January 3, 2021 at 4:58 a.m.
Jay boys hang on
Patriots surge by Bearcats in second quarter, hang on to end losing streak
Jay boys hang on
Since winning the season opener, the Patriots had struggled offensively.
They’d play too timidly on offense, unwilling to take good shots and making poor decisions passing the ball.
It resulted in three straight losses.
Against a team that was struggling in its own right Saturday, the Patriots found their spark.
Jay County High School’s boys basketball team used a 20-point second quarter and a hot start to the second half to build a lead over the Muncie Central Bearcats and hung on down the stretch for a 54-47 victory Saturday night.
“Best quarter we’ve had all year,” JCHS coach Jerry Bomholt, whose team improved to 2-3, said of the second quarter. “We took care of the ball. We made good shot selections. We played really hard on defense.”
It marked the end of the Patriots’ three-game losing streak, and snapped a four-game skid against the Bearcats (0-6). The last win for Jay County against Muncie Central was Dec. 30, 2016.
“They played disciplined basketball,” Muncie Central coach Chandler Thompson said. “They are well-coached. They did the things they were supposed to do.
“We came out and instead of being composed we went back to we were elementary school kids and started shooting every time we got the ball. That’s the difference.
“You get one or two passes and a shot. No offensive rebound. No one in position to know what’s really going on. (Jay County) passed the ball five or six times or more and was able to get what they wanted.”
Muncie Central hit shots early and led by as much as eight points, 16-8, early in the second quarter. Jay County then started to be more aggressive offensively, choosing to shoot with the ball down near the basket instead of passing it out to the perimeter.
Dusty Pearson scored six of his eight points in the second quarter, including back-to-back buckets that began a 12-3 JCHS run. His last shot, a baseline jumper as the halftime buzzer sounded, capped a period during which the Patriots outscored the Bearcats 20-13 and gave the home team momentum as it went into intermission leading 28-26.
“We’ve been working (on) building confidence,” Bomholt said. “We’ve worked really hard on trying to get their confidence up.”
Sophomore Josh Dowlen had a personal 8-0 run to start the third quarter for the Patriots, who welcomed a larger crowd for the first time this season. Dowlen swished a 3-pointer from the left wing on a Gavin Muhlenkamp assist and then, after Pearson blocked a shot at the other end, Dowlen lofted a floater for two more points.
Then with 4:40 remaining in the period, Dowlen bounced a shot from the top of the arc off the glass for three more points as the Patriots went on top, 36-26.
Muncie Central fired back in the fourth quarter, outscoring Jay County 11-5 to cut the 41-33 deficit that started the period at just two points, 42-44.
Muhlenkamp, however, who had missed all six of his shots from the floor, made four consecutive free throws to put the game out of reach.
“We let the lead filter down to two, then we got tough enough mentally,” Bomholt said of his biggest takeaway. “We rebounded like crazy and we hit our free throws. If you can figure out a way so they can win down the stretch that is big, and they did that tonight.”
Jay County held a 38-24 edge on rebounds, with Bennett Weitzel leading the way with nine rebounds. The Patriots were issued 10 dead-ball rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. In all, the home team dominated the offensive glass with 17 boards.
Ethan Dirksen led the Patriots with 16 points. Weitzel and Dowlen each had nine points. It was a career high for Dowlen, who was making his second start in as many games.
“When I value our team, I look at our contributions (by positions),” Bomholt said. “It’s the first time where position-by-position we’ve had double-figure contributions.
“Tonight, we did that. And again I’m really proud of them.”
Jay County also withstood a flurry of 3-point attempts from Muncie Central, which attempted 27 shots from the perimeter. Only seven of them went through the hoop, though, with Malik Hasani nailing six of them. He had a game- and career-high 25 points.
“Without his scoring today I don’t know where we would have been,” Thompson said. Hasani entered the night averaging 10.8 points per game this season. “I know he got a lot of shots. Some guys were scared to shoot the ball which led him to get more shots.”
Junior varsity
Jay County wasn’t able to dig out of another early hole in a 53-25 loss to Muncie Central.
The Patriots (0-5) fell behind 15-6 at the end of the first quarter and the margin stayed the same at halftime, 24-19. The Bearcats pulled away in the second half, racing by the home team 29-10 in the final 14 minutes.
