Second half sinks Patriots

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RICHMOND — The Red Devils nailed buzzer-beating 3-pointers in each of the first two quarters.

Back-to-back triples and a second-half outburst buried the Patriots.

Lucas Kroft beat the first-quarter buzzer, Koream Jett knocked down a triple just before halftime and Jalen Hillard drained three of his five 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Richmond Red Devils buried the Jay County High School boys basketball team 70-47 on Saturday at Tiernan Center.

“It was brutal,” said Jay County coach Chris Krieg, whose team opens Allen County Athletic Conference play on Friday at Woodlan before hosting South Side on Saturday. “I thought our defensive intensity in the second half was non-existent. We didn’t communicate. We left shooters wide open.”

Jett, who finished with seven points for Richmond, sent the Red Devils into intermission leading 26-22 and riding high after the team missed its first six shots to begin the game.

A Ryan Schlechty basket on a Parker Grimes assist brought Jay County (1-1) within two, 26-24, but Hillard responded with a wide-open 3-pointer from the right corner.

Later in the period, Hillard swished long-range shots from the left wing and then the top of the key — both uncontested — to put the Red Devils (1-0) out front 41-28.

“We knew he could shoot the ball,” Krieg said of Hillard, a transfer from Northeastern who shared the game-high of 16 points with former North Side standout Andrew Kroft.

Early in the fourth quarter, Jordan Frye, another Richmond transfer as former North Side coach Shabaz Khaliq made his debut leading the Red Devils, had an and-one for the biggest lead of the night, 50-34.

Lucas Kroft, a senior who signed with Ball State, and brother Andrew Kroft — the sophomore has an offer from BSU — combined for 23 of Richmond’s 44 points in the second half after totaling just eight before the break. The Red Devils scored on all but four of its possessions in the final two quarters.

“When you’re dealing with that kind of basketball player you have to have great fundamentals to help neutralize that,” Krieg said. “Our second-half fundamentals were terrible.”

Lucas Kroft finished with 14 points, and Andrew led all players with nine rebounds.

Michael Schlechty led Jay County with 13 points, all of which came in the first half. He stepped out and made three 3-pointers, one shy of his total from all of last year, including the first two baskets of the game.

“We noticed this summer he shot the ball well and that makes him hard to guard,” Krieg said.

Gabe Link joined Schlechty in double figures with 12, and Grimes finished with eight points.



Junior varsity

Jay County got as close as three points in the third quarter but Richmond pulled away for a 42-31 victory.

The Patriots (1-1) fell behind 21-17 at half after the game was tied at eight after seven minutes of play. They trailed 26-23 in the third before the Red Devils (1-0) put the game away in the final period.

Brayden Mock led Jay County with 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Ethan Dirksen and Gavin Muhlenkamp totaled seven points apiece, while Landon Grimes contributed three points.



Freshman

Quinn Faulkner was the only player to score in double digits but it wasn’t enough as Jay County fell, 36-31.

The Patriots (1-1) trailed 10-5 after one and went into intermission behind 22-12. They brought the margin to five points with one quarter to play but weren’t able to grab the lead.

Faulkner was 9-for-12 from the free-throw line and had one 2-point basket to finish with 11 points. Crosby Heniser was second on the team with six points, and Adam Muhlenkamp tallied five points. Camdin Harrison totaled three points as Trenton Alexander, Gavin Myers and Hunter Chapman each had two points.