Jamesville-DeWitt’s boys basketball team found itself at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown last weekend, facing elite competition at the Prime Time Shootout.

Once there, the Red Rams suffered a rare thing – back-to-back defeats. It all started Friday night when Columbia, from Georgia, used spectacular defense to shut down J-D in a 55-40 defeat.

Columbia used its size and a pressing, trapping defense to shut down J-D for long periods of time. And its offense was potent when necessary, overcoming the Rams’ early 11-7 advantage with a 19-7 sprint through the second quarter to move ahead for good.

Bottled up all night, DaJuan Coleman had a season-low eight points, something that Tyler Cavanaugh (15 points) and freshman Jafar Kinsey (10 points) could not make up for.

It did not get any better on Saturday, against a local team from Wheeling Park, as the Patriots knocked off the Red Rams 65-57.

Here, J-D relied entirely on its frontcourt stars, as Coleman bounced back from his Columbia struggles to earn 27 points and Cavanaugh chimed in with 19 points. Still, Wheeling Park came out on top behind Bubby Goodwin’s 21 points (including three 3-pointers) and Boo Lathon adding 20 points.

Before the trip, J-D took care of two more local foes, starting last Tuesday with a 65-45 victory over Phoenix that had its temperamental moments.

The Firebirds had a solid first half, only trailing 31-22. And that seemed to set off the alarm as J-D proceeded to pummel Phoenix 30-7 in the third quarter before resting the starters.

Coleman, with 16 points, led four J-D players in double figures as Cavanaugh got 14 points, Brandon Franklin 12 points and Pete Drescher 10 points. Kinsey added six points.

Then J-D went to Chittenango Thursday night and, by controlling the game’s middle stages, pulled away from the Bears and won 72-45.

The Rams had an 18-15 lead when, starting in the second quarter, it limited Chittenango to 15 points over the next two periods combined. That gave J-D ample time to roar to a 53-30 lead and cruise through the homestretch.

Cavanaugh again led the scoring charge, finishing with 20 points as Coleman added 17 points. Drescher threw in nine points as Kinsey and Jordan Evans earned seven points apiece.

And the J-D girls team stayed in contention in the OHSL Freedom division, moving to 6-1 in league play last Tuesday night by going to Phoenix and beating the Firebirds 51-41.

That final score was a bit deceptive, as for three periods neither side could get away from each other. Trailing 20-18 at the break, J-D picked up the pace in the second half, yet didn’t take the lead for good until the fourth quarter and made the key free throws late.

Of Cydney Goodrum’s 14 points, eight came at the foul line. Lauren Beville chimed in 12 points, while Stephanie Mannion had seven points and Kayleigh Cavanaugh got six points. J-D’s defense made sure that no Phoenix player scored in double figures.

Snow postponed the Rams’ meeting with Chittenango last Friday, which leads to this Friday’s pair of games against Cortland. The boys contest carries particular importance as J-D learns how it bounces back from its back-to-back defeats in Morgantown – and meets a tough foe in the Purple Tigers, who started 10-0 before falling to CBA last week.