Patriots drop ninth straight

MONROE — When it rains, it pours.

That’s been the case with the weather over the last few days.

It’s been true for the Patriots for about six weeks.

Jay County’s boys basketball team finished with more turnovers than points Saturday as it dropped its ninth straight game 41-25 to the host Adams Central Jets.

“Twenty-six turnovers … 11-of-25 shooting in the paint, 0-of-10 from three, 3-of-13 at the foul line,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team hasn’t won since topping Richmond 47-44 Nov. 30. “First of all, the turnovers, that’s your game, right there. … You’ve got to take care of the basketball.”

The Patriots (2-9, 0-2 Allen County Athletic Conference) led 5-3 after a dismal opening quarter of offense that saw them turn the ball over eight times while Adams Central shot 1-of-10. But the Jets (3-7, 2-1 ACAC) were able to take control when Jay County failed to score over the final five minutes of the half and the opening two minutes of the third quarter.

Another four-minute scoring drought that spanned the third-quarter break allowed Adams Central to take complete control with an 11-0 run that included three 3-pointers.

The Patriots never got back within single digits.

“I told my assistant coach, coach (Sam) Beer, there on the bench, I think it was (Chase) Murray who hit a three for us, I said, ‘Man, that three felt like he just hit a 10-pointer and not a 3-pointer,’” said Adams Central coach Aaron McClure. “It was good he hit a couple of those to give us a little bit of cushion in there.”

While Jay County did a solid job of limiting the Jets’ interior offense thanks to eight blocks, including five from freshman Bennett Weitzel, the four second-half 3-pointers by the home team proved to be killers.

Lucas Van De Weg hit two of those, along with one in the first half, as he led Adams Central with 13 points. Ben Voirol followed with 10.

For the Patriots, offense was again a struggle from the start against the 2-3 zone. They turned the ball over on six of their first seven possessions, missed all of their 12 3-point attempts and finished 3-of-13 from the free-throw line.

“We worked on it all week,” said Krieg, whose team previously struggled against the same zone look in losses to Woodlan and Fort Recovery. “We knew what we were going to see these two games (against Adams Central and Woodlan). We focused completely on the two-three zone. The high post was open all night long. And our first look was not there.”

Gavin Lambert’s eight points were the team high for Jay County. No one else had more than four.

The Patriots will see the zone again Tuesday when they get a rematch against Woodlan in the opening round of the Allen County Athletic Conference Tournament in Woodburn. The Warriors defeated JCHS 42-38 on Dec. 6, starting the current losing streak that ties its longest since 1993-94.



Junior varsity

A strong second quarter help propel Jay County to a 38-30 victory over the Jets.

The Patriots trailed 8-4 after the opening quarter before they scored 19 points in the second. They were up by just two heading in the final period but pulled away for the eight-point win.

Gavin Myers paced JCHS with eight points. Jaron Alexander followed with seven, and Adams Muhlenkamp scored six.

Kam Brown had a game-high 14 points for Adams Central before leaving the game with an injury in the fourth quarter. Braysen Yergler scored eight.



Freshman

The Patriots improved to 3-4 with a 45-31 victory over Adams Central.

Jay County led by nine points at halftime thanks to a 14-point second quarter. It blanked the Jets in the third quarter to put the game away.

Brady Davis totaled 17 points to lead the Patriots. Josh Dowlen was right behind him with 16.

Trevor Elsberg’s 10 points were the team-high for Adams Central. Brayden Light scored nine points.