Jay to host Heritage

Jay County Patriots
Portland, 14-4
Coach: Chris Krieg, first year
Conference: Allen County
Saturday at Yorktown: Jay County overcame a barrage of 3-pointers from Yorktown to defeat the host Tigers 53-36. Adam Dirksen had a game-high 21 points and also grabbed six rebounds, while Jay Houck scored nine points and had six boards.
Season leaders (per game): Points — Jay Houck 14.4, Adam Dirksen 14.1, Kyler Carvel 7.4. Rebounds — Dirksen 6.9, Houck 5.8. Assists — Carvel 3.1.

vs.

Heritage Patriots
Monroeville, 6-10
Coach: Barry Singrey, first year
Conference: Allen County
Saturday at Bluffton: Heritage erased a 12-point deficit at intermission to force overtime, but fell short in a 58-54 loss in double overtime. Billy Lomow and Jacque Jacquay had 23 and 18 points respectively for the Patriots
Season leaders (per game): Points — Jacque Jacquay 14.4, Billy Lomow 12.3, Rylie Schane 6.3. Rebounds — Jacquay 5.9, Abe Beard 5.3, Lomow 2.9.

Last season: An 18-point fourth quarter helped Jay County to a 42-30 road victory to close out its Allen County Athletic Conference schedule, securing the Patriots a second-place finish. Adam Dirksen had game highs in both points (12)?and rebounds (five), as the Patriots were 7-of-9 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

Game notes: This is just the second meeting all time between Jay County and Heritage, with the Patriots from Portland winning the previous meeting ... With a victory, Jay County can claim the ACAC regular season title outright, giving it a season sweep of the conference championships ... Jay County is tops in Class 4A (sixth overall) in defensive average, allowing 39.83 points per game. Its average margin (13.67) is 34th in the state and 11th in Class 4A ... JCHS?junior Jay Houck is 23 points away from tying Scott Hardwick (678) for 17th on the Patriots’ all-time career points list.