Bluffton tops Jay

BLUFFTON — In a defensive battle Saturday, the Patriots hung strong against one of the most successful Class 2A programs in the state. They just couldn’t find enough offense to pick up a win.
Scott Schwieterman was the only Jay County High School player in double figures as the team came up just short in a 35-32 loss to the Class 2A No. 6 Bluffton Tigers.
The Patriots actually shot slightly better from the field than Bluffton, which has won 69 of its last 75 games, but got outscored 9-1 from the foul line.
“Some of that was we weren’t quite aggressive enough sometimes,” said JCHS coach Craig Teagle, whose team is 1-1. “And even when we started to go they shut it off and we had to back it out. We didn’t want to force shots. When you’re going into a 6-10 kid you have to be smart about what you’re doing.”
Despite struggling on the offensive end and giving the ball away 12 times in the first half, the Patriots still found themselves trailing by just three points after Garrett Krieg hit a 3-pointer with 4:45 left in the game. However, they never got any closer.
Cameron Gerber of Bluffton responded with a 3-pointer of his own, and Jay County was unable to rally for the win despite the Tigers missing four free throws in the final two minutes.
“We talked about how important this game was for us as a program, to play a bigger school that has had so much success,” said Bluffton coach Kevin Leising. “I was really pleased with the way we went after it. … I like the tests we’ve had already this early in the season.”
Jay County went toe-to-toe with the Tigers early, with Scott Schwieterman (12 points, 10 rebounds) scoring the first six points and Brock McFarland adding a hoop to tie the game at eight. But Bluffton took advantage of Patriot turnovers, went on a 7-0 run and never trailed again.
Schwieterman scored the first four points of the second half, only to have the Tigers take control again. They scored on a put-back by Michael Vanderkolk and then got a steal and fast-break hoop from Cameron Gerber.
“That can’t happen,” said Teagle, saying he felt his team was out-hustled on the steal by Gerber. “We didn’t have the sense of urgency that they had.”
It was the first meeting between the two schools since 1990, and Bluffton’s win halted a 12-game losing streak against the Patriots.
Jay County shot 40 percent from the field and went only 1-of-4 from the foul line. McFarland followed Schwieterman with nine points, and Garrett Krieg scored seven.
Tyler Back grabbed five rebounds.
“I just didn’t think we were very good offensively, and a lot of that was their defense. I thought they did a really nice job keeping the ball in front of them,” said Teagle. “(Gerber) is just very active … He forces you into turnovers just by making you throw the ball in spots you don’t want to. And then when you do think you have an opening to go to the hole, they’ve got that size. … They did a great job keeping us from getting to the basket.”
Vanderkolk powered Bluffton with a strong effort inside. He shot 5-of-8 from the field, led the Tigers with 13 points and also grabbed seven rebounds.
Gerber added 11 points, Chandler Okey scored six and Keith Cochran blocked five shots.

Junior varsity
Jay County had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but dropped a 24-21 decision to the Tigers.
Austin Cowan scored 11 points for the Patriots (1-1), who closed from a six-point deficit to within one in the final minute. Bluffton split four free throws late, and Jacob Schlosser’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
Kyle Selvey and Darren Bogenschutz followed Cowan with three points apiece.
Dillon Myers scored 10 points to lead the Tigers. Seth Thompson added five points.

Freshman
The Patriots went to overtime only to fall 33-32 to Bluffton.
Zane Shreve totaled 14 points for Jay County, which dropped to 0-3. Zach Fullenkamp scored seven points, and Brennen Krieg added six.
Jake Garrett matched Shreve with 14 points for the Tigers. Austin Brigner and Malcolm Marshall scored seven apiece.[[In-content Ad]]