July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Williams' lay-up stuns Golden Bears (02/25/04)
JCHS boys basketball
Williams' lay-up stuns Golden Bears (02/25/04)
PARKER CITY — A team that had struggled in close games may have found a way to win the tight ones at just the right time. And it happened in spectacular fashion.
Heath Williams came up with a steal with about three seconds left and rolled in a lay-up just before time expired to give the Jay County Patriots at 77-75 victory over the Monroe Central Golden Bears.
“Coach told us just to get up in them, waste some time, and no lay-ups — try to make them make a jump shot,” said Williams. “Trent just played great defense.
“I saw it and went after it. I saw I had three seconds and I knew I could make it. I knew I was going to make this lay-up.”
Jay County (11-8) had not won a game decided by fewer than five points all season. It opens sectional play against Tipton at Blackford Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Monroe Central (12-8) started the deciding play, coming out of a timeout with 7.6 seconds on the clock and the game tied at 75 because of a tying bucket by Jay County’s Mike Alberson.
Noah Tharp took the inbound pass and worked against Trent Bailey. He dribbled up the court just left of the center circle, and just after he passed mid-court he made his mistake.
Tharp tried to spin back toward the center to lose Bailey, but the Jay County junior harassed him just enough to get the ball to pop loose for a moment. And a moment was all Williams needed.
The speedy senior came blasting away from his man and picked up the ball near mid-court. Monroe Central players tried to give chase, but there was nothing they could do as Williams laid the ball off the glass and through the iron just before the final tenths ticked off the clock.
“We just wanted to match up, keep them in front,” said Jay County coach Craig Teagle of the Patriots’ last defensive stand which led to the winning hoop by Williams. “The one thing we said was ‘Whatever you do, don’t let them into the paint.’
“When the ball came loose Heath was Johnny on the spot. He made a big play for a senior, and that’s what you want from your seniors at this time of year.”
Williams’ lay-up gave Jay County its first lead in the game since the 4:02 mark of the second quarter. The Patriots trailed by as many as six points with less than two minutes on the clock, but just kept coming back.
Andy Pinkerton scored a pair of buckets in the final 1:30, the second off of a Dustin Overton miss which cut the Monroe Central lead to 74-73. Jay County fouled Cory Walradth on the other end, and the Golden Bear senior split the pair for his only miss in 10 attempts at the foul line in the game.
The Patriots (11-8) looked as if they had missed their chance to even the score when an Overton shot off a feed from Trent Bailey glanced off the rim, but Andy Pinkerton kept his team alive. The ball ping-ponged around underneath the hoop and was headed out of bounds before Pinkerton leaped over the baseline and saved it to Alberson.
Alberson made his only basket of the game — a short jumper from the right side — to tie it, setting up Bailey and Williams for the final play.
“You’ve got to give credit to Pinkerton for the hustle points,” said Alberson. “It was just my time to step up I guess.
“I just think the coaches never gave up on us so it’s just our job to not give up.”
Teagle agreed that a stick-with-it attitude was a huge key against Monroe Central.
“I knew the large part of the second half would be to keep our composure,” said Teagle. “(We had to) play with poise.”
Williams pointed to the win as a turning point for his squad, which he noted has not had a good record in close games. Jay County had been 0-4 in contests decided by four points or fewer, with losses to Fort Recovery, Huntington North, Delta and Eastbrook.
“For one, it’s a good thing to win going into sectional,” said Williams. “Hopefully it’ll be a big momentum builder.
“It just helps to win a close one.”
The Patriots were up 10-4 early and then 15-5 before a 9-0 Monroe Central run to end the first quarter. They trailed by four at halftime and by as many as 11 points with 1:22 to play in the third quarter before coming all the way back for the win.
Overton and Bailey were the offensive stars for most of the game before Alberson and Williams made their big shots.
Overton finished 9-of-16 from the field for 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double. Bailey added 20 points, one rebound and a couple of blocks.
Pinkerton missed his only 3-pointer, but hit all of his 2-point field goal tries and a pair of free throws for 10 points. He also grabbed six rebounds.
Williams had eight points, and Corey Comer and Mark Kelly each added six. Williams dished out five assists, and Overton and Andy Wellman had four apiece.
Jay County played the second half without Kelly, who was benched after being called for a technical foul just before the first-half buzzer.
Monroe Central controlled much of the game thanks to offensive rebounding and a great effort from a pair of seniors. The Golden Bears owned a 38-29 advantage on the glass with half of their rebounds coming on the offensive end.
Walradth finished with a game-high 30 points for Monroe Central while grabbing five rebounds. Shane Brown went 8-of-14 from the field for 22 points and grabbed nine boards, and Tharp added 11 points and six rebounds.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Teagle of the big numbers by the Golden Bears, “because what they did was everything we knew they could do. What we preached in practice was not to let them dictate tempo and not to let them go to the offensive boards.”
The Patriots will play their final regular-season game at Coldwater Friday at 6:30 p.m. before heading to the Blackford sectional.
Junior varsity
Jay County’s junior varsity boys basketball team came ready to play, trouncing Monroe Central for a 46-21 victory.
The Patriots, who needed fourth-quarter comebacks to beat Union City and Eastbrook last week, wasted little time in putting the host Golden Bears away.
After leading 10-8 through one quarter, Jay County shut out Monroe Central in the second. The Patriots pushed the lead to 26-8 at the half and were never challenged.
Zac Green paced Jay County with 11 points, and John Retter added nine. Tyler Dunnington and Travis Towell each had eight.
