February 20, 2021 at 5:11 a.m.
Dirksen's block seals victory
Dirksen's block seals victory
Ethan Dirksen made nine baskets.
It was the one he stopped on defense that really made the difference.
Dirksen, a Jay County High School junior, blocked the potential game-winning 3-pointer from Norwell sophomore Luke McBride with half a second remaining as the Patriot boys basketball team hung on for a 47-45 victory Friday against the visiting Knights.
“Ethan is Ethan,” said JCHS coach Jerry Bomholt. “He has been our most consistent player all year (and he) continues to be. Plays on both ends of the floor. He’s the one guy we have right now, he doesn’t take possessions off.
“I’m not saying we have other guys that do, but you never, ever, can look at him and say that was just a lack of effort on his part. He plays both ends of the floor the way a high school player needs to play.”
The Patriots (6-8), who snapped a four-game losing streak, were down 28-21 at half and 38-36 after three quarters.
They took a 41-40 lead on a Dirksen bucket from the right baseline with 3:45 remaining, then got a 43-40 advantage when Dirksen assisted on a Dusty Pearson layup with 1:06 to play.
McBride, who led all players with 27 points, brought the Knights (8-12) within one, 43-42, on a layup with 36.9 ticks left.
Dirksen was sent to the line for a one-and-one with 34.5 seconds remaining and he made both, putting Jay County on top 45-42.
McBride drained his seventh and final 3-pointer from the left wing with 18 seconds to go, and on the ensuing possession Josh Dowlen was fouled on the floor with 1.5 seconds left.
He sank both, and at the other end Dirksen got a hand on McBride’s potential game-winner from in front of his team’s bench.
“We finally got in situations at the end that we practice and (are) trying to get over the hump,” Bomholt said. “That’s what was so frustrating up to this game is we practice those situations but we never really got ourselves in those situations to try to win the basketball game at the end.”
Dirksen led Jay County with 19 points, and Bennett Weitzel was second with 10. Pearson chipped in eight points. Dowlen, who’s two free throws proved to be the game-winning points, finished with seven.
Brody Bolyn had 10 points to join McBride in double figures for the Knights.
Junior varsity
A slow start offensively and a Knight surge in the third quarter resulted in a 45-30 loss for Jay County.
The Patriots (7-9) trailed 8-2 at the end of the first quarter and had the same margin, 16-10, at halftime. The Knights had a 15-9 edge in the third quarter for a 31-19 lead and continued to pull away down the stretch.
Brady Davis led Jay County with 13 points, and Blake Bogenschutz ended with 11 points.
It was the one he stopped on defense that really made the difference.
Dirksen, a Jay County High School junior, blocked the potential game-winning 3-pointer from Norwell sophomore Luke McBride with half a second remaining as the Patriot boys basketball team hung on for a 47-45 victory Friday against the visiting Knights.
“Ethan is Ethan,” said JCHS coach Jerry Bomholt. “He has been our most consistent player all year (and he) continues to be. Plays on both ends of the floor. He’s the one guy we have right now, he doesn’t take possessions off.
“I’m not saying we have other guys that do, but you never, ever, can look at him and say that was just a lack of effort on his part. He plays both ends of the floor the way a high school player needs to play.”
The Patriots (6-8), who snapped a four-game losing streak, were down 28-21 at half and 38-36 after three quarters.
They took a 41-40 lead on a Dirksen bucket from the right baseline with 3:45 remaining, then got a 43-40 advantage when Dirksen assisted on a Dusty Pearson layup with 1:06 to play.
McBride, who led all players with 27 points, brought the Knights (8-12) within one, 43-42, on a layup with 36.9 ticks left.
Dirksen was sent to the line for a one-and-one with 34.5 seconds remaining and he made both, putting Jay County on top 45-42.
McBride drained his seventh and final 3-pointer from the left wing with 18 seconds to go, and on the ensuing possession Josh Dowlen was fouled on the floor with 1.5 seconds left.
He sank both, and at the other end Dirksen got a hand on McBride’s potential game-winner from in front of his team’s bench.
“We finally got in situations at the end that we practice and (are) trying to get over the hump,” Bomholt said. “That’s what was so frustrating up to this game is we practice those situations but we never really got ourselves in those situations to try to win the basketball game at the end.”
Dirksen led Jay County with 19 points, and Bennett Weitzel was second with 10. Pearson chipped in eight points. Dowlen, who’s two free throws proved to be the game-winning points, finished with seven.
Brody Bolyn had 10 points to join McBride in double figures for the Knights.
Junior varsity
A slow start offensively and a Knight surge in the third quarter resulted in a 45-30 loss for Jay County.
The Patriots (7-9) trailed 8-2 at the end of the first quarter and had the same margin, 16-10, at halftime. The Knights had a 15-9 edge in the third quarter for a 31-19 lead and continued to pull away down the stretch.
Brady Davis led Jay County with 13 points, and Blake Bogenschutz ended with 11 points.
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