July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Bruins thumped again (01/29/07)
JCHS boys basketball
Bruins thumped again (01/29/07)
By By RAY COONEY-
What happened on the court Saturday night has become a familiar scenario to Jay County and Blackford fans alike.
The Patriot boys basketball team opened the game with a 9-0 run in the first three minutes and cruised to a 52-31 win. It was the eighth straight victory for Jay County over the visiting Bruins since the start of the 2002-03 season.
"Obviously we have to get off to a better start," said Blackford coach John McGlothin, whose team dropped its third straight and is now 5-10. "That's kind of been our Achilles' Heel all year ... If we don't (get off to a better start), we're going to struggle, especially against a team like Jay County."
This time around it was Billy Wellman who keyed the fast start for the Patriots. He took a Luke Goetz assist and buried a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the game.
After a put-back hoop by Corey Comer, who had his third straight game of 15 points or more, Wellman scored four more points in a row for the 9-0 advantage.
The sophomore followed his 14-point effort at Anderson Highland Friday with 13 more in the win over the Bruins.
"We're not making excuses and he wouldn't make this excuse, but he was pretty sick for over a week," said JCHS coach Craig Teagle of Wellman, who had a handful of down games before his 27-point weekend. "I'd say for the last two weeks he wasn't playing totally healthy.
"What I really like about Billy is the last couple of games I've seen something besides just being a shooter. I've seen him drive it to the hole. I've seen him offensive rebound. I've seen him finish plays around the basket. And if he can become a scorer and not just a shooter, I mean, that really helps our team."
Both teams needed help during the first quarter, which turned sloppy after the 9-0 Jay County run. The teams combined for 19 turnovers, many of which came on traveling calls, and most of the 20 first-half personal fouls were called in the opening period.
Still, after Blackford's Marcus Dalton hit a 3-pointer for his team's first and only field goal of the opening period, Bruggeman followed with five straight points of his own. The senior point guard's run pushed the Patriot lead to double digits, where it remained throughout the rest of the game.
"It's what I feared after a big game on Friday night," said Teagle. "I thought really at first we were pretty focused ... but boy when we started getting sloppy it was kind of a domino effect. ...
"With this group that's probably my biggest disappointment because with our experience we shouldn't play like that on a Saturday night. ...
"I'm disappointed, but it's a lot better sitting here disappointed after a 21-point win than after a loss."
Comer had another outstanding effort as he scored an efficient 15 points.
His game-high total came on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds and was one of four Patriots with two or more assists.
Bruggeman also reached double figures with 10 points. Clint Muhlenkamp grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, leading Jay County to a 31-17 advantage on the glass.
Luke Goetz had a team-high four assists, and Wellman and Bruggeman matched Comer with two apiece.
"We did get three guys in double figures again," said Teagle. "I'm glad we're doing that. That's a good thing. I thought we contested shots pretty well. Our pressure was pretty good early, forcing them out of some things."
Blackford's Nick Baughey shot 5-of-6 from the field to lead his team with 12 points, but the rest of the squad finished 6-of-27 (22 percent). Dalton followed with 11 points.
"For some reason we've struggled to score," said McGlothin. "We've kind of got away from our offensive stuff that has been successful in the past two weeks. The very few times that we ran our stuff tonight, it worked, and a lot of that probably goes back to Jay County's defense. They take you out of what you want to do, but we've got to grind through that and be tougher.
"What I want our guys to do is except the challenge. ... It's a challenge for us to play them, but we can compete with them if we do stuff our way and do it the right way."
Junior varsity
Jay County trailed by seven after the opening period, but dominated the rest of the game for a 49-32 win over the Bruins.
After falling behind 14-7 the Patriots reclaimed the lead 23-20 at the half. They pushed ahead by five at the end of three quarters, then outscored Blackford 18-6 in the fourth for the final margin.
Kyle Simmons powered the Jay County effort with 14 points. Blake Price and Dexter Shreve added eight points apiece.
