School Wins at Basketball--on 75th Try

Jefferson-Morgan High School ended a 74-game, 3 1/2-season losing streak in basketball Thursday night by upsetting Mapletown 71 to 69 in a holiday tournament.

A wrestling power whose success hasn’t extended to basketball, Jefferson-Morgan won on the court for the first time since Feb. 3, 1987.

“I’m glad for the kids more than anything else,” Jefferson-Morgan Coach Jim Romanus said. “It was tough for them to keep playing when all they kept hearing about was this streak.”

Romanus, who coached the Rockets through the entire slump, added: “It’s hard to believe. Sometimes I think it’s a dream and I’m going to wake up.”

Mapletown entered the game with a 5-2 record.