Patriots take pair

Momentum is a major factor in basketball, and as the Patriots head to the tournament they have plenty on their side.
With an impressive pair of double-digit wins in a double-header Saturday, the Jay County High School boys basketball team finished the season with victories in seven of its last eight games.
The Patriots were in control all day against their Northeast Hoosier Conference opponents, defeating the Bellmont Braves 51-35 in the afternoon half of the double-dip and the Norwell Knights 61-43 in the night cap.
“It’s great to get both wins today,” said sophomore Brock McFarland, who scored 19 points in both victories. “Coach (Craig) Teagle always talks about mental toughness, and I think we really showed it today.”
“We’re really happy about this,” added senior Garrett Krieg, who scored 13 points in the final home game of his career. “We came out and played hard. Back-to-back games is rough, but we got it done.
“Our intensity level has picked up.”
Teagle said his players weren’t happy with their defensive effort in the opener as they gave up 43 points on 49 percent shooting to the Braves (3-17). They corrected that problem against Norwell (14-6).
Jay County was up 14-13 at the close of the first quarter and then locked down  the Knights, giving up just five points in the second and allowing only one field goal in the third. The game marked the 13th time this season the Patriots have held an opponent to fewer than 40 points as they finished first in Class 4A with a defensive average of 39.6.
“I just thought we played with a lot of intensity and a lot of effort in the second half,” said Teagle, whose team limited Norwell to 29 percent from the field for the game. “For 16 minutes, we really battled every possession.”
Norwell led just once — 3-0 — and the Patriots pulled away early in the fourth quarter. After McFarland scored the final four points of the third, JCHS added eight more in a row to start the fourth and extended its lead to 19 points.
“Our wheels kind of fell off a little bit,” said Norwell coach Randy Hawkins. “Our team is one of those rhythm teams … and if we don’t find the rhythm it’s going to be tough for us to score. In the last two games, Huntington North and Jay County have been tremendous defensively against us.”
McFarland’s game-high total included two 3-pointers and a 9-of-10 effort at the foul line. Scott Schwieterman had 10 rebounds to go along with eight points and five blocks.
Jay County never trailed against the Braves, building a double-digit lead in the first quarter. Still, Bellmont managed to stay within striking distance most of the way and trailed by just five late in the third quarter.
Kegan Comer’s three-point play with 1:29 left in the third period sparked a 13-1 run that put the game away.
“We got to within five points, and then they would extend their lead,” said Bellmont coach Larry Patterson. “We just couldn’t cut it down to where we could get over that hump.”
Comer matched McFarland with 19 points in the opener as the pair of guards ran the floor and got to the basket with relative ease. They combined to shoot 12-of-16 from the field and 14-of-17 from the line.
Jay County shot 60 percent from the field and outscored the Braves 18-5 on free throws.
“They did a nice job. They were active,” said Teagle of the sophomore guards. “When Kegan and Brock are that active it can really make it tough on (opposing) guards. … They’re athletic. They’re smart. They’ve got a real good basketball sense.”
Forrest Fullenkamp scored 15 points to pace Bellmont, and Josh Vanmeter finished with 13 for Norwell.
Jay County will play host Huntington North (14-8), which closed with eight straight wins, in the opening round of sectional action Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Junior varsity
A couple of dominant third quarters keyed the Patriots Saturday to victories of 35-27 over Bellmont and 42-26 over Norwell.
Jay County had slim leads at halftime of both games before taking control. It outscored the Braves 14-5 in the third period and the Knights 15-5.
Jacob Schlosser’s 16 points powered the Patriots (14-6) in their final game of the regular season, and Darren Bogenschutz added eight points. Trey Teagle scored 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half, against Bellmont, and Schlosser added seven.
Jacob Schueler led the Braves with 13 points, and David Vogel scored nine points for the Knights.[[In-content Ad]]