Jay boys fall to Leo, 59-42

BERNE — For nearly 10 minutes on Saturday, it appeared as if Jay County and Leo were going to mimic their game from earlier in the season.
Intense, hard fought and down to the wire.
But six straight turnovers to end the second quarter turned the Jay County boys basketball team’s two-point deficit to a 14-point hole at halftime.
The Patriots never recovered, losing 59-42 to the Class 3A No. 4 Leo Lions in the Allen County Athletic Conference tournament championship at South Adams.
Jay County also lost to the Lions, 44-41 on Dec. 19.
“There was a stretch in the second quarter when we went on a little run, and (Jay County is) a team that you don’t want to trail because they’re so patient offensively,” said Leo coach Cary Cogdell, whose team’s 59 points was the most surrendered by Jay County all season. “If you’re behind, an eight-point lead feels like a 20-point lead.
“We wanted to play from in front, and we got that in the second quarter.”
JCHS coach Craig Teagle said the turnovers late in the first half, coupled with Jay Houck being whistled for his second foul, were a combination the Patriots just couldn’t afford against Leo.
“We turned it over five times in the first quarter, then six times in the second quarter. That’s the ball game, basically,” said Teagle, whose team falls to 10-3 on the season, with two losses against undefeated Leo and one against Richmond. The Red Devils finished 13th in the most recent Class 4A poll voting. “We had 19 turnovers, we were 1-of-7 from the foul line, we missed five layups or putbacks — you’re not going to win against good teams doing that stuff.”
Meanwhile, the Leo tandem of Adam Davison and David Hardin torched the Patriots from the outside. The seniors combined to go 10-of-18 from behind the 3-point line. Davison, who was named the Hilliard Gates Most Valuable Player, got six of his game-high 21 points during the final four minutes of the second quarter.
He made three consecutive free throws after being fouled on an attempt from long range, and then hit a trey from the right corner to give the Lions a double-digit lead, 25-14, with more than three minutes to play in the opening half.
Davison and Hardin both hit two more threes in the third quarter, as Leo (14-0) led by as many as 17 points late in the frame. Hardin finished with 18 points.
“They are really good shooters,” Teagle said, “but what hurt us is if we got a chance to set our defense we were OK. When we turned it over … as we’re scrambling to get back, they make that extra pass and we’re just late getting to the shooter.
“If we don’t turn it over, then we’ve got a much better chance to set our defense.”
Unlike the second quarter — Jay County only scored two points — the Patriot offense had its most productive performance following halftime by tallying 14 points in each of the final two quarters.
Houck scored eight of his team-high 14 points in the third quarter, during which he hit two of the Patriots’ three 3-pointers. The first ended a 13-point run by Leo, and the second came on an assist by senior Zach Pryor to cut the Leo lead to 40-28 in the final minute of the period.
The fourth quarter was more of the Lion offense, which made as many shots (19) in the game as the Patriots but in fewer attempts (35 to 39).
Adam Dirksen and older brother Justin sandwiched two layups around a three from the top of the arc by Hardin. The bucket by Justin Dirksen, who scored all eight of his points in the second half, cut the Leo lead to 45-32 with 6:31 left in the game.
Leo, which is leaving the ACAC following this season, went on an 11-point run — its second streak of 10 or more points — to take a 24-point lead and put the game out of reach.
“As soon as you get down on them, you don’t have a chance,” Teagle said. “They’re quicker than we are on the dribble. They didn’t have one kid on the floor that we are quicker than. It’s hard to keep them in front.
“We knew we were going to be in trouble if they got the lead.”