Friday brings 13 (02/23/08)

How good were things for the Patriots Friday night?

They had already hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter when Luke Goetz ended up stuck in the corner without a good look at the basket and time running down. He flipped the ball to Aaron Daniels, who sent a heave toward the hoop with about two seconds left.

The ball hit the glass high on the backboard and dropped through the net.

Jay County finished with 10 3-pointers - Daniels says he called "bank" after he let his shot go - and rolled to a 79-49 victory over the visiting Monroe Central Golden Bears.

"We shot the ball extremely well," said JCHS coach Craig Teagle after his squad's 13th straight victory to close the regular season. "That makes it tough on whoever you're playing. ... I'm proud of the kids. ... They've done an outstanding job of executing the game plan all year ... All that credit goes to the kids. They've just done a great job."

After struggling to score early in the season, the Patriots (16-4) finished on a tear.

They shot 50 percent or better in 10 of their final 11 games, including a 62 percent clip against Monroe Central (12-8). They shot 10-of-20 from 3-point range in the season finale.

The shooting prowess and a defensive tenacity that held teams to 50 or fewer points in each of the final 11 games have keyed the longest winning streak in school history.

"All of a sudden our team just started clicking," said Daniels, a senior, of the squad that opened the season 3-4. "People really started coming in and playing their roles. Thirteen in a row, it's unreal to think of. It went so fast."

"We finally just realized how good we can be and how high our talent level is," added Goetz, another senior, who shared the game high of 17 points with junior Adam Garringer. "We started playing a lot better as a team."

The last win of the regular-season streak was never in much doubt.

Daniels' triple to close the first period gave Jay County a 10-point lead. The home team added a 12-2 run - Garringer scored half of those points - to open the second quarter, and never led by less than 15 the rest of the way.

With the score at 73-42 midway through the final period Teagle pulled each of his seniors off the court in succession, drawing an ovation from the near sell-out crowd.

"It felt good to go out with a win," said senior Heath Rigby. "It was a big crowd. It was great."

Billy Wellman joined Goetz and Garringer in double figures with 13 points while adding seven rebounds. Daniels also grabbed seven boards, and Goetz dished out have of the team's 16 assists.

"Our kids do a great job of making the extra pass," said Teagle. "I even had someone complain that we make too many passes. But as a coach, you can never make too many passes. I love the fact that they always want to give it to the open guy. ... A lot of it just starts with Luke at the point. He did a great job of breaking them down and getting to the basket, and when they got him stopped, he did a nice job kicking it out or dumping it down tonight.

"Our seniors have led us all year," he added in praise of Daniels, Goetz, Rigby and Clint Muhlenkamp. "They have huge hearts. They're great kids. We've gotten this far and done what we have because of them."

Landon Whitehead was the lone Golden Bear in double figures, finishing with 11 points. Trey Thomas added nine.

Having already secured a seventh straight winning season and sixth straight 15-win season, Jay County will now look to win a sectional game in Class 4A for the first time in team history. They will take up that challenge Friday when they play Huntington North (5-15) in the semifinal round of the tournament at Marion.

But Muhlenkamp, who along with Goetz helped the Patriots to the Class 3A state championship game in 2006, is hoping to build a bit more off of the run of 13 straight.

"It's definitely a big momentum booster," he said of the victory over Monroe Central. "Obviously every time you win you feel momentum.

"We've been like a snowball so far. It's been pretty nice, and we want a huge snowman by the end ... like 19 (straight) wins ... to make a nice big snowman."

Junior varsity

Jay County scored in double figures in every quarter in rolling to a 47-31 victory over the Golden Bears.

Dexter Shreve led the Patriots to a five-point lead after the opening quarter. They pushed ahead by 13 at the half en route to the victory.

Shreve had eight of his game-high 12 points in the first six minutes. John Pettus added nine points, and Taylor Farmer scored seven.

Shane Hines set the pace for Monroe Central with six points. Ross Braun and Fletcher Goodman each added five.[[In-content Ad]]