Silent down the stretch

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Without a single standout player, the Patriots may have a difficult time scoring.

It’s not for ill-advised or rushed shots; they had plenty of chances.

Down the stretch the attempts just didn’t go through the hoop.

Jay County High School’s boys basketball team made just two of its 10 shots in the fourth quarter and was held scoreless for the final four minutes Saturday in a 34-31 loss to the Richmond Red Devils.

“We knew coming in we were going to struggle scoring and tonight kind of proved that,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team dipped to 1-1 on the season and travels to Fort Wayne to meet sectional rival South Side on Dec. 2.

“I never know who is going to score for us night in and night out,” he said.

Richmond coach Rick Wedlow switched his personnel in the third quarter to go for a quicker lineup in forcing Jay County into playing more of a full-court game.

“They are good half-court executing team,” said Wedlow, whose team is also 1-1 for the year. “It changed the blueprint in our favor and fortunately we were able to make another play or two.”

The last of those came in the waning seconds of the game when JCHS senior Cole Stigleman let fly the potential game-tying 3-pointer. He dribbled to his left toward the top of the key and launched an open shot, but it missed to the left of the rim.

Junior Wyatt Geesaman fought Richmond’s Phillip Hobbs for the rebound, with Hobbs corralling a bouncing ball and throwing it off Geesaman as he went out of bounds, giving the Red Devils possession with 1.6 seconds remaining.

“Phil is kind of a glue guy,” Wedlow said. Hobbs had three points and a block. “He does what we ask him to do. He is always in the right place. He always has the right attitude.

“Winning teams, good teams, always have a guy like Phillip.”

Holton Hill banked a shot off the glass to give Jay County a 31-30 lead midway through the fourth quarter, and Richmond’s Christian Harvey accounted for the final points of the game. The Red Devil senior put his team up for good, 32-31, with a fast-break layup with 3:01 to play, split a pair of free throws nearly a minute later and made it a three-point game by making one of two charity tosses with 34.2 seconds left.

“Christian Harvey is about as close to a superstar as you get but the rest of our guys, just good, serviceable, good-character guys and we’re trying to get the most out of them,” Wedlow said. Harvey led all players with 16 points. Koream Jett followed with eight points for Richmond, which also got seven points from Rickie Wedlow. “Not taking anything away from their basketball talent, but we’re not just loaded, if you will.”

After trailing by four entering the second quarter, the Patriots ripped off eight straight points to take a 15-11 advantage. Stigleman — he led Jay County with nine points — drained a triple from the top of the key, Michael Schlechty and Geesaman made layups on Hill assists and Ryan Schlechty made a free throw.

Michael Schlechty finished with eight points, and Grimes had four. Stigleman and Geesaman led the squad with five rebounds apiece.

The Patriots led 17-14 at half, and battled with the Red Devils in the third quarter but were outmatched 12-9 in scoring as the game was knotted at 26 after 32 minutes of play.

“We got good looks,” Krieg said of the fourth quarter. “They just wouldn’t fall. Hats off to them. They played better than us tonight. They were quicker than us. They were better than us.

“We just have to live and learn from these games and move on.”



Junior varsity

Matthew Franks hit a 3-pointer to tie the game once in the extra period but couldn’t repeat the feat as Jay County lost in overtime, 47-44.

The Patriots (1-1) had a 31-27 lead after three quarters but got outscored by Richmond 12-8 in the fourth. Franks, who was second on the team with 12 points, drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 44 in overtime, but Darius Porfidio-Brown made three free throws and Franks’ potential game-tying shot before the buzzer was off the mark.

Jay County’s Gabe Link led all players with 20 points, 14 of which came during the first half. Xavier Ninde had four points, and Korbin Auker had three points.



C team

Jay County fell behind by three after the opening quarter and had difficulty closing the gap in a 43-37 loss.

The Patriots (0-2) trailed 18-14 at half and closed the gap to just three points, 26-23, heading into the final period. But all the Red Devils did in the last seven minutes is extend the lead.

Gavin Lambert led Jay County with eight points, while Sheldon Upp and Conner Tout had seven points apiece. Brian Williams chipped in six points, and Peyton Nichols contributed five points.