Remembering the run I

The 2015-16 basketball season marks the 10-year anniversary of the Jay County High School boys team making a run to the 2006 Class 3A state championship game. This is the first in a series of weekly looks back at that season.

Nov. 25, 2005
Coming off of a 15-win season that ended in a 41-25 sectional championship loss to Delta, the Patriots started strong on the day before Thanksgiving with a 68-41 victory over the Elwood Panthers.
Tyler Rigby had a hand in each point during Jay County’s 11-0 run to open the game, scoring seven of his own and assisting on two baskets by fellow senior Zac Green. A 14-1 run in the second period put the game out of reach. Rigby finished with 15 points in the win, Randy Evans added 12, and Corey Comer grabbed 12 rebounds.

Dec. 2, 2005
Jay County trailed by 13 at the half at Bellmont and was still down by 10 with eight minutes to play. But the Patriots came roaring back, with Green hitting a game-tying 3-pointer with 2:16 left in the game and Scott “Scooter” Bruggeman burying a 3-pointer off of an assist from Evans on the next possession for a three-point lead. The visitors made 7-of-8 free throws late to seal a 70-64 win.
Green had three 3-pointers in the victory and scored 11 of his career-high 16 points in the second half. John Retter added 10 points while grabbing a game-best 14 rebounds.

Dec. 3, 2005
A night after needing a big comeback, the Patriots left nothing to doubt as they blew out visiting Blackford 61-27.
Jay County had a 12-point lead midway through the third quarter and then shut out the Bruins for a seven-minute stretch while scoring 18 points of its own. It had led throughout, having opened the game with an 8-0 run.
Retter and Evans each had 11 points, and Bruggeman followed with 10.