JCHS dominates 3rd (01/10/2009)

The Patriots watched two free throws fall to cut their lead to three. And then they dished out 10 minutes of torture.

With a 21-0 run, the Jay County High School boys basketball team turned a close game Friday into a 56-35 slaughter of the visiting Mississinewa Indians.

"In the first half we did some things to help us stay in the game," said Mississinewa coach Chanse Young, whose team has lost nine straight games to the Patriots. "But that third quarter, I think, Jay County sensed a little bit of hesitance on our end and they just took advantage. That third quarter obviously was huge for them."

The Indians' Josh Cook hit a pair of free throws 35 seconds into the second half to pull the visitors to within 29-26. But they didn't hit another field goal for nearly 10 minutes.

Instead Jay County (6-0) put on a clinic.

Kyle Simmons and Adam Garringer routinely drove to the basket with ease. Garringer and Jacob Westlake each cashed in three-point plays as part of a 7-of-8 foul shooting effort during the run. And Garringer and Billy Wellman each dropped 3-pointers.

Meanwhile, the Patriots limited Mississinewa to just five field-goal attempts, all misses, in the third period. The Indians also helped out JCHS by missing 10 of its final 13 free throws in the game.

"I just thought it was much better defense," said Teagle of the second half. "We were more active, getting the ball stopped. Early they were getting the corner turned just enough to pull help and then kick for the shot ... and I thought we didn't give that angle up (in the second half) ... so we didn't have to help us much. We just did a better job of contesting shots and not giving up dribble penetration.

"This is a team really that if they play well defensively then it seems like we play offensively a lot better too. I was happy with the second half."

Jay County's run spanned eight minutes before Cook finally hit a pair of free throws for the Indians early in the fourth quarter. But Mississinewa went about 12 minutes without a field goal as it shot just 3-of-18 in the second half.

Garringer racked up 23 points for the undefeated Patriots, who travel to Richmond tonight to play the Red Devils for the first time since Feb. 7, 2003. He shot 60 percent from the field, buried three 3-pointers and made all of his eight foul shots.

The senior was also second on the team with four rebounds, trailing only Billy Wellman (five)

"Adam played well," said Teagle. "He's getting better at taking good shots. ... You're going to get a good shot if you just let the offense come to you. And I think he's seeing that more, and part of that is the trust and his teammates delivering the ball ... He had a really good offensive game for us. And he played better defensively too."

Kyle Simmons followed with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. He had six assists, four of which came in the opening quarter.

Eric Homan, who played despite suffering an injury in practice early in the week, totaled eight points.

Mississinewa (6-3) hit three first-quarter 3-pointers to take the lead, but the Patriots responded with an 8-0 run as Simmons scored twice on drives to the basket and assisted on a pair of hoops by Homan.

Jay County led by as many as nine in the second quarter, before the Indians pulled to within five at halftime.

"They were good shots because we were able to get into the paint," said Young of his team's 5-of-8 3-point shooting effort in the first half. "It seemed like a lot of them were inside-out, which is what we try to preach. ...

"(In the third quarter) a lot of it was turnovers, and we missed a lot of free throws in the third quarter. It was just a case where the wheels came off. We didn't necessarily stay the course. Jay County is just so disciplined they took advantage of every mistake we made."

Chris Birky had 11 points for the Indians, and Cook added 10 points and seven rebounds. Cook made all of his four free throws while the rest of the team went 2-of-13.

No other Mississinewa player scored more than four points as the Patriots held an opponent to 40 points or fewer for the fourth time.

Junior varsity

The Patriots rolled out to a 14-point first-quarter lead and cruised to a 49-21 victory over Mississinewa.

Josh Beaty racked up 17 points for Jay County, 14 of which came in the first half. Brad Horn and Garrett Krieg each added nine, and Drew Houck scored eight.

Jared Wagener had five points for the Indians, who trailed 17-3 after the first period and got outscored 14-4 in the fourth. Four other Mississinewa players totaled four points apiece.

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