The Jamestown Eagles handed the New Bloomfield Wildcats their first loss of the season earlier this month in the championship game of the Tipton Tournament.
New Bloomfield made sure to return the favor Saturday in the Capital City Shootout at Fleming Fieldhouse.
The Wildcats overcame foul trouble and a sluggish start, winning the rematch 53-47 to hand the Eagles - who are ranked No. 2 in Class 1 - their first loss of the season.
"Perseverance was the key word today," New Bloomfield coach Tim Gilmore said. "It was a very physical game. It was slow in terms of offense, but I think that was because two teams were equally balanced in terms of talent and athleticism."
Jamestown, which won 45-39 in the teams' first meeting, only led for a total of 20 seconds during the second half, yet never trailed by more than eight points.
"It's tough to beat somebody twice," Jamestown coach Seth Thomas said. "Like I said when I got in the locker room, there was nothing to hang their heads about.
"They're a good team, and they just got us today."
The Eagles held New Bloomfield's Jak Kitchens to just seven points. The 6-foot-6 all-state forward grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, but he finished just 2-of-11 from the floor.
"That's what we wanted to do," Thomas said. "Let other guys hurt us."
Be careful what you wish for.
New Bloomfield's Jalen Martin scored his first points on a 3-pointer with :39 left in the first half to pull the Wildcats within one point. On the team's next possession, Martin caught a cross-court pass off a screen and made another 3 in front of the Jamestown bench with :02 left, giving New Bloomfield a 21-19 halftime lead.
"That momentum was huge going into halftime," Gilmore said. "They ran (that play) perfectly."
Kyle Emerson came up big for the Wildcats as well, making five 3-pointers. His 3 at the 5:45 mark in the third quarter gave New Bloomfield the lead for good at 26-24.
Emerson, who had a game-high 17 points, added another 3 late in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 35-28.
"Once you have that three-possession lead, the kids relax," Gilmore said. "We were more focused and less nervous with the basketball."
Jamestown battled back to tie the game at 35 on the opening possession of the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws by Garrett Wolfe. It was one of the few times shots from the charity stripe went through the hoop for the Eagles.
Jamestown made just 10-of-24 attempts from the line and struggled to take advantage of 14 second-half fouls by New Bloomfield.
"No matter who you play, it's going to be tough to win a game when you miss 14 free throws," Thomas said. "We're not going to beat good teams missing that many free throws."
Bailey Crane and Cole Hazelhorst scored back-to-back baskets to give New Bloomfield a 39-35 lead, then Emerson made another 3 to make it a seven-point game.
Jamestown cut its deficit to three points following a New Bloomfield technical foul with 3:07 to play, but the Eagles couldn't get any closer.
Gilmore said playing a team like Jamestown, with five starters standing at least 6-2, prepares New Bloomfield for its tough Show-Me Conference slate.
"We're going to play a lot of big teams," Gilmore said.
Crane added 17 points in the win for New Bloomfield (6-3), which hosts Belle on Tuesday for its first home game this season.
"Thank goodness, we'll have three home games in a row," Gilmore said with a laugh.
Isaac Imhoff was the only player to finish in double figures for the Eagles, coming off the bench to score 12 points.
"Sometimes he gets overlooked in that group of seniors," Thomas said. "It's great for him to have success like this in an important game."
Jamestown (8-1) plays Tuesday at Santa Fe.