December 28, 2019 at 4:36 a.m.
Turnover trouble
Miscues lead to JC’s sixth straight defeat
Turnover trouble
HUNTINGTON — Putting the ball in the basket has been a problem at times for the Patriots this season.
That wasn’t the case Friday.
Instead, it was the turnovers that bit them again.
Jay County turned the ball over 21 times, often leading to transition scores for the host Vikings in a 63-50 defeat in the Huntington North Holiday Tournament.
“That’s the name of the game right there is our turnovers,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team had nine fourth-quarter turnovers in its loss to Yorktown on Dec. 19. “I’ll take aggressive turnovers when you’re attacking … That’s going to happen. … Those turnovers I can take.
“The illegal screens. The horrendous passing today. That cost us the game.”
The loss to the host team was the second of the day for the Patriots, who also fell 68-49 to Leo in the tournament’s opening game. They will return to Huntington for the consolation game at 10 a.m. today against Merrillville (3-6), which fell to New Haven and Warren Central Friday.
Other match-ups today will pit New Haven against Huntington North in the third-place game and Warren Central against Leo in the championship.
The problems for the Patriots (2-6), who have lost six straight after a 2-0 start, began early as they turned the ball over on each of their first four possessions, with three of those leading to hoops by sophomore Zach Hubartt. By the game’s end, their turnovers led directly to 19 transition points for Huntington North (3-4).
“It’s usually the other way. We turn it over, they get transition points,” said Craig Teagle, who spent 17 seasons leading JCHS, including a run to the 2006 Class 3A state championship game, before taking over the Huntington North program in 2015. “Jay County’s really good at driving it and making the extra pass. We really talked about the back side guard dropping in front of the post, and I thought we got two or three deflections by doing that today.”
Jay County, which had scored fewer than 40 points in three straight game prior to Friday, overcame its early 6-0 deficit and an eight-point hole early in the second quarter thanks to some lights-out shooting. It hit six of its first eight 3-point attempts, including two each for Peyton Nichols and Bennett Weitzel, and then scored its final five points of the first half from the foul line as it pulled even at 29.
But Huntington North responded by scoring the first eight points of the third quarter to take control again. And it opened in the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to extend its advantage for 14 points.
The Patriots would never get closer than nine points the rest of the way.
“We always talk about that the first two minutes of the third quarter are so important about how you’re going to dictate the second half,” said Teagle, who got 17 points from Hubartt and 12 points and five assists from senior Deven Newcomb. “It was so important to come out and make sure they didn’t get the lead and we didn’t have to fight from behind.”
Ethan Dirksen’s 13 points were the team-high for Jay County, which shot 58 percent from the field, 62 percent from long distance and 86 percent from the foul line but had just 26 field-goal attempts compared to 41 for the Vikings. Gavin Muhlenkamp, Noah Arbuckle and Weitzel each added eight points. Muhlenkamp dished out four assists and Arbuckle had four rebounds.
The opening game got away from the Patriots as they were outscored 18-8 in the second quarter for a 16-point halftime deficit. They were able to close to within 11, but did not get any closer.
Blake Davison poured in five 3-pointers, including two in each of the first two quarters, to lead the Lions to the win with 23 points.
“He is just a really phenomenal basketball player,” said Krieg. “He’s very skilled. Very cagey. Very smart.
“We got them within 11, he brings him in, and he bumps it back out to a 20-point game, just because he has that kind of skill level.”
DJ Allen, a 6-foot, 5-inch, forward followed Davison with 19 points. Zack Troyer scored all of his seven points in the second half.
Dirksen was the only JCHS player to reach double figures as he totaled 16 points. Muhlenkamp and Weitzel added nine points apiece.
That wasn’t the case Friday.
Instead, it was the turnovers that bit them again.
Jay County turned the ball over 21 times, often leading to transition scores for the host Vikings in a 63-50 defeat in the Huntington North Holiday Tournament.
“That’s the name of the game right there is our turnovers,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team had nine fourth-quarter turnovers in its loss to Yorktown on Dec. 19. “I’ll take aggressive turnovers when you’re attacking … That’s going to happen. … Those turnovers I can take.
“The illegal screens. The horrendous passing today. That cost us the game.”
The loss to the host team was the second of the day for the Patriots, who also fell 68-49 to Leo in the tournament’s opening game. They will return to Huntington for the consolation game at 10 a.m. today against Merrillville (3-6), which fell to New Haven and Warren Central Friday.
Other match-ups today will pit New Haven against Huntington North in the third-place game and Warren Central against Leo in the championship.
The problems for the Patriots (2-6), who have lost six straight after a 2-0 start, began early as they turned the ball over on each of their first four possessions, with three of those leading to hoops by sophomore Zach Hubartt. By the game’s end, their turnovers led directly to 19 transition points for Huntington North (3-4).
“It’s usually the other way. We turn it over, they get transition points,” said Craig Teagle, who spent 17 seasons leading JCHS, including a run to the 2006 Class 3A state championship game, before taking over the Huntington North program in 2015. “Jay County’s really good at driving it and making the extra pass. We really talked about the back side guard dropping in front of the post, and I thought we got two or three deflections by doing that today.”
Jay County, which had scored fewer than 40 points in three straight game prior to Friday, overcame its early 6-0 deficit and an eight-point hole early in the second quarter thanks to some lights-out shooting. It hit six of its first eight 3-point attempts, including two each for Peyton Nichols and Bennett Weitzel, and then scored its final five points of the first half from the foul line as it pulled even at 29.
But Huntington North responded by scoring the first eight points of the third quarter to take control again. And it opened in the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to extend its advantage for 14 points.
The Patriots would never get closer than nine points the rest of the way.
“We always talk about that the first two minutes of the third quarter are so important about how you’re going to dictate the second half,” said Teagle, who got 17 points from Hubartt and 12 points and five assists from senior Deven Newcomb. “It was so important to come out and make sure they didn’t get the lead and we didn’t have to fight from behind.”
Ethan Dirksen’s 13 points were the team-high for Jay County, which shot 58 percent from the field, 62 percent from long distance and 86 percent from the foul line but had just 26 field-goal attempts compared to 41 for the Vikings. Gavin Muhlenkamp, Noah Arbuckle and Weitzel each added eight points. Muhlenkamp dished out four assists and Arbuckle had four rebounds.
The opening game got away from the Patriots as they were outscored 18-8 in the second quarter for a 16-point halftime deficit. They were able to close to within 11, but did not get any closer.
Blake Davison poured in five 3-pointers, including two in each of the first two quarters, to lead the Lions to the win with 23 points.
“He is just a really phenomenal basketball player,” said Krieg. “He’s very skilled. Very cagey. Very smart.
“We got them within 11, he brings him in, and he bumps it back out to a 20-point game, just because he has that kind of skill level.”
DJ Allen, a 6-foot, 5-inch, forward followed Davison with 19 points. Zack Troyer scored all of his seven points in the second half.
Dirksen was the only JCHS player to reach double figures as he totaled 16 points. Muhlenkamp and Weitzel added nine points apiece.
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