Patriots get high-energy effort to top AH (02/16/04)

PORTLAND — The spark was back.

Jay County’s boys basketball team turned in a lackluster effort in a loss to Delta Thursday. But, the Patriots came out energized against the Anderson Highland Scots Saturday, jumping to a quick 8-2 lead on the way to a 59-48 victory.

“We were pretty disappointed in our energy level and effort on Thursday,” said Jay County coach Craig Teagle. “Being a big rival you thought you’d be up for that game, but I thought we play ed flat physically and mentally. It was good for the kids to respond and come back with that kind of effort. Overall it was much improved.”

Jay County (8-7, 3-1 Olympic Athletic Conference) never trailed as it ended its two-game home losing streak.

Trent Bailey hit each of his first three shots in the contest on the way to his game-high 17 points. He drilled a field goal followed by a pair of 3-pointer — all on assists from Heath Williams — to lead Jay County to its early advantage.

Bailey’s spurt was the first of several by Patriot players, and Williams finished the quarter with five assists for a 13-10 lead.

The second big spurt was powered by Williams after Anderson Highland cut a 10-point halftime disadvantage in half.

Andy Pinkerton drilled a 3-pointer on an assist from Bailey, and then Williams assisted on a Bailey Bucket. After a score by the Scots, Williams tossed an assist to Kelly for two points and then took care of some scoring by himself.

The senior point guard scored the final eight points of the third quarter for Jay County — including two 3-pointers — building the lead back to 46-32.

Anderson Highland (3-15, 0-4 OAC) tried to rally in the final period, pulling within eight points. But, Corey Comer responded to thwart the attempted run.

The freshman hit a pair of free throws, tossed in a 15-footer on an assist from Williams and put back a Patriot miss for six straight Jay County points. His spurt pushed the lead back to 10 points, and Dustin Overton and Kelly scored the final five points to finish off the victory.

Teagle said he thought Williams — who played one of his best games of the season — was a big key to hits team’s effort. Williams finished with 10 points of 4-of-6 shooting, and just missed a double-double with nine assists.

Comer also went 4-of-6 from the field and added a 4-of-6 mark at the line for 12 points. He added seven rebounds.

Dustin Overton had nine points and five boards, and Mark Kelly was a basket away from a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds. Four of Kelly’s rebounds came on the offensive end.

“I thought Corey did a really good job,” said Teagle. “I thought Corey on Thursday night gave us a lot of energy off the bench. He played well again Saturday, and Mark Kelly played well too.

“It did seem like in stretches a certain person would pick up his game offensively or defensively.”

Kelly keyed the inside defense, taking three of the five charges called against Anderson Highland in the game. Jay County held the Scots to 16-of-53 shooting for 30 percent.

Rodney Woodall topped the scoring and rebounding charts for Anderson Highland with 16 points and nine boards. But he missed 15 of his 21 shots in the game.

Corey Prince also reached double figures with 11 points, but was equally awful from the field at 4-of-15 shooting. The Scots, who lost their eighth straight game, had just five assists in the contest.

Teagle said his team’s outstanding accuracy — 55 percent in the first half and 50 percent for the game — helped it get back on the winning track.

“I thought our defense was energetic,” said Teagle. “Not only were they in the right spot, but their feet were moving. We had active hands and feet.

“We shot the ball extremely well in the first half. A lot of that was due to good shots. We had some inside-outside game (and good ball movement).”

Jay County will try to finish with an 8-2 record at home when it hosts Randolph Southern (2-14) Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Patriots close their season with four straight road contests.

Junior varsity

The Jay County junior varsity boys basketball team shut out Anderson Highland in the first quarter en route to a 38-30 victory over the Scots.

The Patriots rolled to an 8-0 lead after one quarter and pushed the advantage to nine points at halftime. The Scots pulled to within four after three quarters, but Jay County fought them off for the win.

John Retter paced Jay County with 15 points, including six in the first quarter. Tyler Dunnington scored six of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, and Randy Evans finished with six points.

Keandre Peak scored nine points to lead Anderson Highland, and Lamar Turner added six.[[In-content Ad]]