Jay draws North Side

INDIANAPOLIS - The Patriots will close the regular season playing four games in a span of eight days. In order to earn a sectional title, they'll need to win three in five.

In the IHSAA boys basketball tournament draw held Sunday, Jay County drew the first game of the Class 4A Sectional 6 tournament hosted by Marion. It will play the Fort Wayne North Side Redskins Tuesday, March 2, at 6 p.m.

The South Adams Starfires will get the benefit of a first-round bye and start the tournament with a rematch of Friday's Allen County Athletic Conference battle with Adams Central. The county rivals will play in the first of two semifinal games in Class 2A Sectional 38 at Bluffton Friday, March 5, at 6 p.m.

Jay County (9-6), which takes Delta Tuesday, Yorktown Wednesday and Maconaquah Friday to close the regular season, has never played North Side (7-12) in boys basketball. The winner will advance to take on Huntington North (5-13) in semifinal play March 5 at 6 p.m.

The second opening round game March 2 at Marion will pit No. 6 Homestead (16-2) against Fort Wayne South Side (12-6) with the winner advancing to play the host Giants (7-11) in the semifinals.

The opening game of Bluffton's Class 2A tournament will pit the second-ranked host Tigers (18-1) against Woodlan (2-16) in the lone opening-round game March 2. The winner will advance to semifinal action, to follow the AC/South Adams game, against No. 6 Bishop Luers (11-9) and DeShaun Thomas, the third-leading scorer in Indiana history.

The championship games for both tournaments will be Saturday, March 6, at 7 p.m.

The Patriots, who played in six straight sectional title games before dropping out in the semifinals last season, do not play any of their sectional foes during the regular season. North Side is 0-4 against sectional rivals with losses to South Side (twice), Homestead and Huntington North.

South Side is 3-0 followed by Homestead (2-1) and Huntington North (1-1) and Marion (0-0).

South Adams (1-15) has lost 15 straight, but fell to Adams Central by just three points in their ACAC meeting Friday night. Its other defeats to sectional foes came by scores of 70-38 to Bluffton and 69-62 to Woodlan.

Bluffton is 3-0 against sectional opponents followed by Adams Central (3-1) and Woodlan (1-3). Bishop Luers does not face any sectional opponents during the regular season.[[In-content Ad]]