December 31, 2016 at 5:57 a.m.
Jay wins in OT, again
Free throws lift Patriots to win over Muncie Central
Jay wins in OT, again
The Patriots haven't been shooting their best this season from the free-throw line.
Entering Friday's game they were just 58 percent percent from the stripe.
But when it mattered most, against a sectional rival, the Patriots were nearly perfect.
Cole Stigleman made all nine of his free-throw attempts and the Jay County High School boys basketball team was 13-of-17 from the line in the fourth quarter or later Friday in a 54-47 victory over the Muncie Central Bearcats in the final game of 2016 for both squads.
“Feels great,” said Stigleman. He and his teammates have won back-to-back games in overtime. The Patriots overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat state-line rival Fort Recovery on Tuesday. “Muncie Central is a great team, and so is Fort Recovery. I’d say this one means more because it’s a sectional opponent. It feels great especially to go into overtime in both of them.
“It shouldn’t be (in overtime) in the first place, but (we) just got the job done in the end.”
Jay Houck, who led the Patriots with 13 points and moved into fourth on the JCHS career-scoring list with 930 total points, tied the game at 45 with less than 30 seconds in regulation. With his team trailing by three, he drove to the basket and threw up a shot as he drew contact from two Central players. The 6-foot, 5-inch senior watched the ball bounce around the rim before falling through the hoop, and was greeted by cheers from his teammates for the and-one opportunity.
Houck, who himself is having a down year from the stripe — he is 60 percent on the season — put his toe to the line with a chance to tie the game.
“I just said I had to come through for my team,” Houck said of what was going through his mind before his free throw. “I have had moments in the past … that I didn’t come through. I just needed to come through for my team as a senior leader and I felt like I did that.”
The ensuing charity toss swished, and at the other end of the court he and his teammates played stellar enough defense to force a desperation shot from Kolby Mallory that was way off the mark and sent the game into overtime.
And while Houck had ice in his veins to tie the score in regulation and give Jay County (5-4) a 47-45 lead in overtime, it was Stigleman who converted his freebies to put the game out of reach for the Bearcats.
Entering Friday's game they were just 58 percent percent from the stripe.
But when it mattered most, against a sectional rival, the Patriots were nearly perfect.
Cole Stigleman made all nine of his free-throw attempts and the Jay County High School boys basketball team was 13-of-17 from the line in the fourth quarter or later Friday in a 54-47 victory over the Muncie Central Bearcats in the final game of 2016 for both squads.
“Feels great,” said Stigleman. He and his teammates have won back-to-back games in overtime. The Patriots overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat state-line rival Fort Recovery on Tuesday. “Muncie Central is a great team, and so is Fort Recovery. I’d say this one means more because it’s a sectional opponent. It feels great especially to go into overtime in both of them.
“It shouldn’t be (in overtime) in the first place, but (we) just got the job done in the end.”
Jay Houck, who led the Patriots with 13 points and moved into fourth on the JCHS career-scoring list with 930 total points, tied the game at 45 with less than 30 seconds in regulation. With his team trailing by three, he drove to the basket and threw up a shot as he drew contact from two Central players. The 6-foot, 5-inch senior watched the ball bounce around the rim before falling through the hoop, and was greeted by cheers from his teammates for the and-one opportunity.
Houck, who himself is having a down year from the stripe — he is 60 percent on the season — put his toe to the line with a chance to tie the game.
“I just said I had to come through for my team,” Houck said of what was going through his mind before his free throw. “I have had moments in the past … that I didn’t come through. I just needed to come through for my team as a senior leader and I felt like I did that.”
The ensuing charity toss swished, and at the other end of the court he and his teammates played stellar enough defense to force a desperation shot from Kolby Mallory that was way off the mark and sent the game into overtime.
And while Houck had ice in his veins to tie the score in regulation and give Jay County (5-4) a 47-45 lead in overtime, it was Stigleman who converted his freebies to put the game out of reach for the Bearcats.
“Really just confidence going at the line, that is pretty much it,” said Stigleman, who made five free throws in the fourth quarter and four in overtime. He is now 24-for-26 (92.3 percent) on the season. “I feel pretty confident right now at the line. I just have to finish my layups and start making some shots.
“I feel pretty good with how I’m playing right now.”
