JC knocks off Bears

PARKER CITY — A team made up heavily of sophomores walked into a gym not known for being particularly easy to escape from with a win.
And in the waning moments, that group found itself locked in a close game.
But the young squad showed poise down the in key moments.
With four sophomores on the floor, the Jay County High School boys basketball team took care of the ball late and made enough free throws to come away with a 44-38 victory over the host Monroe Central Golden Bears.
The game marked the third time in the last four Patriot trips to Monroe Central that the result has come down to the final few possessions. JCHS lost there in overtime late in the 2008-09 season and won by just two points on a Heath Williams lay-up at the buzzer in 2004.
“We’ve had good teams come here and get beat. We’ve had decent teams come here and get beat, and we’ve had bad teams come here and get beat,” said JCHS coach Craig Teagle. “Where this team is right now, we’re not sure, but we came here and got a win.
“It was a pretty gritty performance by us. I didn’t think it was always pretty, but we’re just going to have to be mentally tough and physically tough. … We didn’t panic when they came back to (pull within one) late. And I just thought we made plays down the stretch when we needed to.
“I’m happy with the overall effort.”
The Patriots (2-1) were tested late as Monroe Central (1-2) used six free throws to slice a seven-point deficit to one with 2:49 to play. They pushed ahead by four again, only to have Golden Bears star Logan Thomas convert a three-point play with 1:30 on the clock to close the gap again.
Jay County took a time out with 1:13 left and then started running time of the clock. It was down to 34.8 by the team Monroe Central fouled Kegan Comer, who buried two free throw to push the lead back to three.
And after Trey West missed a couple of foul shots for the Golden Bears, Brock McFarland hit two more for JCHS to ice the game.
“When you get the lead, you need a lay-up or a foul, and that’s how you should win basketball games,” said Teagle. “The basketball is in your hands with a lead. That should be a win. … I thought the kids did a nice job.
“And then there’s always the steadying influence of Garrett Krieg out there too. That really helps us.”
Jay County for the most part was in control of the game, limiting what the Golden Bears were able to do offensively.
Thomas, the No. 4 scorer in the state through two games at 33.5, scored 18 points but was limited to just 4-of-18 from the field. He also had team highs of six rebounds and three assists.
As a team, Monroe Central managed just a pair of two-point field goals.
“You can’t win very many games doing that,” said Monroe Central coach Jeremy Duncan. “Rhett Braun is a good scorer for us … And he really struggled just to get good looks tonight. Credit Jay County. They just had a tremendous game plan and played us well defensively.
 “Logan is obviously a very good player, but he can’t do it all. They keyed on him this evening and he struggled to get good shots. … He did not have a whole lot of good looks tonight. Everything he got was hard-earned.”
The Patriots also dominated the glass, led by Scott Schwieterman’s 16 rebounds. They had a 33-22 advantage on the boards, and also got four blocked shots from Schwieterman.
Krieg hit three 3-pointers and led Jay County with 13 points, Comer and eight points and four assists and Schwieterman also scored eight points.
“Kegan came in from being sick all week and played really well,” said Teagle. “Garrett hit some big shots. And then I’m really proud of Drew Houck and the minutes he gave us, and Cade Price also did a nice job tonight.”
It was a back-and-forth game throughout the first half with neither team leading by more than five. JCHS went up by as many as six in the third quarter, and took a seven-point lead on a Schwieterman put-back two minutes into the fourth.
Monroe Central responded by pulling to within one before the Patriots put the game away. Chase Bly followed Thomas for the Golden Bears with seven points.

Junior varsity
Jay County jumped out to a nine-point lead in the opening quarter and defeated the Golden Bears 40-28.
Trey Teagle hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 16 points to lead the Patriots. Darren Bogenschutz added nine points, and Austin Cowan scored seven.
Jake Combs scored eight points to lead Monroe Central, which pulled to within eight twice in the fourth quarter before JCHS scored the last four points of the game for the final margin. Caleb Antrim followed with five points.

Freshman
WINCHESTER — The Patriots suffered their second straight one-point loss 28-27 Thursday to the Winchester Golden Falcons.
Zane Shreve scored 10 points to power Jay County (0-4), which led 10-0 after the opening period and was still up by five heading into the final period. The Golden Falcons scored 17 points in the final quarter to rally for the win.
Adam Alfont added seven points for the Patriots.
Matt Thornburg led the comeback, scoring 11 of his 12 points for the Golden Falcons after the intermission. Dustin Detro added five points.[[In-content Ad]]