July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Defining defense (03/03/07)
JCHS boys basketball
Defining defense (03/03/07)
By By RAY COONEY-
HARTFORD CITY - The Blue Devils issued a challenge on defense. Then Jay County taught them the meaning of the word.
After scoring just five second-quarter points to fall behind by eight at halftime, the Class 3A No. 9 Patriots shut out Tipton in the third period. They allowed just six points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter before the Blue Devils started fouling, earning a berth in the sectional finals for the fifth straight year with a 51-41 win.
"I think (the defense) falls back on experience," said senior Scott "Scooter" Bruggeman, who scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half and grabbed six rebounds. "We understood what we needed to get done, and we just came out, each one of us, and we did it."
Billy Wellman, a sophomore who followed Bruggeman with 17 points, said the team was poised becasue it had rallied before in similar situations. He pointed to this season's game against Muncie Southside in which the Patriots trailed by 10 heading into the fourth quarter before storming back for a 58-53 overtime win.
"With the experience that we've had ... we've been in that situation so many times that everybody was comfortable with it and everyone was confident that we were going to pull it out," added Bruggeman.
A 3-pointer with four seconds left in the second quarter capped a 16-point first half by Tipton senior Shawn Friend and pushed the Blue Devils ahead 26-18 at the intermission. But the points would not come so easily for Friend, who scored just two after the break, or any of his teammates in the final 16 minutes.
The Patriots (18-4) turned in a stunning goose-egg in the third quarter, holding Tipton to 0-of-6 from the field. The Blue Devils also totaled seven turnovers in the period after having only three in the entire first half.
Part of the turn-around came from a defensive switch, moving the taller Clint Muhlenkamp onto Friend and dropping Comer to play 6-foot-7-inch Derek Elston in the post.
"We put Clint Muhlenkamp on Friend and told him to lock up and not help off ... do a great job, make sure it's one and done ... Our kids came out and responded," said JCHS coach Craig Teagle. "I thought we played as well has we have in the second half all year. They just did a great job."
While locking down defensively, Comer and Bruggeman came out on a mission on the offensive end.
Comer scored the first five points of the second half, the first hoop on an assist from Bruggeman, after being blanked in the first. Then Bruggeman hit back-to-back buckets, both on assists from Comer, for another five points.
Billy Wellman's fifth 3-pointer of the game on an assist from Bruggeman followed, and the point guard dropped two more free-throws to complete a 15-0 third quarter.
In all, Tipton went 8:53 without scoring a point and never got closer than four in the final period.
"We tried to explain at halftime how a championship team like that, how much pride they have, how that intensity and quickness was going to pick up," said Blue Devil coach Travis Daugherty, whose team is now 0-6 all-time against Jay County. "I'm disappointed that we couldn't raise our level to match theirs.
"A couple of mistakes snowballed there in the third quarter and really ended up costing us.
"You just can't mess up. When we did tonight, they made us pay."
After the incredible third quarter, the Patriots finished off Tipton with some outstanding free-throw shooting. They scored all of their 18 fourth-quarter points from the foul line and went 21-of-25 (84 percent) overall.
Bruggeman, who missed six of his 10 free-throw tries in the sectional opener against Delta Tuesday, finished 9-of-10 against Tipton. Comer was perfect for the second straight game, hitting 5-of-5.
Wellman kept the Patriots going in the first half, hitting each of his first three 3-point attempts for nine first-quarter points. He added another triple in the Tipton-dominated second quarter, and hit another in the third.
"I struggled a lot on Tuesday with fouling," said Wellman, noting that he only played about 10 possessions against Delta because of foul trouble. "I wanted to come out tonight and help the team out as best I could."
Comer followed Bruggeman and Wellman, scoring all of his nine points in the second half. Bruggeman, Comer and Luke Goetz each had three assists.
Trailing Friend's 18 points for the Blue Devils was Elston with 10. He also had 13 rebounds and a pair of assists.[[In-content Ad]]
After scoring just five second-quarter points to fall behind by eight at halftime, the Class 3A No. 9 Patriots shut out Tipton in the third period. They allowed just six points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter before the Blue Devils started fouling, earning a berth in the sectional finals for the fifth straight year with a 51-41 win.
"I think (the defense) falls back on experience," said senior Scott "Scooter" Bruggeman, who scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half and grabbed six rebounds. "We understood what we needed to get done, and we just came out, each one of us, and we did it."
Billy Wellman, a sophomore who followed Bruggeman with 17 points, said the team was poised becasue it had rallied before in similar situations. He pointed to this season's game against Muncie Southside in which the Patriots trailed by 10 heading into the fourth quarter before storming back for a 58-53 overtime win.
"With the experience that we've had ... we've been in that situation so many times that everybody was comfortable with it and everyone was confident that we were going to pull it out," added Bruggeman.
A 3-pointer with four seconds left in the second quarter capped a 16-point first half by Tipton senior Shawn Friend and pushed the Blue Devils ahead 26-18 at the intermission. But the points would not come so easily for Friend, who scored just two after the break, or any of his teammates in the final 16 minutes.
The Patriots (18-4) turned in a stunning goose-egg in the third quarter, holding Tipton to 0-of-6 from the field. The Blue Devils also totaled seven turnovers in the period after having only three in the entire first half.
Part of the turn-around came from a defensive switch, moving the taller Clint Muhlenkamp onto Friend and dropping Comer to play 6-foot-7-inch Derek Elston in the post.
"We put Clint Muhlenkamp on Friend and told him to lock up and not help off ... do a great job, make sure it's one and done ... Our kids came out and responded," said JCHS coach Craig Teagle. "I thought we played as well has we have in the second half all year. They just did a great job."
While locking down defensively, Comer and Bruggeman came out on a mission on the offensive end.
Comer scored the first five points of the second half, the first hoop on an assist from Bruggeman, after being blanked in the first. Then Bruggeman hit back-to-back buckets, both on assists from Comer, for another five points.
Billy Wellman's fifth 3-pointer of the game on an assist from Bruggeman followed, and the point guard dropped two more free-throws to complete a 15-0 third quarter.
In all, Tipton went 8:53 without scoring a point and never got closer than four in the final period.
"We tried to explain at halftime how a championship team like that, how much pride they have, how that intensity and quickness was going to pick up," said Blue Devil coach Travis Daugherty, whose team is now 0-6 all-time against Jay County. "I'm disappointed that we couldn't raise our level to match theirs.
"A couple of mistakes snowballed there in the third quarter and really ended up costing us.
"You just can't mess up. When we did tonight, they made us pay."
After the incredible third quarter, the Patriots finished off Tipton with some outstanding free-throw shooting. They scored all of their 18 fourth-quarter points from the foul line and went 21-of-25 (84 percent) overall.
Bruggeman, who missed six of his 10 free-throw tries in the sectional opener against Delta Tuesday, finished 9-of-10 against Tipton. Comer was perfect for the second straight game, hitting 5-of-5.
Wellman kept the Patriots going in the first half, hitting each of his first three 3-point attempts for nine first-quarter points. He added another triple in the Tipton-dominated second quarter, and hit another in the third.
"I struggled a lot on Tuesday with fouling," said Wellman, noting that he only played about 10 possessions against Delta because of foul trouble. "I wanted to come out tonight and help the team out as best I could."
Comer followed Bruggeman and Wellman, scoring all of his nine points in the second half. Bruggeman, Comer and Luke Goetz each had three assists.
Trailing Friend's 18 points for the Blue Devils was Elston with 10. He also had 13 rebounds and a pair of assists.[[In-content Ad]]
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