July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Juniors come up big as Pats grab victory (02/26/05)
JCHS boys basketball
By By RAY COONEY-
LIBERTY -- If Jay County is going to win a third straight sectional title next week, it needs to be versatile. And by all accounts, it is.
The visiting Patriots found yet another way to win as they got huge contributions from a trio of juniors Friday night to cap the regular season with a 48-37 victory over the host Union County Patriots.
"John Retter, Randy Evans and Tyler Rigby, all three stepped up big," said JCHS coach Craig Teagle, whose team improved to 13-7). "Mark (Kelly) and Trent (Bailey) have carried us most of the season and struggled a little bit tonight. Those three guys, all juniors, stepped up and did a great job."
Retter, getting a rare start, responded with a mammoth game. He scored five of Jay County's first seven points, and had seven points and seven rebounds by halftime. He finished the contest with 10 points and 11 rebounds, both of which tied for game highs, for a double-double. His effort on the glass led the Patriots to a 31-14 rebounding advantage.
Evans came off the bench for 10 points, including a huge set of back-to-back 3-pointers in the second period. Fellow junior Tyler Rigby scored six of his nine points as Jay County pulled away in the final period.
"It feels pretty good," said Retter of his first double-double, "but the win feels even better going into sectional."
Jay County, which has won two straight sectional championships at Blackford, will open tournament play Tuesday when it takes on the Elwood Panthers at 6 p.m.
The game against Union County (11-9), which had won five straight games, was tight for most of the first three quarters. But Jay County pulled away in the fourth.
Using excellent defense, the Patriots pushed ahead by six thanks to four points from Rigby and two by Evans on a Rigby assist. Union County got a hoop to get within four points, but it would get no closer.
The visiting Patriots went on a quick 6-0 run to push their lead to double-digits for the first time all night and then made enough free throws in the final 1:30 to finish off the victory.
"I was upset (at halftime), and I challenged the kids and they responded to the challenge," said Teagle, whose squad turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, but just three after the break. "I thought they came out and played with a lot of toughness."
Retter, Evans and Rigby did the job on an off night for Bailey and Kelly.
Bailey spent most of the first quarter on the bench, was forced to the pine again in the third with three free fouls and finished 1-of-6 from the field with two points. Kelly scored just five points before being benched for the game because of a technical foul midway through the third quarter. He was hit with the "T" for yelling "Oh my god" after being called for clearing out.
Teagle was also called for a technical foul for arguing his team's third illegal screen call in the first half. And, Jay County was already playing without Corey Comer, who was suspended for a game because he was called for his second technical foul of the season last week in the victory over Norwell.
"It was a good win with players (sitting)," said Retter. "I knew that all five of us on the court had to pick it up for Trent and Mark because they're the leading scorers on the team."
Bailey did manage to follow Retter with five rebounds despite his relatively limited minutes. Kelly and Scott "Scooter" Bruggeman" had four boards apiece, and Bruggeman also notched three assists.
Union County had the early advantage, taking a 10-4 first-quarter lead as Jay County turned the ball over on each of its first three possessions and six times total. The host Patriots pushed ahead 12-4 at the 7:22 mark of the second quarter, but then went cold. Jay County scored the next seven points in a row to pull within two, and neither team had a lead of more than four points until the final four minutes of the game.
Union County was up 20-19 at the half, and held its final lead of the contest at 28-27 with 2:01 left in the third quarter. Jay County outscored the home team 21-9 the rest of the way.
"We're just not doing a very good job offensively right now," said Union County coach Mark Detweiler, noting that they were able to get away with some of their problems against lesser teams in the previous two weeks. "That's something that's plagued us ... I knew we would have to be very efficient. (This game) shows us what we need to work on."
Union County failed to make the 40-point barrier despite taking 11 more field-goal attempts than Jay County. It went just 13-of-45 from the field, including a 3-of-17 effort from leading scorer Kevin Salsbery. He finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Bryon Safewright paced Union County with 10 points, and Terry West also had nine before fouling out with 54 seconds to go.
Junior varsity
Jay County managed to hold on for the junior varsity victory, 50-45 over Union County.
The visiting Patriots had a double-digit lead in the second half, but Union County made several 3-pointers in the final minute to give itself a chance.
However, Rhett Retter canned a pair of foul shots with 2.6 seconds to go for the final margin.
Retter paced Jay County with 13 points, and Casey Waters joined him in double figures with 11. Randy Evans added nine points.
