July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Jay will play for title (03/05/05)
JCHS boys basketball
Jay will play for title (03/05/05)
By By RAY COONEY-
HARTFORD CITY — Jay County had the appearance of a champion Friday night. With one more victory, it will have the laurels to go with the look.
Though there were some tough stretches, the Patriots never looked panicked as they earned a third straight sectional championship berth with a 55-44 victory over the Mississinewa Indians.
They will play for their third consecutive Class 3A sectional title at Blackford tonight against Delta at 7:30 p.m.
Jay County coach Craig Teagle, whose team lost the Feb. 10 regular-season meeting 62-48 at Delta, said this is exactly where his team expected to be.
“When we walked in the locker room our kids were really all along planning on going to the championship game, so there wasn’t any celebrating,” he said. “They’re focus really was on tomorrow night and step three. I’m happy with them for that because they realized the big picture right away.”
The Patriots (15-7) never trailed against Mississinewa, and the game was tied just once. That came at 13-13 after an 8-0 Indian run, but Jay County went on an 11-3 run to end the second quarter. Randy Evans capped that stretch with a 3-pointer just four seconds before the halftime buzzer.
“That was an important play, but in a game like that you just think of so many breakdowns that we had that they took advantage of,” said coach Chanse Young of Mississinewa, which finished at 17-5. “I think that credit goes to them. When we did make a mistake they certainly made us pay for it ...
“I just think Jay County is a fantastic team.”
It was great defense which led the Patriots throughout the game. With Trent Bailey hounding James Reed, the Indians’ top outside threat, everyone else collapsed on post players Adam Mughmaw and Adam Skeens each time they touched the ball. The pressure caused that pair to commit seven of Mississinewa’s 17 turnovers, which were key to outcome.
Jay County limited the Indians, who averaged 59 points per game this year, to just 23 points in the first three quarters. The 44 total points was their second-lowest output this season.
“We struggled (to score) in stretches, but you’ve got to rely on defense,” Teagle said. “I thought defensively they executed our game plan so well tonight. Late in the year they’ve really stepped up and done that.”
“It was a team win,” added senior Mark Kelly, who paced Jay County with 15 points. “Everybody was assisting well and everybody was doing their job. Coach told us that we had to swarm the post like crazy. That’s what we did and they had trouble.”
Mississinewa’s smallest deficit in the second half was five points as its scored seven in a row during a three-minute Patriot scoring drought in the third quarter. Jay County pushed its lead back into double-digits at 37-25 with a 9-2 run, and made seven of its final eight free throws to ice the win.
Kelly added a team-high six rebounds to his game-high point total. Fellow senior Trent Bailey added 11 points.
“I thought Trent Bailey and Mark Kelly played awfully well,” said Teagle. “At this time of year, seniors step up.”
Evans added nine points, which included a 2-of-3 effort from behind the arc. Corey Comer had eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Tyler Rigby and Scott Bruggeman also had three assists apiece for the Patriots, who turned the ball over just eight times.
Reed had 12 points for Mississinewa, but shot just 3-of-9 from the field. The Indians were 15-of-40 (38 percent) overall.
Mughmaw added 10 points and a game-best seven rebounds.
Delta 55, Tipton 51
Despite watching an 11-point lead slip away, the Delta Eagles reached tonight’s championship game with a 55-51 victory over the Tipton Blue Devils.
Delta (14-7) led 15-4 in the first quarter only to have Tipton rally back for a 30-26 advantage in the third. But, the Eagles tied the game at 32 and never trailed again as Michael Capstick led them with 22 points.
Bryce Bow and Andy Kennedy also reached double figures with 13 points apiece.
Jake Heard scored 21 points for Tipton, which was hurt by 21 turnovers. Renan Gehrke added 15 points.[[In-content Ad]]
Though there were some tough stretches, the Patriots never looked panicked as they earned a third straight sectional championship berth with a 55-44 victory over the Mississinewa Indians.
They will play for their third consecutive Class 3A sectional title at Blackford tonight against Delta at 7:30 p.m.
Jay County coach Craig Teagle, whose team lost the Feb. 10 regular-season meeting 62-48 at Delta, said this is exactly where his team expected to be.
“When we walked in the locker room our kids were really all along planning on going to the championship game, so there wasn’t any celebrating,” he said. “They’re focus really was on tomorrow night and step three. I’m happy with them for that because they realized the big picture right away.”
The Patriots (15-7) never trailed against Mississinewa, and the game was tied just once. That came at 13-13 after an 8-0 Indian run, but Jay County went on an 11-3 run to end the second quarter. Randy Evans capped that stretch with a 3-pointer just four seconds before the halftime buzzer.
“That was an important play, but in a game like that you just think of so many breakdowns that we had that they took advantage of,” said coach Chanse Young of Mississinewa, which finished at 17-5. “I think that credit goes to them. When we did make a mistake they certainly made us pay for it ...
“I just think Jay County is a fantastic team.”
It was great defense which led the Patriots throughout the game. With Trent Bailey hounding James Reed, the Indians’ top outside threat, everyone else collapsed on post players Adam Mughmaw and Adam Skeens each time they touched the ball. The pressure caused that pair to commit seven of Mississinewa’s 17 turnovers, which were key to outcome.
Jay County limited the Indians, who averaged 59 points per game this year, to just 23 points in the first three quarters. The 44 total points was their second-lowest output this season.
“We struggled (to score) in stretches, but you’ve got to rely on defense,” Teagle said. “I thought defensively they executed our game plan so well tonight. Late in the year they’ve really stepped up and done that.”
“It was a team win,” added senior Mark Kelly, who paced Jay County with 15 points. “Everybody was assisting well and everybody was doing their job. Coach told us that we had to swarm the post like crazy. That’s what we did and they had trouble.”
Mississinewa’s smallest deficit in the second half was five points as its scored seven in a row during a three-minute Patriot scoring drought in the third quarter. Jay County pushed its lead back into double-digits at 37-25 with a 9-2 run, and made seven of its final eight free throws to ice the win.
Kelly added a team-high six rebounds to his game-high point total. Fellow senior Trent Bailey added 11 points.
“I thought Trent Bailey and Mark Kelly played awfully well,” said Teagle. “At this time of year, seniors step up.”
Evans added nine points, which included a 2-of-3 effort from behind the arc. Corey Comer had eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Tyler Rigby and Scott Bruggeman also had three assists apiece for the Patriots, who turned the ball over just eight times.
Reed had 12 points for Mississinewa, but shot just 3-of-9 from the field. The Indians were 15-of-40 (38 percent) overall.
Mughmaw added 10 points and a game-best seven rebounds.
Delta 55, Tipton 51
Despite watching an 11-point lead slip away, the Delta Eagles reached tonight’s championship game with a 55-51 victory over the Tipton Blue Devils.
Delta (14-7) led 15-4 in the first quarter only to have Tipton rally back for a 30-26 advantage in the third. But, the Eagles tied the game at 32 and never trailed again as Michael Capstick led them with 22 points.
Bryce Bow and Andy Kennedy also reached double figures with 13 points apiece.
Jake Heard scored 21 points for Tipton, which was hurt by 21 turnovers. Renan Gehrke added 15 points.[[In-content Ad]]
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