Matt Nuckuls scored 13 points to lead the Bruins, and Ryan Pinkerton added eight.[[In-content Ad]]
The Patriot boys basketball team opened the game with a 9-0 run in the first three minutes and cruised to a 52-31 win. It was the eighth straight victory for Jay County over the visiting Bruins since the start of the 2002-03 season.
"Obviously we have to get off to a better start," said Blackford coach John McGlothin, whose team dropped its third straight and is now 5-10. "That's kind of been our Achilles' Heel all year ... If we don't (get off to a better start), we're going to struggle, especially against a team like Jay County."
This time around it was Billy Wellman who keyed the fast start for the Patriots. He took a Luke Goetz assist and buried a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the game.
After a put-back hoop by Corey Comer, who had his third straight game of 15 points or more, Wellman scored four more points in a row for the 9-0 advantage.
The sophomore followed his 14-point effort at Anderson Highland Friday with 13 more in the win over the Bruins.
"We're not making excuses and he wouldn't make this excuse, but he was pretty sick for over a week," said JCHS coach Craig Teagle of Wellman, who had a handful of down games before his 27-point weekend. "I'd say for the last two weeks he wasn't playing totally healthy.
"What I really like about Billy is the last couple of games I've seen something besides just being a shooter. I've seen him drive it to the hole. I've seen him offensive rebound. I've seen him finish plays around the basket. And if he can become a scorer and not just a shooter, I mean, that really helps our team."
Both teams needed help during the first quarter, which turned sloppy after the 9-0 Jay County run. The teams combined for 19 turnovers, many of which came on traveling calls, and most of the 20 first-half personal fouls were called in the opening period.
Still, after Blackford's Marcus Dalton hit a 3-pointer for his team's first and only field goal of the opening period, Bruggeman followed with five straight points of his own. The senior point guard's run pushed the Patriot lead to double digits, where it remained throughout the rest of the game.
"It's what I feared after a big game on Friday night," said Teagle. "I thought really at first we were pretty focused ... but boy when we started getting sloppy it was kind of a domino effect. ...
"With this group that's probably my biggest disappointment because with our experience we shouldn't play like that on a Saturday night. ...
"I'm disappointed, but it's a lot better sitting here disappointed after a 21-point win than after a loss."
Comer had another outstanding effort as he scored an efficient 15 points.
His game-high total came on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds and was one of four Patriots with two or more assists.
Bruggeman also reached double figures with 10 points. Clint Muhlenkamp grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, leading Jay County to a 31-17 advantage on the glass.
Luke Goetz had a team-high four assists, and Wellman and Bruggeman matched Comer with two apiece.
"We did get three guys in double figures again," said Teagle. "I'm glad we're doing that. That's a good thing. I thought we contested shots pretty well. Our pressure was pretty good early, forcing them out of some things."
Blackford's Nick Baughey shot 5-of-6 from the field to lead his team with 12 points, but the rest of the squad finished 6-of-27 (22 percent). Dalton followed with 11 points.
"For some reason we've struggled to score," said McGlothin. "We've kind of got away from our offensive stuff that has been successful in the past two weeks. The very few times that we ran our stuff tonight, it worked, and a lot of that probably goes back to Jay County's defense. They take you out of what you want to do, but we've got to grind through that and be tougher.
"What I want our guys to do is except the challenge. ... It's a challenge for us to play them, but we can compete with them if we do stuff our way and do it the right way."
Junior varsity
Jay County trailed by seven after the opening period, but dominated the rest of the game for a 49-32 win over the Bruins.
After falling behind 14-7 the Patriots reclaimed the lead 23-20 at the half. They pushed ahead by five at the end of three quarters, then outscored Blackford 18-6 in the fourth for the final margin.
Kyle Simmons powered the Jay County effort with 14 points. Blake Price and Dexter Shreve added eight points apiece.
Matt Nuckuls scored 13 points to lead the Bruins, and Ryan Pinkerton added eight.[[In-content Ad]]
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