Overton, Pinkerton lead hot shooting (03/03/04)

HARTFORD CITY — Playing at Blackford every year might not be such a bad idea for the Jay County Patriots. They seem to like shooting in the home of one of their most heated rivals.

Jay County continued its ridiculously hot shooting at the home of the Bruins Tuesday, hitting for 52 percent in a 66-60 victory over the Tipton Blue Devils in the first round of the boys basketball sectional tournament.

The Patriots — who will start playing Blackford twice a year next season, home and away — have now won five straight games in Hartford City, scoring 66 or more points in all of those victories. They topped the Bruins 70-34 in the regular season last year, and then shot 57 percent in the 2003 tournament as they defeated Bellmont, Norwell and Peru on the way to the sectional championship.

Dustin Overton led Tuesday’s outstanding shooting effort against Tipton. He finished 10-of-14 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range for a team-high 23 points.

The senior scored 16 of his points in the first half, including nine in a row in the final 2:30 of the first quarter as the Patriots pulled ahead for good.

“Dustin played outstanding in the first half, especially when we needed it with Trent on the bench with two fouls,” said Jay County coach Craig Teagle.

“I’m not going to let us lose,” said Overton, who also had seven rebounds and three assists. “That’s in my head. I told the guys this wasn’t going to be our last game.”

Overton and Andy Pinkerton picked up their scoring numbers as Trent Bailey sat for the final 12:32 of the first half with a pair of fouls. Pinkerton scored a season-high 14 points, shooting 5-of-10 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 at the foul line.

He also had five rebounds and a pair of assists.

“It opened it up for a lot of people,” said Overton of Bailey’s foul problems. “Pinkerton stepped up big time. He just had a lot of confidence.”

Teagle looked beyond Pinkerton’s scoring to his defense. The junior often was the man to offer help against Tipton scoring leader Nick Guilinger, who was limited to four points and went 1-of-7 from the field.

“That was an outstanding team effort,” said Teagle. “The kids did a nice job of shutting down post play.”

Even so, the Patriots had to withstand a strong rally from the Blue Devils (6-15) in the fourth quarter.

Jay County (13-8) pushed ahead by as many as 17 points when Mike Alberson hit a pair of free throws with 3:24 to play in the third quarter. But, Tipton cut the lead to 54-41 at the end of three periods and then came out firing.

The Blue Devils opened the fourth quarter with a rare four-point play by Travis Smith, who scored a game-high 25 points. Smith nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing and hit the free throw as he was fouled by Bailey on the shot.

The play ignited his team’s offense, and Tipton rolled to a 13-3 run to cut the deficit to 57-54. The Patriots still were only up by four points with 1:50 to play, but the Blue Devils did not score again.

“I’m just glad we won,” said Pinkerton. “I just want to go all the way. That’s my goal.

“Last year was extremely fun going to regional. I want to go back again this year and play a bigger role this time.”

Pinkerton and the Patriots are guaranteed at least one more game with the now-friendly rims at Blackford as they will play the Elwood Panthers in sectional semifinal action Friday at 6 p.m. Elwood reached the semifinals by surviving an inspired effort by the undermanned host Bruins for a 62-60 win Tuesday.

After Overton scored his nine straight points, Jay County continued to roll in the second quarter. Pinkerton scored all of his seven first-quarter points in a three-minute span of the second period as the Patriots pushed the lead to 39-29 at halftime.

They went up by 17 points on Alberson’s free throws before weathering the Blue Devil rally in the fourth quarter.

“The first half kind of symbolized our entire season,” said Tipton coach Mike McBride. “We did more to hurt us than Jay County did with them shooting so well.”

Following Overton and Pinkerton for the Patriots was Mark Kelly with eight points. Kelly grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and also had a pair of blocks.

Corey Comer, Bailey and Alberson each added five points. Heath Williams finished with six assists.

Smith was the only player in double figures for Tipton. He was trailed by Rob Mahaney with eight points and Josh Coonce with seven.

Coonce led the team with six assists. Guilinger had nine rebounds.

Elwood 62, Blackford 60

Missing three players because of suspensions and a health problem, the short-handed Blackford Bruins fell just short in the 62-60 loss to the Elwood Panthers.

Blackford trailed by six at halftime, but scored 24 third-quarter points for a 47-46 lead. The host team still held a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but it disappeared when Elwood’s Ryan Landrum buried a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left.

The Bruins (5-16) tied the game when Caleb Seidner hit a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left. But the Panthers (10-11) pulled ahead again with a pair of Eli Henson foul shots with four seconds remaining.

Michael Dalton had one more chance to win it for Blackford, but his desperation 3-pointer from near half court fell well short at the buzzer.

Dalton had an outstanding evening, leading the Bruins with 25 points. Derrick Shields scored 13 points, and Nathan Baughey added nine.

Landrum led all scorers with 29 points for Elwood. Henson scored 16 points, and Will Jesse notched 11.[[In-content Ad]]