Review preview

Jay County
Patriots
Portland, 4-1
Coach: Chris Krieg, first year
Conference: Allen County
Dec. 19 at Fort Recovery: Jay County was 24-of-29, including 14-for-18 in the fourth quarter, from the free-throw line in a 60-48 victory against Fort Recovery. JCHS junior Jay Houck had a career and game-high 24 points, and Adam Dirksen followed with 17. Micaiah Cox led Fort Recovery with 15 points.
Season leaders (per game): Points — Jay Houck 16.0, Adam Dirksen 15.4, Kyler Carvel 6.0. Rebounds — Dirksen 8.0, Houck 6.2. Assists — Carvel 2.8.

vs.

Winchester
Golden
Falcons
Winchester, 2-3
Coach: Matt Fine, second year
Conference: Tri-Eastern
Tuesday at Delta: Delta’s Adam Haynes sank a pair of free throws to break a tie at 36 and the Eagles went on to hold off Winchester by a score of 44-36. Kiante Enis of Winchester had a game-high 16 points, including a dunk to give the Golden Falcons a 34-32 lead and erase a 32-22 deficit. But then?Delta closed out the final three minutes with a 12-2 run.
Season leaders (per game, through four contests): Points — Enis 16.0, Michael Georgi 8.8, Elias Gates 8.3. Rebounds — Enis 5.3, Gates 5.0. Assists — Gates 2.0.

Last season: Jay County senior Nick Clemens picked the best time to score his only points, draining a 3-pointer from the corner as the overtime buzzer sounded to give Jay County a 43-40 road victory. Dirksen led the Patriots with 19 points, and Enis had a game-high 25.
Game notes: This is the 46th meeting all-time between Winchester and Jay County, with the Patriots holding a 29-16 advantage in the series. JCHS has won each of the last four meetings after losing three straight ... Jay County ranks eighth in the state — second in Class 4A — in defensive average, allowing 39.6 points per game. Winchester scores 46.4 points per game and allows nearly 50 points ... This is the fifth home game in six contests for the Patriots, who then play three straight road games, including the Indiana-Kentucky Challenge Cup on Jan. 9 ... A victory will give Jay County five wins in six games for the first time since the 2012-13 season when it started 6-0 and finished 20-3.