Big 3rd lifts Jay

BERNE — It took one game for the Patriots to put their blowout loss to Leo in the Allen County Athletic Conference championship game behind them.
Jay County’s boys basketball team used an 11-point run in the third quarter to pull away from South Adams and the reserves shut the door in the fourth in a 59-29 victory Friday over the host Starfires.
“I thought we moved the ball well and we were getting good looks offensively,” said JCHS sophomore Jay Houck, who led all players with 15 points. “Defensively, I thought we communicated well. We had a few slipups, but I thought overall we played pretty well.”
Justin Dirksen, a senior who reached double figures for the fourth time this season with 11 points, said it was a good team win.
“It seemed like we all worked together really good,” he said. “(We were) moving the ball, passing the ball, getting in the post or getting wide-open looks.”
After South Adams (4-7, 0-4 ACAC) scored the first points after halftime, Patriot junior Adam Dirksen sparked the run by Jay County (11-3, 3-1 ACAC), converting on an assist from Zach Pryor as he slipped behind the Starfire defense.
At the other end of the court, the junior big man tallied the first of his three blocks in the frame, and then Houck benefited from a dish by Nick Clemens to make it 28-17 in favor of the visitors.
Pryor then scored his only four points of the second half — the senior finished with six points, a game-high four assists and a team-high four rebounds — on a loose ball the Starfire defense was reluctant to grab. He then added a pair of free throws the next trip down the court, extending the Patriot advantage to 32-17.
Following a South Adams turnover, Pryor found Houck in the left corner for the Patriots’ only 3-pointer of the night. Jay County was 1-for-2 from long range and finished 24-of-36 (66.7 percent) from the field.
Starfire coach Andy Brown called a timeout in hopes of stopping the run, but yet another turnover by his squad resulted in two more points for the Patriots. From the right wing, Pryor attempted to pass the ball over the defense to Adam Dirksen at the low post, and it bounced off his outstretched hands and into the hoop for an unlikely bucket.
South Adams finally ended the run when Chandler Ingle made his only shot attempt of the evening, a three from the right corner. Ingle’s trey made it 37-20 with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
The majority of Jay County’s points on the night followed either a turnover or a miss by South Adams, which gave the ball away 10 times and shot 10-of-38 from the field.
“We made some mistakes on the offensive end trying to force some things,” Brown said, adding that Jay County, which ranks No. 1 in defensive average by allowing fewer than 34 points per game, gave the Stars fits. “(We) didn’t get things going offensively really all night.
“The third quarter, the game really shifted then.”
Not only was the offense clicking for Jay County, coach Craig Teagle said his team was able to keep the Starfire shooters at bay as well.
“I thought we did a great job defensively,” said Teagle, whose team is one win away from securing its 14th consecutive winning season. “We found shooters, we were more intense, more focused and we had our hands on the ball.”
Jay County scored the first six points of the fourth quarter thanks to four points by Justin Dirksen and a put-back by Runyon after a Dirksen miss. Starfire sophomore Jared Grabau, who finished with seven points, sandwiched four points around a bucket by Adam Dirksen, and then the Patriots scored the final 10 points of the game.
Adam Dirksen added 12 points to end a three-game drought of scoring in single digits, and Runyon set a new career-high with nine points. Teagle said their play down low combined with Houck’s presence in the paint is what the Patriots need down the stretch.
“I thought (Houck) and Adam both looked good around the basket, and I thought Bo Runyon came in and really had a solid game too,” Teagle said. “If we can get those three to continue to play like that inside, that will open some things up from the outside.”

Junior varsity
The Patriots survived a game of runs in a 36-29 defeat of the Starfires.
Jay County (7-4, 2-2 ACAC) scored the first five points of the game, but it was followed by a 12-0 run by South Adams. The Patriots answered with a 15-point swing of its own to take a 20-13 lead into the final period.
Cole Stigleman, a JCHS freshman, led all players with 12 points. Spencer Calvert and Justin Crouch added nine and six points respectively for Jay County.
Junior McGerran Clouser paced the Starfires with 11 points, including two 3-pointers in the final quarter. Corbin Swygart added seven points, and Terry Dawn tallied six.

Freshman
Jay County’s freshman team started the three-game sweep of the Starfires on Friday night with a 31-25 victory.
The Patriots (7-2, 3-2 ACAC) trailed 25-23 heading into the final quarter and held the Starfires scoreless in the final period to get the win.
Garrett Rodgers led Jay County with seven points, and Collin Haines and Jordan Stultz totaled six points each. Max Moser and Conner Davis each chipped in with five points.
Joe Stuber of South Adams led all players with 15 points. Brandon Newman and Victor Vasquez each added three points.