Perfect in 2008 (01/26/08)

There was a time when the Patriots struggled against their kilt-wearing conference foes from Anderson. That time is long gone.

Jay County High School's boys basketball team made it six wins in their last seven tries against the Anderson Highland Scots Friday night, securing the lead with a 9-0 run to close the third quarter in its 61-48 victory.

"I thought our kids were really focused going into the game," said JCHS coach Craig Teagle, whose squad has won six straight and is undefeated in the 2008 portion of its schedule. "We wanted to play with championship effort and championship intensity to give ourselves a chance to win the conference title if Connersville can beat South."

Highland erased an eight-point deficit with a 9-0 run bridging the halftime break, and went up 32-31 with 10 minutes remaining in the game. But that's when the Patriots, who finish 2-1 in the Olympic Athletic Conference and would earn a share of the title if Muncie Southside loses to Connersville next weekend, dug down deep.

Billy Wellman put the home team ahead for good on a 3-pointer from an Aaron Daniels assist, and a hustle play keyed the next possession. After a missed shot Daniels knocked the rebound away from one of the Scots, Clint Muhlenkamp got to the loose ball and dished it to Adam Garringer for a lay-up.

Wellman added a put-back on the next possession, and Daniels came up with a steal and lay-up for a 40-32 JCHS lead after three quarters.

"It went from a one-point lead to an (eight-point) lead for them in the matter of two minutes," said Highland coach Phil Spoljaric. "That was a big change in events. You can't turn the ball over against a team like that because they'll take advantage of it, and they did.

"I thought we just had a stretch where mentally we broke down and they took advantage of it. You take out that stretch and it's a different ball game at the end."

Highland never made a serious run in the fourth quarter as the Patriots hit 11-of-12 free throws in the final 5:23 of the game.

Three Jay County players reached double figures, all of them did so in efficient fashion.

Garringer shot 5-of-6 from the field, including 2-of-3 from long distance, and made both of his free throws for 14 points. Wellman went 5-of-10 from the field, 2-of-4 from 3-point range and 2-of-2 at the foul line for 14.

And Muhlenkamp was most efficient of all, making every shot he attempted. The senior shot 4-of-4 from the field and the line for 12 points as Jay County shot 21-of-40 (53 percent).

He also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds as the Patriots out-worked Highland 27-20 on the glass, and matched Daniels for the team high of six assists. Daniels added five boards.

"Clint Muhlenkamp played a great game all the way around," said Teagle, noting that his most experienced player never came off the floor. "He's always the defensive stopper, but he did it offensively tonight too."

After allowing too many drives to the basket in the first half, resulting in nearly 50 percent shooting for the Scots, Jay County locked down after the break. It allowed just 8-of-24 (33 percent) shooting in the second half, and outscored the visitors 11-7 in the third quarter despite going scoreless for the first 5:13 of the second half.

The Patriots held Highland to its second lowest point total of the season, a week after becoming the first to hold Winchester to fewer than 50 points.

"I thought they did a good job of taking (the lane) away," said Spoljaric. "But I also thought we settled more from the outside. ... We're not a great outside shooting team.

"We forced them into some turnovers, but we could never get that game into a transition game, and that's what we want."

Tealgil Stonewall and Jay Mohr matched Garringer and Wellman with 14 points apiece. Tyson McKinney, who leads Highland with an average of 17.8 points per game, finished with 12 points on 5-of-18 shooting.

"We have to carry this momentum over," said Teagle, whose Patriots visit Blackford tonight. "It's been a while since we've played away from home. ... This means nothing if you don't win Saturday night, because the only thing you remember is your last game."

Junior varsity

The Patriots scored more points in the final 20 seconds than in any of the first three quarters, but their late rally fell short as they lost 25-20.

Jay County again struggled to find offense in the first half, trailing 10-6 at the intermission. It managed just four third-quarter points, and then failed to score for the first 4:15 of the fourth.

With the game on the line, the Patriots managed to make it interesting, pulling to within 23-18 when Brad Horn banked in a 3-pointer with 15.1 remaining. Horn knocked away the ensuring Scots inbound pass, and Jacob Westlake gathered in the loose ball for a lay-up to pull JCHS within a single possession.

But, Derrick Hill converted a pair of free throws with 6.6 seconds left to put the game away for Highland. Hill finished with eight points while teammate Tevin King led all scorers with nine.

Jacob Westlake had seven points for the Patriots, who shot just one free throw. Dexter Shreve added six points.

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