JCHS defeats Knights

OSSIAN — The Knights have lost four games in a row three times this season.
They were able to halt the first two skids there. The Patriots wouldn’t let them do it again.
Jay County High School’s boys basketball team overcame some first-quarter struggles Friday to hand host Norwell its fifth consecutive defeat, 55-46.
The Patriots, who improved to 16-5, fell behind early as they gave up 17 points in the first quarter.
But the teams reversed roles in the second quarter as a 17-8 JCHS advantage sent the game to halftime in a deadlock at 25.
With junior Jay Houck leading the way — he came up one point shy of his career high — Jay County grabbed a four-point lead in the third quarter en route to the nine-point win. Houck, who hit nine free throws to help his team to a 21-11 scoring advantage at the line, tallied 14 of his game-high 23 points in the second half.
The win pushed the Patriots to 12-1 in their last 13 games, with the lone loss last week to Heritage.
Senior Adam Dirksen, who hit all six of his first-half foul shots, followed Houck with 14 points. Bowen Runyon scored seven, and Cole Stigleman had five.
Bray Wilson finished with 19 points for Norwell (9-13). Ian Kissell followed with 16 points.
The Patriots will be back in action at home Monday against Homestead. That game was originally scheduled for tonight, but was postponed because the Spartan girls are playing Penn in today’s Class 4A semi-state at Carroll.

Junior varsity
Like the varsity team, Jay County fell behind early but was able to fight back and beat the Knights 44-32.
The Patriots trailed by five after the opening period before pulling to within two at halftime. They outscored Norwell 13-3 in the third quarter en route to the win.
Holton Hill hit four 3-pointers, including a pair in the third quarter, as he powered Jay County with 15 points. Ryan Schlechty followed with nine points.

Freshman
Dominant defense in the third quarter lifted the Patriots to a 35-23 victory over Norwell.
Jay County led by just one at halftime, but blanked the Knights in the third quarter to take command. It outscored the home team 19-6 in the second half.
Wyatt Geesaman paced the Patriots with 11 points, and Matt Franks hit a pair of 3-pointers as he followed with eight. Parker Grimes scored six.