JC seeking to reclaim crown (03/02/06)

When the fans in the Jay County student section started chanting “Let’s go Devils” during the second half of Tuesday’s first sectional game at Blackford, it wasn’t just on a whim.

Those students didn’t have any particular love for the Tipton team. But they knew it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for the other squad, the Delta Eagles, to take an early departure from the tournament.

Delta has been the only of the other five teams in the Class 3A grouping at Blackford which has given Jay County problems over the last three seasons.

While some games have certainly been close, the Patriots are a combined 17-0 overall against Elwood, Tipton, Blackford and Mississinewa during that span. Against Delta, they’re 0-5.

They have gone 9-1 in sectional play, with the lone defeat coming to Delta in last year’s sectional finale. And they’ve lost five in a row to the Eagles, with their last win coming during the 2001-02 regular season.

So when Tipton rallied from a double-digit deficit, forced overtime and eventually won 57-56 to eliminate Delta, the Blue Devil fans rushed the floor and the Patriot students were equally delighted.

From a fan’s view, that result made Jay County the favorite to win a third sectional in four seasons. But coach and players know better than to buy in to that mindset.

“They felt like against Delta we did some things late that weren’t characteristic and that’s a game we should have won at home. I think they’d have been happy to play Delta,” said Jay County coach Craig Teagle of his players. “But they’re just happy to still be in it and want to continue to compete. At this point, we told them, it doesn’t matter who you play. You’ve got to play your best for 32 minutes, and the team that does that is going to win.”

The Tipton and Jay County victories Tuesday night set them up for a head-on collision in the semifinal round at Blackford Friday at 6 p.m.

“We’re going to have to keep the right mindset,” said senior Tyler Rigby, who racked up 23 points in the Patriots’ opening-round win over Elwood. “We beat (remaining teams Tipton, Mississinewa and Blackford) during the season, but when it comes to sectional it’s a whole different ball game ... We just need to keep working hard.”

It’ll take hard work to win the next two contests, especially because the Tipton team which defeated Delta for the second time this season Tuesday night looked nothing like the team the Patriots clobbered by 18 points less than a month ago.

The Blue Devils (11-10) never had a chance when they played at Jay County, falling behind 11-2 and never getting within seven points. In their comeback against Delta they hit several huge 3-pointers and scored 21 points in the fourth period to force overtime. Against the Patriots the managed just five fourth-quarter points.

Teagle said his players deserve a lot of the credit for taking Tipton out of its game the first time around. But he also said the team’s play against Delta Tuesday looked more like the team he had scouted all season.

As for Tipton coach Travis Daugherty, his biggest complaint following his team’s loss to the Patriots earlier this year was simply that his team got out-worked.

“I’ve been really happy with our effort in every game of the year except one, and that was that Saturday afternoon at Jay County,” Daugherty said after his team’s dramatic win over Delta. “We tried to really explain to our guys our frustration with their effort that day, in the hopes that we might get a chance to play them. I think at this point we’re looking forward to the opportunity. (We just want to) continue to play hard, and to play with some passion, and just to hopefully find a way to win.”

Both Daugherty and coach Chanse Young of Mississinewa (13-7) — the likely championship opponent for the Patriots or Blue Devils as it takes on Blackford (2-18) in Friday’s second semifinal game — spoke glowingly about Jay County this week. They both praised the Patriots’ defense, which limited Elwood to a season-low 31 points Tuesday night and has held teams under 40 on seven different occasions this year.

“They’re like Delta in so many ways,” said Daugherty. “Their man-to-man defense is just so solid, so physical, so quick, and they’re so fundamental in what they do. We’re really going to have to just execute our game plan better than we did the first time.”

“Jay County is just an awful good basketball team,” added Young, whose team fell 46-45 to Jay County during the regular season. “They do some many things well. It’s hard to find an area where they’re weak.

“I think you just have to make some shots against them. Their defense is so good, it seems they get a hand up on every shot you take. I think patience is a key, and hopefully just being able to put some shots down.”

Teagle just hopes his team can keep playing as it seeks to regain the form which led to a 9-2 start before injuries and illnesses derailed a potentially great season. Even with a tough stretch in the second half, the Patriots put together their best regular-season record in a decade.

Rigby leads the team at 12.4 points per game, and six players average at least 6.5 points per game.

“I still think we’re missing a little bit ... I think the kids still haven’t totally adjusted,” said Teagle. “When we were at our very best, we’re not quite back to that, but if we could win another game or two we could get back there.”[[In-content Ad]]