February 27, 2021 at 6:03 a.m.
TOs bury JC in finale
TOs bury JC in finale
Sitting on the steps next to the locker room Tuesday night at Winchester Fieldhouse, Jerry Bomholt listed the things his team would need to do to succeed in its next game.
The No. 1 item was to take care of the basketball.
The Patriots proceeded to turn the ball over six times in the first four minutes Friday.
Jay County High School’s boys basketball team fell behind by nine in large part because of those turnovers and was unable to recover in a 47-35 loss Friday to visiting Bellmont.
“Way too many turnovers,” said Bomholt, whose team finished the regular season at 7-10. “The JV started it. They had 10 the first quarter. And then we go out and we have eight (in the first quarter). And give them credit, they were double-teaming, but we work on that all the time. … We just weren’t strong with it.”
Each of Jay County’s first two possessions resulted in turnovers as Bellmont (15-7) took a 5-0 lead on a Caden Staub 3-pointer and a Tyler James layup off of a steal. The Patriots evened the score thanks to a put-back and a 3-pointer, both from sophomore Dusty Pearson, but then the turnovers bit them again.
While JCHS continued to give the ball away, Bellmont turned the turnovers into offense as 3-pointers by James, Isaiah Wellman and Staub extended its lead to 14-5.
“I think our offense is always dictated by how well we play defensively,” said BHS coach Jonathon Feulling. “We play zone at times but I think we get after it better in our man-to-man. I thought our guards did a really good job of knifing in on their bigs and getting their hands on a lot of stuff that let us get out in transition a little bit.”
Ethan Dirksen got the Patriots back into the game, pulling them to within four with a 3-pointer off of a Gavin Muhlenkamp assist with eight seconds left before halftime. But Bellmont hustled down the floor with Wellman dishing to Nic Ellsworth for a layup at the buzzer.
“That doesn’t seem like much, but it is,” said Bomholt. “It’s a momentum swing. Instead of going in off a made field goal and feeling good about what we were doing, we gave them a layup.”
Those final two points of the opening half combined with five straight from James — he led the way with a game-high 20 points — to open the third quarter and push Bellmont’s lead to double figures. The Patriots, who lost Muhlenkamp to an injury early in the period, never got closer than seven the rest of the way as the visitors used a 10-0 run later to put the game firmly in their grasp.
Staub hit two of his four 3-pointers during that run as he finished a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc to follow James with 15 points. Bellmont was 9-of-16 (56%) from long distance after Winchester hit 11 triples against the Patriots on Tuesday.
“We’ve got five guys that actually shoot it pretty well,” said Fuelling. “We haven’t had that in quite some time. … That helps us stretch out defenses …”
Ellsworth had seven points to go along with 11 rebounds and four assists.
Dirksen was the only Patriot to reach double figures as he scored 14 points. Pearson tallied the team’s first seven points en route to finishing with nine.
The loss capped Jay County’s second consecutive losing regular season after 18 winning seasons in a row. It heads to the tournament to play Delta (16-4) in the opening round of the sectional Tuesday.
“We’re going to have to play a lot better than we played tonight,” said Bomholt. “We’re going to have to have our best game because the first time we surprised them a little bit, I think, with the game plan. And now, that’s out. …
“If we don’t bring our A game, we might as well stay home and call it a season.”
Junior varsity
Jay County’s offense disappeared in the second quarter as it fell 45-27 to Bellmont.
The Patriots trailed by just one after the opening quarter but went without a field goal in the second as they were outscored 12-1. They finished the season with a 9-7 record.
Simon Dirksen paced Jay County with six points in the loss. Adrek Pogue had five points, including a free throw for the lone JCHS tally of the second quarter, and Brady Davis and Trenton Alexander each had four.
Adrian Ortega racked up a game-high 17 points for Bellmont. Andrew James followed with seven points.
The No. 1 item was to take care of the basketball.
The Patriots proceeded to turn the ball over six times in the first four minutes Friday.
Jay County High School’s boys basketball team fell behind by nine in large part because of those turnovers and was unable to recover in a 47-35 loss Friday to visiting Bellmont.
“Way too many turnovers,” said Bomholt, whose team finished the regular season at 7-10. “The JV started it. They had 10 the first quarter. And then we go out and we have eight (in the first quarter). And give them credit, they were double-teaming, but we work on that all the time. … We just weren’t strong with it.”
Each of Jay County’s first two possessions resulted in turnovers as Bellmont (15-7) took a 5-0 lead on a Caden Staub 3-pointer and a Tyler James layup off of a steal. The Patriots evened the score thanks to a put-back and a 3-pointer, both from sophomore Dusty Pearson, but then the turnovers bit them again.
While JCHS continued to give the ball away, Bellmont turned the turnovers into offense as 3-pointers by James, Isaiah Wellman and Staub extended its lead to 14-5.
“I think our offense is always dictated by how well we play defensively,” said BHS coach Jonathon Feulling. “We play zone at times but I think we get after it better in our man-to-man. I thought our guards did a really good job of knifing in on their bigs and getting their hands on a lot of stuff that let us get out in transition a little bit.”
Ethan Dirksen got the Patriots back into the game, pulling them to within four with a 3-pointer off of a Gavin Muhlenkamp assist with eight seconds left before halftime. But Bellmont hustled down the floor with Wellman dishing to Nic Ellsworth for a layup at the buzzer.
“That doesn’t seem like much, but it is,” said Bomholt. “It’s a momentum swing. Instead of going in off a made field goal and feeling good about what we were doing, we gave them a layup.”
Those final two points of the opening half combined with five straight from James — he led the way with a game-high 20 points — to open the third quarter and push Bellmont’s lead to double figures. The Patriots, who lost Muhlenkamp to an injury early in the period, never got closer than seven the rest of the way as the visitors used a 10-0 run later to put the game firmly in their grasp.
Staub hit two of his four 3-pointers during that run as he finished a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc to follow James with 15 points. Bellmont was 9-of-16 (56%) from long distance after Winchester hit 11 triples against the Patriots on Tuesday.
“We’ve got five guys that actually shoot it pretty well,” said Fuelling. “We haven’t had that in quite some time. … That helps us stretch out defenses …”
Ellsworth had seven points to go along with 11 rebounds and four assists.
Dirksen was the only Patriot to reach double figures as he scored 14 points. Pearson tallied the team’s first seven points en route to finishing with nine.
The loss capped Jay County’s second consecutive losing regular season after 18 winning seasons in a row. It heads to the tournament to play Delta (16-4) in the opening round of the sectional Tuesday.
“We’re going to have to play a lot better than we played tonight,” said Bomholt. “We’re going to have to have our best game because the first time we surprised them a little bit, I think, with the game plan. And now, that’s out. …
“If we don’t bring our A game, we might as well stay home and call it a season.”
Junior varsity
Jay County’s offense disappeared in the second quarter as it fell 45-27 to Bellmont.
The Patriots trailed by just one after the opening quarter but went without a field goal in the second as they were outscored 12-1. They finished the season with a 9-7 record.
Simon Dirksen paced Jay County with six points in the loss. Adrek Pogue had five points, including a free throw for the lone JCHS tally of the second quarter, and Brady Davis and Trenton Alexander each had four.
Adrian Ortega racked up a game-high 17 points for Bellmont. Andrew James followed with seven points.
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