Stigleman finished with a career-high 12 points, while also dishing out two assists, grabbing one rebound and recording a blocked shot on the final attempt of the game.
Following two freebies from Central’s Jamel Barns, the Bearcats (1-6) had their biggest lead of the game, 35-26, midway through the third quarter. JCHS junior Max Moser hit his only 3-point attempt on an assist from Holton Hill, and Schlosser assisted on a Wyatt Geesaman bucket to cut the deficit to 35-31 after three quarters.
Stigleman made five consecutive free throws for Jay County as it got to within one, 43-42, in the final minute of regulation. Mallory responded with two charity tosses to push the Bearcat advantage back to three points with 41.8 seconds remaining. Then Houck came through to tie the game with 29.4 seconds left on the clock.
“We shot ourselves in the foot early,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team turned the ball over on 11 of its first 16 possessions to start the game, trailed 10-6 after the first eight minutes and was behind 23-20 at half. “We didn’t play with any energy. We played timid. Once we got our composure we just had to keep battling.”
After a Ryan Schlechty bucket in the second quarter, Jason Schlosser scored five consecutive points to give Jay County a 15-13 lead with 4:34 remaining in the half. The lead didn’t last long, however, as Barnes nailed the first of his three 3-pointers to put the Bearcats up by one.
Stigleman later drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 20-18 Patriot advantage before Central closed the half with five consecutive points from Christian Wells.
Barnes had a game-high 21 points, and Wells finished with 17 to lead the Bearcats, who have lost five straight games.
Junior varsity
Jay County couldn’t recover from a big third quarter in a 60-43 loss to Central.
The Patriots (5-4) trailed 10-7 after one quarter and were behind 23-15 at half. The Bearcats outscored the hosts 20-12 in the third for a 43-27 lead, and despite 10 points from Parker Grimes in the final frame Jay County fell short.
Grimes led the Patriots with 20 points, sharing the game high with Central’s Victor Young. Matthew Franks contributed 10 points for the Patriots, who also got four from Jordan Stultz and three from Korbin Auker.
Gabe Faulkner, Gavin Randal and Noah Arbuckle scored two points apiece.
“I feel pretty good with how I’m playing right now.”
Stigleman finished with a career-high 12 points, while also dishing out two assists, grabbing one rebound and recording a blocked shot on the final attempt of the game.
Following two freebies from Central’s Jamel Barns, the Bearcats (1-6) had their biggest lead of the game, 35-26, midway through the third quarter. JCHS junior Max Moser hit his only 3-point attempt on an assist from Holton Hill, and Schlosser assisted on a Wyatt Geesaman bucket to cut the deficit to 35-31 after three quarters.
Stigleman made five consecutive free throws for Jay County as it got to within one, 43-42, in the final minute of regulation. Mallory responded with two charity tosses to push the Bearcat advantage back to three points with 41.8 seconds remaining. Then Houck came through to tie the game with 29.4 seconds left on the clock.
“We shot ourselves in the foot early,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team turned the ball over on 11 of its first 16 possessions to start the game, trailed 10-6 after the first eight minutes and was behind 23-20 at half. “We didn’t play with any energy. We played timid. Once we got our composure we just had to keep battling.”
After a Ryan Schlechty bucket in the second quarter, Jason Schlosser scored five consecutive points to give Jay County a 15-13 lead with 4:34 remaining in the half. The lead didn’t last long, however, as Barnes nailed the first of his three 3-pointers to put the Bearcats up by one.
Stigleman later drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 20-18 Patriot advantage before Central closed the half with five consecutive points from Christian Wells.
Barnes had a game-high 21 points, and Wells finished with 17 to lead the Bearcats, who have lost five straight games.
Junior varsity
Jay County couldn’t recover from a big third quarter in a 60-43 loss to Central.
The Patriots (5-4) trailed 10-7 after one quarter and were behind 23-15 at half. The Bearcats outscored the hosts 20-12 in the third for a 43-27 lead, and despite 10 points from Parker Grimes in the final frame Jay County fell short.
Grimes led the Patriots with 20 points, sharing the game high with Central’s Victor Young. Matthew Franks contributed 10 points for the Patriots, who also got four from Jordan Stultz and three from Korbin Auker.
Gabe Faulkner, Gavin Randal and Noah Arbuckle scored two points apiece.
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