Brady Davis scored eight points to lead Jay County, and Gavin Myers followed with seven points. BJ Isom of Muncie Central hit four threes on his way to a game-high 18 points.
They’d play too timidly on offense, unwilling to take good shots and making poor decisions passing the ball.
It resulted in three straight losses.
Against a team that was struggling in its own right Saturday, the Patriots found their spark.
Jay County High School’s boys basketball team used a 20-point second quarter and a hot start to the second half to build a lead over the Muncie Central Bearcats and hung on down the stretch for a 54-47 victory Saturday night.
“Best quarter we’ve had all year,” JCHS coach Jerry Bomholt, whose team improved to 2-3, said of the second quarter. “We took care of the ball. We made good shot selections. We played really hard on defense.”
It marked the end of the Patriots’ three-game losing streak, and snapped a four-game skid against the Bearcats (0-6). The last win for Jay County against Muncie Central was Dec. 30, 2016.
“They played disciplined basketball,” Muncie Central coach Chandler Thompson said. “They are well-coached. They did the things they were supposed to do.
“We came out and instead of being composed we went back to we were elementary school kids and started shooting every time we got the ball. That’s the difference.
“You get one or two passes and a shot. No offensive rebound. No one in position to know what’s really going on. (Jay County) passed the ball five or six times or more and was able to get what they wanted.”
Muncie Central hit shots early and led by as much as eight points, 16-8, early in the second quarter. Jay County then started to be more aggressive offensively, choosing to shoot with the ball down near the basket instead of passing it out to the perimeter.
Dusty Pearson scored six of his eight points in the second quarter, including back-to-back buckets that began a 12-3 JCHS run. His last shot, a baseline jumper as the halftime buzzer sounded, capped a period during which the Patriots outscored the Bearcats 20-13 and gave the home team momentum as it went into intermission leading 28-26.
“We’ve been working (on) building confidence,” Bomholt said. “We’ve worked really hard on trying to get their confidence up.”
Sophomore Josh Dowlen had a personal 8-0 run to start the third quarter for the Patriots, who welcomed a larger crowd for the first time this season. Dowlen swished a 3-pointer from the left wing on a Gavin Muhlenkamp assist and then, after Pearson blocked a shot at the other end, Dowlen lofted a floater for two more points.
Then with 4:40 remaining in the period, Dowlen bounced a shot from the top of the arc off the glass for three more points as the Patriots went on top, 36-26.
Muncie Central fired back in the fourth quarter, outscoring Jay County 11-5 to cut the 41-33 deficit that started the period at just two points, 42-44.
Muhlenkamp, however, who had missed all six of his shots from the floor, made four consecutive free throws to put the game out of reach.
“We let the lead filter down to two, then we got tough enough mentally,” Bomholt said of his biggest takeaway. “We rebounded like crazy and we hit our free throws. If you can figure out a way so they can win down the stretch that is big, and they did that tonight.”
Jay County held a 38-24 edge on rebounds, with Bennett Weitzel leading the way with nine rebounds. The Patriots were issued 10 dead-ball rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. In all, the home team dominated the offensive glass with 17 boards.
Ethan Dirksen led the Patriots with 16 points. Weitzel and Dowlen each had nine points. It was a career high for Dowlen, who was making his second start in as many games.
“When I value our team, I look at our contributions (by positions),” Bomholt said. “It’s the first time where position-by-position we’ve had double-figure contributions.
“Tonight, we did that. And again I’m really proud of them.”
Jay County also withstood a flurry of 3-point attempts from Muncie Central, which attempted 27 shots from the perimeter. Only seven of them went through the hoop, though, with Malik Hasani nailing six of them. He had a game- and career-high 25 points.
“Without his scoring today I don’t know where we would have been,” Thompson said. Hasani entered the night averaging 10.8 points per game this season. “I know he got a lot of shots. Some guys were scared to shoot the ball which led him to get more shots.”
Junior varsity
Jay County wasn’t able to dig out of another early hole in a 53-25 loss to Muncie Central.
The Patriots (0-5) fell behind 15-6 at the end of the first quarter and the margin stayed the same at halftime, 24-19. The Bearcats pulled away in the second half, racing by the home team 29-10 in the final 14 minutes.
Brady Davis scored eight points to lead Jay County, and Gavin Myers followed with seven points. BJ Isom of Muncie Central hit four threes on his way to a game-high 18 points.
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