July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Bihn lifts Fort (02/06/06)
JCHS/FRHS boys basketball
Bihn lifts Fort (02/06/06)
By By RAY COONEY-
FORT RECOVERY — With its full roster available, Jay County had lost just twice — both to state-ranked opponents. Fort Recovery upped that total to three.
Luke Bihn completed an outstanding night of shooting by hitting a pair of free throws with 8.9 seconds to go, giving the Indians a 55-54 victory over the visiting Patriots.
“I needed to hit those free throws,” said Bihn of what he was thinking with the game on the line. “We do it every day in practice. We do it every morning before school. You can’t be nervous. Nervous never wins it. You’ve got to hit them.
“Jay County’s starting to be a big rival. Coach (Brian) Patch is from Jay County. We just wanted to get a W tonight.”
Although foul shooting has not been a strength for the Indians this year, Bihn didn’t miss with the game on the line. Instead he completed his own perfect evening in which he went 4-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line for 12 points.
He typified a wildly successful shooting night for both teams as Fort Recovery (6-9) finished at 63 percent from the field while Jay County shot 53 percent.
Travis VanSkyock led the Indian effort with 22 points, including a 4-of-8 mark from 3-point range. Clint Tobe went 7-of-9 and scored 16 points.
VanSkyock had six rebounds, and Bihn grabbed four.
“Luke Bihn stepped up as that third scorer we’ve been needing,” said Patch, who is now 2-1 against his alma mater. “At the same time Travis and Clint stepped up and hit some very big shots for us when we needed them to.
“I’m very excited. I thought it was a great team effort. Some of the things we’ve struggled with almost all year — consistency, playing a full game — the kids stepped up tonight and responded against a very quality team. We came out and I thought we played pretty well for 32 minutes ...”
Even after Bihn’s free throws the Patriots (11-4), who took a time out between the shots, had a chance to author their own triumphant ending. Scott “Scooter” Bruggeman pushed the ball up the floor, but he slipped as he reached the lane and his pass went out of bounds to the Indians with just 1.2 seconds to go.
“If you want to be a sectional championship team and move to the next level ... you’ve got to take care of the basketball and you’ve got to hit free throws and we didn’t do either tonight,” said Jay County coach Craig Teagle. “We didn’t deserve the victory. Fort Recovery deserved it. They played well. They hit some big shots. They hit some tough shots. They played well at home and beat us. They were the better team tonight.”
Fort Recovery has owned the now 10-year-old series between the state-line rivals. While the Patriots have won the last two meetings in Indiana, the Indians have never lost to Jay County at the Fort Site Fieldhouse and hold a 7-3 advantage overall.
Those seven victories have come by a combined 12 points, with none by more than three.
The Tribe was up 18-12 after the first quarter, but Jay County ran off the first 11 points of the second quarter — including three consecutive 3-pointer from Tyler Rigby — to pull ahead by five. But a late Toby Metzger lay-up pushed the Indians back ahead 26-25 at halftime.
Fort Recovery was up 41-38 after three quarters, and led until a pair of Bruggeman free throws tied the contest at 47 midway through the final period. The teams were tied again at 49 before VanSkyock and Bihn pushed the Indians out to a 53-49 lead.
A 3-pointer and driving lay-up from Zac Green lifted the Patriots back ahead 54-53 with 22 seconds left. The teams then traded missed free throws with VanSkyock and Bruggeman each missing the front end of a one-and-one try. Bihn was fouled as he grabbed the rebound off Bruggeman’s miss, and hit his game-winning foul shots on the opposite end.
“Coming into the game we haven’t been playing very well and they have,” said Patch. “So we thought one of two things was going to happen: Either they were going to blow us out or it was going to be a close game ... we knew it was going to come down to the wire.”
Rigby paced the Patriots with 16 points in the defeat as he went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Green had 13 points, and Corey Comer shot 5-of-7 for 10 points.
Junior varsity
Fort Recovery outscored the Patriots in every quarter to take a 42-33 victory.
The Indians led by just three at halftime, but were able to stay on after the break. They were up by three after three quarters and shot 62 percent in the second half for the victory.
Bobby Rammel hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points to lead Fort Recovery. He also had four rebounds.
Aaron Kahlig added eight points and five assists. Lucas Staugler had six rebounds, and Matt Tobe grabbed four boards.
Heath Rigby matched Rammel’s four 3-pointers and scored 15 points in the defeat. Jay County shot just 30 percent from the field for the game.
