through the second quarter — outscoring the Lady Knights 6-2 to take a 9-4 lead into the halftime break.
In the second, Addie Kelso and Allena Weaver each had baskets; while Carlee Boggs contributed two freethrows.
The slow pace of play continued in the third quarter, as the Lady Pacers scored nine points while holding South Dearborn to 5 — which gave Switzerland County an 18-9 advantage heading into the final period of play.
In the third, Boggs had a three-pointer; while Smith, Kelso, and Kaitlynn Stucker each chipped in a field goal.
Although the scoring was sparse, Switzerland County held a nine-point lead heading into the fourth, but it was in the final eight minutes where South Dearborn suddenly found its offensive firepower — and that decided the game.
In the fourth, the Lady Knights scored 18 points — double the number of points they had scored in the first three periods combined.
The Lady Pacers managed to scored five points in the fourth, but freethrow shooting doomed Switzerland County in the quarter, as they were just 1-for-6 from the line. For the game, the Lady Pacers were 2-for-11 from the stripe.
Weather and Stucker each had baskets in the fourth; and Breeck converted the only freethrow.
For the game, Boggs led the team with five points; while Kelso, Weaver, and Stucker each had four. Smith and Breeck each finished with two.
Zoey Heizer led South Dearborn with 12 points.
Pacers
The boys jayvee game followed the girls game on Monday night, and in that contest South Dearborn defeated Switzerland County by a score of 51-25.
The first quarter and the first half told the story of the game, which saw South Dearborn outscore the Pacers 17-3 in the first period and 14-4 in the second stanza to take a 31-7 advantage at the half.
The Pacers got a bucket from Cale Collier and a freethrow by Austin Hemingway in the first to account for the three points; while in the second quarter Mason Peelman accounted for all four points on two field goals.
Switzerland County made a bit of a run in the third quarter, scoring 11 points — but the defense couldn’t hold up, as South Dearborn again scored 17 points. At the end of three periods, the score was 48-18 in favor of the Knights.
The third quarter was a big one offensively for Collier, who accounted for 10 of the team’s 11 points; as he connected on four field goals and converted a freethrow.
Hemingway made a freethrow to notch the other point in the period.
The final quarter was a low-scoring one, as Switzerland County scored seven points while South Dearborn added just three more to its totals.
Carson Griffith had a three-pointer for the Pacers in the fourth; while Hemingway and Peelman each had baskets.
Final score: South Dearborn 51, Switzerland County 25.
For the game, Collier led the way with 12 points; while Peelman finished with six and Hemingway had four. Griffith contributed three points.