BLUE MOUNTAIN – Biggersville junior Daniel Simmons had six points in the first half Tuesday night at Blue Mountain.

He had 29 in the second to finish with 35 and lead the Lions to a frantic 87-83 Division 1-1A win.

“They outplayed us everywhere except on the scoreboard,” Biggersville coach Cliff Little said. “(Daniel) was the difference in the fourth. We’ve got a lot to get better at.”

Blue Mountain (13-2, 4-1) led by eight in the third quarter. Simmons opened the final quarter by scoring his team's first nine as the Lions took a 71-66 lead. The Cougars got within one on Ismael Ruedas’ bucket and down six, Tylor Young hit a 3-pointer to pull within 83-80 with 23.4 seconds to play. Biggersville (12-4, 4-0) found Shaun Watson on the inbounds to seal it.

Simmons hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds.

The Cougars, off to a hot start, established they can hang with the Class 1A state runner-up.

“We focused on (Simmons) all week. We can run with them,” Blue Mountain coach David Mason said. “They’re No. 1 in the division. Now we have to go to their place.”

The two meet at Biggersville on Jan. 11.

Ruedes had 27. A Dontae Knox free throw gave the Cougars a 32-27 lead in the second, but Slater Huggins' 3 gave the Lions a 37-35 lead on a 7-0 run.

“We didn’t do a lot of things right and that’s my fault," Little said. "We beat a very good team. They outplayed us but I’ve been on both ends of those.”

(G) Biggersville 71, Blue Mountain 38: Tyler Shelley scored a game-high 28 points for Biggersville. Aaliyah Knox scored 15 points for Blue Mountain.

brandon.speck@journalinc.com