JAY – Strangely enough, Jay has more experience shutting out boys’ basketball opponents in the third quarter than crafting winning streaks.

“We actually did it at Georges Valley in the first game of the season,” said junior shooting guard Kyle DeMillo. “Well, I think they hit a free throw, but we held them without a field goal in the third quarter and pretty much dominated the game the rest of the way.”

The Tigers went two better Thursday night at the Tigerdome. This time, Jay smothered Mt. Abram to the tune of an honest-to-goodness golden goose egg on the scoreboard in the third period. And this time, it wasn’t merely fuel for a futile comeback but the propellant to a 61-25 Mountain Valley Conference rout.

DeMillo scored a career-high 20 points off the bench, including a dozen by way of open 3-pointers and all but three coming in the second half.

After single-digit losses to Georges Valley and Carrabec, Jay (2-4) has rebounded with consecutive triumphs over Lisbon and now Mt. Abram to tiptoe back into the Western Class C playoff race. The Tigers haven’t been in that position since claiming a state title and two regional crowns in the first half of this decade.

“It’s been three years,” second-year coach Edwin Thompson said of the last time Jay celebrated back-to-back victories. “That’s our first winning streak in a while, and it’s been a long time coming. It feels good to win at home. That’s also something our program hasn’t done very often recently.”

And no matter how good this sophomore and junior-dominated group becomes, the Tigers’ third-period efficiency against the Roadrunners (0-5) is something their fans probably won’t see again. You might attend a varsity game every night for 10 seasons and never witness it.

Jay’s defensive pressure denied Mt. Abram a point for a staggering stretch of 12 minutes, 19 seconds before Noah Tranten sank a free throw with 5:58 remaining in the game. The Roadrunners’ field goal drought ran nearly two minutes longer, still.

Mt. Abram was 9-for-41 (22 percent) from the field with 29 turnovers. And not surprisingly, spending much of its night in transition, Jay topped the 50 percent threshold with an array of two-on-ones and uncontested jumpers.

“We got off to a slow start, but it was still stronger than usual,” DeMillo said.

Thanks to four points each from Nick Bourassa, Lance Allen and Rocky DeSanctis, Jay led 21-11 at halftime prior to the combustion. There were no overt signs that Bourassa’s steal and lay-up with 1:51 left in the second stanza would trigger a 29-0 Jay run.

Austin Clark wound up with seven points and Bourassa, Allen and DeSanctis six apiece. Led by DeMillo, however, Jay’s bench racked up 33 to outscore both the Tigers’ starting five and the Roadrunners’ roster.

“Hopefully that shows that we have some depth,” Thompson said. “We want to approach every game like this. We’re taking the Patriots’ motto and saying that the next game is always the biggest game, especially with the Heal Point situation the way it is.”

Jay encounters another middle-tier MVC foe when it travels to Monmouth on Saturday. Last winter, Mt. Abram edged Monmouth and Jay for the final regional playoff berth.

Sam Simpson scored a team-high nine points for the Roadrunners, whose 12-man rotation includes only one senior.