Basketball Game Preview: Junction City Bluejays vs. Washburn Rural Blues

The Junction City Bluejays will head out on the road to square off against the Washburn Rural Blues at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Friday, Junction City strolled past Emporia with points to spare, taking the game 46-32. The Bluejays haven't had any issues with the Spartans recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.

Meanwhile, Washburn Rural had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They really took it to West for the full four quarters, racking up a 78-50 win. The victory was familiar territory for the Blues, who have now won eight games in a row.

Washburn Rural's win came from a few key players Junction City will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Simon Rowley, who shot 47% from the field en route to 23 points. Those 23 points gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Amare Jones, who went 6-for-9 on his way to 13 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists.

Washburn Rural's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-4. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.5 points over those games. As for Junction City, their victory bumped their record up to 13-7.

Junction City came up short against Washburn Rural when the teams last played back in February, falling 64-58. Can Junction City avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.