JC ready for 2nd 4A foray (02/29/08)

The history is not particularly encouraging.

Jay County High School's boys basketball team will return to the Class 4A tournament tonight - it will take on Huntington North in the tournament at Marion at 7:30 p.m. - for the first time since 2001.

The Patriots' previous experience at the Class 4A level was not so good:

1998 - 65-50 loss to Fort Wayne South Side

1999 - 50-35 loss to Marion

2000 - 58-42 loss to Richmond

2001 - 43-18 loss to Richmond

But the JCHS program is a bit different now in coach Craig Teagle's 10th season.

Of those past teams, only one, the 1998-99 team at 13-9, had a winning record. These days, the Patriots have seven straight winning campaigns and six in a row with 15 wins or more.

They've been in the sectional championship game in each of the last five years, winning it four times. And seniors Clint Muhlenkamp and Luke Goetz remain as major players from the 2005-06 squad that went all the way to the Class 3A state championship game.

"I think we've got a lot more confidence," Teagle said. "I really feel like the kids understand what we need to do to be successful at that level. ... I think that will equate to better success this time."

Jay County will seek its first 4A tournament win in school history against Huntington North, the team with the worst record in the Sectional 6 group at 5-15. However, the Vikings won two of their final three in the regular season.

And while the Patriots' former conference rivals don't bring much in the way of winning experience from the season, they do bring plenty of size. While JCHS's tallest players is Muhlenkamp at 6-feet-2-inches, Huntington North has six players who stand 6-foot-4 or taller.

"They're really big," said Teagle, whose team played the Vikings in a scrimmage prior to the season. "Their starting front line will go 6-4, 6-5, 6-5. They have a couple 6-6, 6-7 kids that they can bring in. That could cause us some problems, because they're probably going to play us zone. So they'll be protecting the rim, which will be a challenge."

Billy Wellman has been the Patriots' scoring leader all year at 11.7 points per game, followed by Goetz (9.6) and Adam Garringer (8.6). Muhlenkamp adds 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest along with being the team's defensive ace, and Goetz is tops in both assists (66) and steals (40).

Tannan Peters, one of Huntington North's big men at 6-foot-5-inches, leads the Vikings at 12.5 points per game. He is an inside-out threat, having hit a team-high 44 3-points.

Ryan Richison adds 10.9 points per game along with 43 assists and 26 steals for the year. Rob Sands scores 8.5 points per game, and Kevin Fishers (6-foot-4) adds 7.7 points and the team-high of 4.9 rebounds.

"On the offensive end, they do a good job of attacking," said Teagle. "They run an open post, which they get a lot of back cuts out of. And then with their size they're obviously going to go to the post and try to get mismatches ... It's something we've faced all year ..."

If the Patriots can overcome Huntington North, the eighth-ranked host Giants will likely await. Then again, their opponent tonight at 6 p.m. - Fort Wayne North Side - knocked off 10th-ranked Fort Wayne South Side in Wednesday's opening round.

Regardless of the possible match-up, both teams bring big-time scoring potential.

Marion sports senior Julius Mays at 18.1 points per game and junior Scott Wood at 17.3 with 67 3-pointers. North Side has one of the most prolific scorers in the state in Justin Jordan, and junior who pours in 25.1 points per contest and leads the squad in assists and steals as well.

"(The Giants) may be as capable offensively as any team I've seen in a long time. They may not be as good as like a Lawrence North team we saw two years ago down at the state championship game because they don't have (current Portland Trail Blazer Greg) Oden in the middle, but they legitimately have four Division I players ... It seemed like to me they could score any time they wanted (Wednesday) night.

"(Fort Wayne North Side) likes to press and then fall back into zone or half-court trap," said Teagle. "And they're just constantly bringing pressure at you. And if you can take care of the basketball and not turn it over, then you're going to get some good looks against them. But that's going to be the key."

If Jay County is able to get to the championship game against either team, its defensive pedigree has already been proven.

The Patriots own the second-best defensive average in all of Class 4A at just 45.15 points per game. Only DeKalb at 39.65 was better.

They haven't allowed more than 50 points in a game since a 75-66 double-overtime win over Connersville Jan. 11, and have held opponents under 40 points six times this year.

And there is also the matter of Jay County's winning streak - 13 games spanning two full months - that has caused Teagle to take a bit of a different approach than normal.

"Most coaches always go into the tournament saying, you know, we're 0-0 right now. We're not going to say that. We've won 13 in a row. Let's ride that momentum," he said. "It's been a good thing, and we've played really well in stretches. And we had a couple games where we didn't play as well, but we found ways to win."

"These kids know how to win."

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