Jay improves to 4-0 (12/15/2008)

BERNE - Neither coach was impressed with his team's mental toughness Saturday night.

A huge first quarter gave the Jay County High School boys basketball team the lead it needed to hold off South Adams for a 58-50 win at the Stardome.

On paper, the Patriots played a solid game - shot well, rebounded, and took care of the ball - but coach Craig Teagle wanted more out of his team despite just a 24-hour layoff from its win in Fort Recovery.

"They didn't show us any mental toughness," Teagle said of his Patriots, still undefeated at 4-0 this year. "I thought there would be a run and I wanted to see if we were mentally tough enough to fight that run off and then bounce back. We didn't do that.

"We just, as a team, need to be mentally tougher, we have the skill level, but it's that mental thing we have to overcome yet."

Jay County bounced ahead with a dominant 12-1 first quarter, in which the Patriots came up with steals on defense and converted those into points on the other end. The forwards crashed the boards on misses for easy second chance points that helped build the lead JCHS would never relinquish.

"I think we're physically ready to play, mentally I doubt it," said South Adams coach Ryan Biegel. "Tonight, for whatever reason, they couldn't run a play in the first quarter. And that's not physical, that's just straight mental."

It was the fourth straight loss for the Starfires (1-4) - they beat Northeastern in the season opener - who have made a habit of falling behind early and scrapping to stay in games. After the opening period South Adams played about even with the Patriots, but the hole they dug was too deep.

"We fight. We do a good job of that. We do a good job at coming back. We get it close," Biegel said. "I would like to be in a position where we've got to hang on. They were hanging on. They did what they needed to win the game."

The Starfires cut the deficit to six with 1:35 to go on a put-back from junior Heath Moser. After a missed one-and-one from Jay County's Jacob Westlake, South Adams had a chance to bring it closer, but a missed shot from Starfire guard Nick Teeter was scooped up by junior Eric Homan.

After a quick foul and two good free throws by Homan at the other end with less than a minute to play, the lead was back to eight. Teeter bounced back with a three-ball to bring it within five points, but with 24 seconds remaining on the clock, Jay County was able to seal the win from the stripe.

Though happy with the win, Teagle wanted to see his team shut down the comeback sooner to avoid any scares.

"I'm disappointed because we have a senior dominated group ... that (run) shouldn't happen," he said.

The Patriots got a well-rounded effort on the floor, posting four players in double-figures - Billy Wellman, 10 points; Eric Homan, 11; Kyle Simmons, 14; and Adam Garringer, 16, to lead all scorers..

Simmons was solid all night from the point, outmatching the Starfire defense with penetration and crisp passes. He carried the Patriots through the fourth, driving to the bucket for layups and drawing fouls, and scoring eight of his 14 points in the period.

"Did he turn the ball over tonight? I don't think so, and he handled the ball probably 100 percent of the time. So what do you say about that?" said Biegel of Simmons' play.

"We like the ball in his hands in critical possessions," Teagle said. "If he doesn't get the score or give it to the right person, he'll get to the foul line."

Despite playing Friday night at Fort Recovery, the Patriots kept pace physically with the well-rested Starfires, who had an eight-day layoff since their last game.

Wellman and Homan dominated the boards, grabbing eight and seven respectively to add to their double-digit point totals. Simmons added three assists.

The Patriots took care of the ball, only turning it over seven times while shooting efficiently at short range - 22-of-33 (67 percent) on 2-pointers.

Teeter led the Starfires with 15 points and three assists, while big men Cody Meshberger and Heath Moser took advantage of Jay County's size disadvantage by dropping 12 and 10 from inside the lane.

Junior Varsity

The Patriots never trailed as a bundle of first half-free throws helped to lift Jay County to a 44-31 win.

The Patriots were 13-of-16 from the line in the first half while South Adams did not get a single point from the free-throw line. The Patriots opened up the game with a 16-8 advantage in the second period.

Brad Horn took control from the floor, shooting 5-of-9 with two three-balls and four rebounds. Drew Houck picked up eight of his 12 points from the line, shooting 8-of-10 from the stripe and pulling down five boards.

Nick Munger led the Starfires with 12 points and five rebounds. Chase Ingle and Dustin Wanner chipped in six a piece. South Adams struggled from long range, shooting 0-for-7 on the night.

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