David Skillman scored nine points to lead the Golden Bears.
Lyle Whitehead had seven points.[[In-content Ad]]
Heath Williams came up with a steal with about three seconds left and rolled in a lay-up just before time expired to give the Jay County Patriots at 77-75 victory over the Monroe Central Golden Bears.
“Coach told us just to get up in them, waste some time, and no lay-ups — try to make them make a jump shot,” said Williams. “Trent just played great defense.
“I saw it and went after it. I saw I had three seconds and I knew I could make it. I knew I was going to make this lay-up.”
Jay County (11-8) had not won a game decided by fewer than five points all season. It opens sectional play against Tipton at Blackford Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Monroe Central (12-8) started the deciding play, coming out of a timeout with 7.6 seconds on the clock and the game tied at 75 because of a tying bucket by Jay County’s Mike Alberson.
Noah Tharp took the inbound pass and worked against Trent Bailey. He dribbled up the court just left of the center circle, and just after he passed mid-court he made his mistake.
Tharp tried to spin back toward the center to lose Bailey, but the Jay County junior harassed him just enough to get the ball to pop loose for a moment. And a moment was all Williams needed.
The speedy senior came blasting away from his man and picked up the ball near mid-court. Monroe Central players tried to give chase, but there was nothing they could do as Williams laid the ball off the glass and through the iron just before the final tenths ticked off the clock.
“We just wanted to match up, keep them in front,” said Jay County coach Craig Teagle of the Patriots’ last defensive stand which led to the winning hoop by Williams. “The one thing we said was ‘Whatever you do, don’t let them into the paint.’
“When the ball came loose Heath was Johnny on the spot. He made a big play for a senior, and that’s what you want from your seniors at this time of year.”
Williams’ lay-up gave Jay County its first lead in the game since the 4:02 mark of the second quarter. The Patriots trailed by as many as six points with less than two minutes on the clock, but just kept coming back.
Andy Pinkerton scored a pair of buckets in the final 1:30, the second off of a Dustin Overton miss which cut the Monroe Central lead to 74-73. Jay County fouled Cory Walradth on the other end, and the Golden Bear senior split the pair for his only miss in 10 attempts at the foul line in the game.
The Patriots (11-8) looked as if they had missed their chance to even the score when an Overton shot off a feed from Trent Bailey glanced off the rim, but Andy Pinkerton kept his team alive. The ball ping-ponged around underneath the hoop and was headed out of bounds before Pinkerton leaped over the baseline and saved it to Alberson.
Alberson made his only basket of the game — a short jumper from the right side — to tie it, setting up Bailey and Williams for the final play.
“You’ve got to give credit to Pinkerton for the hustle points,” said Alberson. “It was just my time to step up I guess.
“I just think the coaches never gave up on us so it’s just our job to not give up.”
Teagle agreed that a stick-with-it attitude was a huge key against Monroe Central.
“I knew the large part of the second half would be to keep our composure,” said Teagle. “(We had to) play with poise.”
Williams pointed to the win as a turning point for his squad, which he noted has not had a good record in close games. Jay County had been 0-4 in contests decided by four points or fewer, with losses to Fort Recovery, Huntington North, Delta and Eastbrook.
“For one, it’s a good thing to win going into sectional,” said Williams. “Hopefully it’ll be a big momentum builder.
“It just helps to win a close one.”
The Patriots were up 10-4 early and then 15-5 before a 9-0 Monroe Central run to end the first quarter. They trailed by four at halftime and by as many as 11 points with 1:22 to play in the third quarter before coming all the way back for the win.
Overton and Bailey were the offensive stars for most of the game before Alberson and Williams made their big shots.
Overton finished 9-of-16 from the field for 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double. Bailey added 20 points, one rebound and a couple of blocks.
Pinkerton missed his only 3-pointer, but hit all of his 2-point field goal tries and a pair of free throws for 10 points. He also grabbed six rebounds.
Williams had eight points, and Corey Comer and Mark Kelly each added six. Williams dished out five assists, and Overton and Andy Wellman had four apiece.
Jay County played the second half without Kelly, who was benched after being called for a technical foul just before the first-half buzzer.
Monroe Central controlled much of the game thanks to offensive rebounding and a great effort from a pair of seniors. The Golden Bears owned a 38-29 advantage on the glass with half of their rebounds coming on the offensive end.
Walradth finished with a game-high 30 points for Monroe Central while grabbing five rebounds. Shane Brown went 8-of-14 from the field for 22 points and grabbed nine boards, and Tharp added 11 points and six rebounds.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Teagle of the big numbers by the Golden Bears, “because what they did was everything we knew they could do. What we preached in practice was not to let them dictate tempo and not to let them go to the offensive boards.”
The Patriots will play their final regular-season game at Coldwater Friday at 6:30 p.m. before heading to the Blackford sectional.
Junior varsity
Jay County’s junior varsity boys basketball team came ready to play, trouncing Monroe Central for a 46-21 victory.
The Patriots, who needed fourth-quarter comebacks to beat Union City and Eastbrook last week, wasted little time in putting the host Golden Bears away.
After leading 10-8 through one quarter, Jay County shut out Monroe Central in the second. The Patriots pushed the lead to 26-8 at the half and were never challenged.
Zac Green paced Jay County with 11 points, and John Retter added nine. Tyler Dunnington and Travis Towell each had eight.
David Skillman scored nine points to lead the Golden Bears.
Lyle Whitehead had seven points.[[In-content Ad]]
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