Rhett Retter had six points, and Spencer Hummer grabbed five rebounds.[[In-content Ad]]
Luke Bihn completed an outstanding night of shooting by hitting a pair of free throws with 8.9 seconds to go, giving the Indians a 55-54 victory over the visiting Patriots.
“I needed to hit those free throws,” said Bihn of what he was thinking with the game on the line. “We do it every day in practice. We do it every morning before school. You can’t be nervous. Nervous never wins it. You’ve got to hit them.
“Jay County’s starting to be a big rival. Coach (Brian) Patch is from Jay County. We just wanted to get a W tonight.”
Although foul shooting has not been a strength for the Indians this year, Bihn didn’t miss with the game on the line. Instead he completed his own perfect evening in which he went 4-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line for 12 points.
He typified a wildly successful shooting night for both teams as Fort Recovery (6-9) finished at 63 percent from the field while Jay County shot 53 percent.
Travis VanSkyock led the Indian effort with 22 points, including a 4-of-8 mark from 3-point range. Clint Tobe went 7-of-9 and scored 16 points.
VanSkyock had six rebounds, and Bihn grabbed four.
“Luke Bihn stepped up as that third scorer we’ve been needing,” said Patch, who is now 2-1 against his alma mater. “At the same time Travis and Clint stepped up and hit some very big shots for us when we needed them to.
“I’m very excited. I thought it was a great team effort. Some of the things we’ve struggled with almost all year — consistency, playing a full game — the kids stepped up tonight and responded against a very quality team. We came out and I thought we played pretty well for 32 minutes ...”
Even after Bihn’s free throws the Patriots (11-4), who took a time out between the shots, had a chance to author their own triumphant ending. Scott “Scooter” Bruggeman pushed the ball up the floor, but he slipped as he reached the lane and his pass went out of bounds to the Indians with just 1.2 seconds to go.
“If you want to be a sectional championship team and move to the next level ... you’ve got to take care of the basketball and you’ve got to hit free throws and we didn’t do either tonight,” said Jay County coach Craig Teagle. “We didn’t deserve the victory. Fort Recovery deserved it. They played well. They hit some big shots. They hit some tough shots. They played well at home and beat us. They were the better team tonight.”
Fort Recovery has owned the now 10-year-old series between the state-line rivals. While the Patriots have won the last two meetings in Indiana, the Indians have never lost to Jay County at the Fort Site Fieldhouse and hold a 7-3 advantage overall.
Those seven victories have come by a combined 12 points, with none by more than three.
The Tribe was up 18-12 after the first quarter, but Jay County ran off the first 11 points of the second quarter — including three consecutive 3-pointer from Tyler Rigby — to pull ahead by five. But a late Toby Metzger lay-up pushed the Indians back ahead 26-25 at halftime.
Fort Recovery was up 41-38 after three quarters, and led until a pair of Bruggeman free throws tied the contest at 47 midway through the final period. The teams were tied again at 49 before VanSkyock and Bihn pushed the Indians out to a 53-49 lead.
A 3-pointer and driving lay-up from Zac Green lifted the Patriots back ahead 54-53 with 22 seconds left. The teams then traded missed free throws with VanSkyock and Bruggeman each missing the front end of a one-and-one try. Bihn was fouled as he grabbed the rebound off Bruggeman’s miss, and hit his game-winning foul shots on the opposite end.
“Coming into the game we haven’t been playing very well and they have,” said Patch. “So we thought one of two things was going to happen: Either they were going to blow us out or it was going to be a close game ... we knew it was going to come down to the wire.”
Rigby paced the Patriots with 16 points in the defeat as he went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Green had 13 points, and Corey Comer shot 5-of-7 for 10 points.
Junior varsity
Fort Recovery outscored the Patriots in every quarter to take a 42-33 victory.
The Indians led by just three at halftime, but were able to stay on after the break. They were up by three after three quarters and shot 62 percent in the second half for the victory.
Bobby Rammel hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points to lead Fort Recovery. He also had four rebounds.
Aaron Kahlig added eight points and five assists. Lucas Staugler had six rebounds, and Matt Tobe grabbed four boards.
Heath Rigby matched Rammel’s four 3-pointers and scored 15 points in the defeat. Jay County shot just 30 percent from the field for the game.
Rhett Retter had six points, and Spencer Hummer grabbed five rebounds.[[In-content Ad]]
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