Kyle Walton scored 13 points for Union County, and Josh Brock added 11.[[In-content Ad]]
The visiting Patriots found yet another way to win as they got huge contributions from a trio of juniors Friday night to cap the regular season with a 48-37 victory over the host Union County Patriots.
"John Retter, Randy Evans and Tyler Rigby, all three stepped up big," said JCHS coach Craig Teagle, whose team improved to 13-7). "Mark (Kelly) and Trent (Bailey) have carried us most of the season and struggled a little bit tonight. Those three guys, all juniors, stepped up and did a great job."
Retter, getting a rare start, responded with a mammoth game. He scored five of Jay County's first seven points, and had seven points and seven rebounds by halftime. He finished the contest with 10 points and 11 rebounds, both of which tied for game highs, for a double-double. His effort on the glass led the Patriots to a 31-14 rebounding advantage.
Evans came off the bench for 10 points, including a huge set of back-to-back 3-pointers in the second period. Fellow junior Tyler Rigby scored six of his nine points as Jay County pulled away in the final period.
"It feels pretty good," said Retter of his first double-double, "but the win feels even better going into sectional."
Jay County, which has won two straight sectional championships at Blackford, will open tournament play Tuesday when it takes on the Elwood Panthers at 6 p.m.
The game against Union County (11-9), which had won five straight games, was tight for most of the first three quarters. But Jay County pulled away in the fourth.
Using excellent defense, the Patriots pushed ahead by six thanks to four points from Rigby and two by Evans on a Rigby assist. Union County got a hoop to get within four points, but it would get no closer.
The visiting Patriots went on a quick 6-0 run to push their lead to double-digits for the first time all night and then made enough free throws in the final 1:30 to finish off the victory.
"I was upset (at halftime), and I challenged the kids and they responded to the challenge," said Teagle, whose squad turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, but just three after the break. "I thought they came out and played with a lot of toughness."
Retter, Evans and Rigby did the job on an off night for Bailey and Kelly.
Bailey spent most of the first quarter on the bench, was forced to the pine again in the third with three free fouls and finished 1-of-6 from the field with two points. Kelly scored just five points before being benched for the game because of a technical foul midway through the third quarter. He was hit with the "T" for yelling "Oh my god" after being called for clearing out.
Teagle was also called for a technical foul for arguing his team's third illegal screen call in the first half. And, Jay County was already playing without Corey Comer, who was suspended for a game because he was called for his second technical foul of the season last week in the victory over Norwell.
"It was a good win with players (sitting)," said Retter. "I knew that all five of us on the court had to pick it up for Trent and Mark because they're the leading scorers on the team."
Bailey did manage to follow Retter with five rebounds despite his relatively limited minutes. Kelly and Scott "Scooter" Bruggeman" had four boards apiece, and Bruggeman also notched three assists.
Union County had the early advantage, taking a 10-4 first-quarter lead as Jay County turned the ball over on each of its first three possessions and six times total. The host Patriots pushed ahead 12-4 at the 7:22 mark of the second quarter, but then went cold. Jay County scored the next seven points in a row to pull within two, and neither team had a lead of more than four points until the final four minutes of the game.
Union County was up 20-19 at the half, and held its final lead of the contest at 28-27 with 2:01 left in the third quarter. Jay County outscored the home team 21-9 the rest of the way.
"We're just not doing a very good job offensively right now," said Union County coach Mark Detweiler, noting that they were able to get away with some of their problems against lesser teams in the previous two weeks. "That's something that's plagued us ... I knew we would have to be very efficient. (This game) shows us what we need to work on."
Union County failed to make the 40-point barrier despite taking 11 more field-goal attempts than Jay County. It went just 13-of-45 from the field, including a 3-of-17 effort from leading scorer Kevin Salsbery. He finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Bryon Safewright paced Union County with 10 points, and Terry West also had nine before fouling out with 54 seconds to go.
Junior varsity
Jay County managed to hold on for the junior varsity victory, 50-45 over Union County.
The visiting Patriots had a double-digit lead in the second half, but Union County made several 3-pointers in the final minute to give itself a chance.
However, Rhett Retter canned a pair of foul shots with 2.6 seconds to go for the final margin.
Retter paced Jay County with 13 points, and Casey Waters joined him in double figures with 11. Randy Evans added nine points.
Kyle Walton scored 13 points for Union County, and Josh Brock added 11.[[In-content Ad]]
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