JCHS quiets Braves' offense

A tap of the snooze button typically results in a nine-minute reprieve from the alarm clock.
The Bellmont offense took even longer to wake from its offensive slumber against the Patriots.
Jay County High School’s boys basketball team held the visiting Braves scoreless for more than 12 minutes, including the entire second quarter, as it closed the regular season with a 53-28 victory Friday over the visiting Braves.
The Patriots (17-6) outscored Bellmont 17-0 in the second quarter and never trailed. Coach Craig Teagle was able to take his three seniors — Zach Pryor, Justin Dirksen and Nick Clemens — out to an ovation with a 28-point lead with 4:02 remaining.
“We were sitting on the bench talking about how this is the last time we’re going to play here,” said Dirksen. “It’s crazy.”
Dirksen totaled a team-high 11 points as Jay County had six players finish with at least six points. His effort included a 3-pointer from the left wing at the halftime buzzer after Pryor tossed an inbound pass with just 0.9 seconds left on the clock.
Pryor joined his classmate in double figures with 10 points, six of which came in the opening period.

Clemens added four points the Patriots, who reached the 17-win mark for the fourth time in five years.
“I’m proud of the seniors going out with the right way, going out with a win,” said JCHS coach Craig Teagle. “They’re three outstanding young men.
“Zach Pryor’s done a great job all year delivering the ball, getting it to the right people, initiating our defense.
“Justin Dirksen probably works as hard as any individual I’ve ever coached in my life, just full speed all the time. And then Nick Clemens is probably one of the smartest basketball players we’ve had. …
“It’s great that each one of them had a role that was significant and important for this team to be successful.”
The teams went back-and-forth in the opening period, but the Patriots fixed their defensive execution in the second and quickly turned the game into a blowout.
Bellmont went scoreless for 12:19 before Evan Selking finally split a pair of free throws with 4:25 on the clock in the third quarter. They went another three minutes without a field goal before Trace Bauer connected on one of his five 3-pointers.
“We were just communicating real well,” said Pryor. “It just gets us juiced. That really motivates us and gets us going and makes us play harder.”
The game was the fourth this season in which the Patriots have held and opponent scoreless for a quarter. They blanked Muncie Central 7-0 in the season opener en route to an overtime win, and later shut out Southern Wells and Blackford.
The Braves were 1-of-13 from the field in the second and third quarters while Jay County outscored them 28-4.
“They’re very disciplined defensively,” said Bellmont coach John Baker, whose team made just a single two-point field goal. “They do everything so well inside the painted area. It doesn’t leave a whole lot of room to operate. You take 3-point shots. They go or they don’t go. It’s hard when you live and die like that.”
Adam Dirksen, Kyler Carvel, Justin Dirksen, Jay Houck, Clemens and Pryor all scored for JCHS during the second quarter. Justin Dirksen and Pryor each added two points to open the third quarter to complete a 23-0 run, and the Patriots were up 53-25 when the seniors left the game.
Justin Dirksen had five rebounds and an assist to go along with his team-leading scoring total, and Pryor added four assists and three rebounds. Adam Dirksen recorded four blocks.
Jay Houck grabbed six boards to lead JCHS to a 29-12 advantage on the glass. The Braves had just one offensive rebound.
“They got so many second-chance opportunities rebounding inside,” said Baker. “And on the flip side defensively, they cleared glass every time and didn’t allow for us to have second-chance opportunities.”
Bellmont (6-16), which closed the regular season with seven straight losses, wasn’t able to get much going offensively with the exception of Bauer’s five 3-pointers for a game-high 15 points. Jake Hall was their No. 2 scoring with four points.

Junior varsity
Jay County dominated the opening quarter and never looked back in a 48-27 victory over the Squaws.
The Patriots (15-5), who closed the season with eight straight wins, were up by eight after the opening period. They extended the lead to 10 at halftime and kept the double-digit advantage throughout the second half.
Ryan Burkett scored eight points to lead JCHS, with all of them coming in the third quarter. His evening included a pair of 3-pointers.
Spencer Calvert, Justin Crouch and Bryan Stancliffe each added seven points.
Josieah Mathieu totaled a game-high nine points for the Braves. Daxtyn Uhlman and Collin Selking finished with seven points apiece.