BOOM! (12/08/2008)

HARTFORD CITY - Indiana Pacers mascot Boomer put on an entertaining halftime show that got the crowd going. Thanks to the Patriots, that was about all the home fans had to cheer about.

With fast starts to the first and third quarters, the Jay County High School boys basketball team silenced the host Blackford Bruins 50-24 in the final game of Saturday's Cross County Lines Challenge.

Jay County's teams won five of the seven games in this year's challenge to retain possession of the traveling trophy, which has never left its possession.

While the Patriots opened the game with a 10-0 run, both coaches pointed to their eight consecutive points to start the second half as the bigger key.

"The second half I thought it was huge starting quickly," said JCHS coach and Blackford graduate Craig Teagle. "We came out and got some good looks at the basket and got some stops."

Jay County (2-0) had a 21-9 lead at halftime and made sure there would be no comeback as senior Billy Wellman kicked off the second half with a 3-pointer. Jacob Westlake followed with a lay-up off a steal and assist by Adam Garringer, and Kyle Simmons added a triple off of another Garringer assist to push the Patriots' lead to 20 points.

Blackford (0-3) still was down 37-17 through three quarters and trailed by 20 or more throughout the fourth.

"To hold a team like that to 20 points (in the first half), that's 40 points in a game. We're able to claw back in," said Blackford coach John McGlothin. "I think the start of the second half hurt us more than the first. We just struggled to score in the first."

With Blackford's best defender, Branigan Norton, locked up on Wellman, Garringer led the scoring effort.

He opened the game with a 3-pointer from a Wellman assist, and scored eight of the Patriots' first 10 points. He made half of his eight 3-point attempts on the way to a game-high 18 points, and also dished out four assists.

Kyle Simmons added 10 points and six assists for JCHS, which defeated the Bruins for the 11th straight time.

Wellman added eight points and four rebounds for the Patriots. Eric Homan grabbed a game-high eight boards to lead JCHS to a 28-19 advantage on the glass, and Lance Franklin had four rebounds.

"Each guy gives us a little something different," said Teagle. "Lance Franklin has his hands on everything. If there's a loose ball, he's got it. He creates plays for us ...

"Jacob Westlake hasn't scored a lot for us, but we've put him on the best player on each team and he's done a great job defensively ...

"Kyle Simmons had a real nice game for us. He had a nice floor game getting us into our offense, but also I thought his pressure on the ball was really good."

Trey Dunn missed the game because of a scholarship opportunity at Indiana University, and Teagle praised the senior guard for his work on the scout team throughout the week.

On the other hand, McGlothin had little positive to say outside of his praise for the efforts of seniors Norton (four points, five rebounds) and Matt Nuckols, and junior Blake Musselman (eight points).

None of his Bruins scored in double figures as they shot just 28 percent. They also turned the ball over 19 times.

"You're not going to be successful," McGlothin said of the turnover situation. "Part of that is them. They make you rush.

"But a big part of that is being disciplined and being guard tough. Until we get guard tough, then we're going to struggle with taking care of the basketball. ...

"I was real disappointed with our guard play tonight. Other than Musselman, I felt like I was searching all night for a guard ... that was going to compete ..."

Jay County will have its first two-game weekend of the year this week as they visit Fort Recovery Friday and South Adams Saturday. Teagle said he likes the one-game weekends because it allows more time for preparation, "but the kids want to play. They don't want to practice on Friday night. They want to play on Friday night. So they'll be much more thrilled about it than the coaches will be."

Junior varsity

Josh Beaty carried the Patriots in the second half as they defeated Blackford 41-32.

Jay County led by just three at halftime, but outscored the Bruins 10-4 in the third quarter to take control. Beaty scored 12 of his game-high 14 points in the second half.

Garrett Krieg added 12 points for the Patriots, and Zach Cash scored six.

Franklin Crist led Blackford with 11 points. Jordan McCammon followed with nine.

WJ vs. Montpelier

The West Jay Middle School boys basketball teams won both games, with the eighth graders scoring a 30-17 victory.

Blake Crouch led the Eagles with 10 points. He also grabbed four rebounds.

Tyler Back added six points and 14 rebounds, and Jason Farmer had seven points.

EJ vs. Hartford City

Three players scored in double figures to key the East Jay Middle School eighth grade team's 49-23 victory over Hartford City. The seventh graders lost 30-23 in overtime.

Brock McFarland totaled 19 points to lead the eighth grade team, which shut out Hartford City 16-0 in the fourth quarter. Scott Schwieterman and Kegan Comer added 10 points apiece, and Cade Price scored eight points.

East Jay's seventh grade team went scoreless in overtime in the defeat. Zane Shreve, Ryan Claytor and Trey Teagle each finished with six points.[[In-content Ad]]