Late FTs miss mark in JC defeat

RICHMOND — The Patriots got exactly what they wanted.

Trailing by one with 11.4 seconds left, they put the ball in the hands of their best scorer. He attacked and was fouled.

But both of Jay Houck's free throws with 4.7 seconds on the clock missed, and so did a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, as the Jay County High School boys basketball team fell 43-42 Saturday to the Richmond Red Devils.

"If the game's on the line, it's going to be in Jay's hands," said JCHS coach Chris Krieg. "I know that's a lot of pressure for a 17-year-old, but he is skilled and I want him there. I know Jay's in there beating himself up, and I wish there was something I could do for him, but I can't. He's just got to fight through it."

The Patriots found themselves fighting back throughout the second half after an early 11-0 Richmond run in the opening quarter. They closed to within two at 39-37, fell behind by six again and then closed the gap on a Jason Schlosser 3-pointer and a Spencer Calvert layup.

A Richmond turnover set up the final sequence, in which Houck (15 points) took an inbound pass from Cole Stigleman and attacked on the left wing. He was fouled before he had a chance to get near the basket, sending him to the line with an opportunity to tie the game with one free throw and put the Jay County ahead with two.

His first shot, which came after a timeout by Richmond coach Rick Wedlow, caromed off to the right. His second went in and out, hitting the back of the rim and the front before popping out and falling into the arms of the Red Devils' Marcus Leverette.

“I didn't think Houck would miss those free throws,” said Wedlow, “so the last resort was to ice him, and I guess that worked. That works about one out of 10 times, but thank god tonight it was that one out of 10."

The Patriots still had a final chance after Trey Griffin also missed two free throws — he attempted to throw the second off the rim in an effort to run off the final 0.8 seconds, but missed the iron — for Richmond.

Stigleman sent a pass the length of the floor as Houck curled around a Schlosser screen, but his fade-away 3-pointer from the right corner hit the top of the backboard as time expired.

While Griffin missed the late free throws, he led Richmond in its barrage from 3-point range. He was 5-of-7 from long distance and scored a game-high 17 points.

The Red Devils hit half of their 22 total 3-point tries, willingingly firing away while Jay County focused on keeping them out of the paint. Tylee Hampton followed Griffin with four triples and 14 points, and Christian Harvey set up most of the Richmond scoring as he dished out nine assists.

Turnovers were a problem again for the Patriots, who gave the ball away 22 times. They had 16 turnovers, seven of which came in the fourth quarter, in their season-opening loss Tuesday at Hagerstown.

Jay County is 0-2 for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

'We've just got to bounce back,” said Krieg, whose team will play its third consecutive road game to open the year when it travels Friday to Woodburn to take on Woodlan. "Right now it's just all a mental game. The kids just got to believe. And they will. It'll all work out in the end. It's a long season."

Junior varsity

A strong first half and a lead early in the third quarter disappeared as Jay County slipped to 1-1 with a 37-29 loss to the Red Devils.

The Patriots built a three-point lead at halftime and remained tied with Richmond at the end of the third quarter. But the Red Devils outscored the visitors 15-7 in the final seven minutes to earn the win.

Wyatt Geesaman scored 11 points to lead JCHS. Jordan Stultz followed with seven, and Gabe Faulkner had four.

Brandon Ervin set the pace for Richmond with 11 points. Jacob Jones added 10 points, eight of which came in the second half.

Freshman

The Patriots struggled in the second quarter and were unable to recover in a 40-20 loss to Richmond.

Jay County (0-2) had a one-point lead after the opening period before the Red Devils' pressure threw them out of sync. The home team proceeded to put together a 19-5 advantage in the second quarter and cruised in the second half.

Noah Arbuckle led the Patriots as he scored half of their points. Gabe Link and Sheldon Upp had three points apiece.

Ishmael Calderon powered Richmond with 17 points.