Patriot teams on a mission

Whether with words or with play, teams like to make statements.
Sometimes those statements are directed at current opponents during a game.
A towering block here. A dagger of a 3-pointer there.
The don’t-mess-with-us message can be directed at future opponents, too.
The Patriots did just that on Wednesday.
Jay County High School’s girls and boys basketball teams systematically dismantled the South Adams Starfires in winning their opening-round games of the Allen County Athletic Conference tournament.
The Patriot girls, who themselves are defending regular season and conference champions — they also sport a 16-0 record, tournament or not, against the rest of the ACAC in the last two years — held the Starfires without a point for the entirety of the first quarter.
They rolled to a 46-16 victory, handing the Class 2A No. 10 Starfires (15-2) a defeat for the second time this season.
“They were a little more aggressive tonight than we expected them truly to be,” SAHS coach Brett Freeman said following Wednesday’s loss. “They came out and set the tone early, and that’s what great teams do.”
The press forced the Starfires into making what Freeman called “silly passes” that led to 10 turnovers in the opening quarter, seven more in the third and 22 total. It created points in transition for the Patriots, who were unbeaten against ACAC opponents last year and are well on their way to repeating the feat this season.
That’s not to take anything away from South Adams, which was without its leading scorer and has won its 15 games by an average of 12 points. The Starfires are 4-1 against ACAC foes, beating Southern Wells, Bluffton, Heritage and Adams Central.
Jay County was simply the better team Wednesday.
Statement made.
To the Starfires, yes, but to the Bluffton Tigers, too.
Jay County hosts them in both the boys and girls semifinal games tonight. The girls tip at 6 p.m. with the boys to follow.
And also to whomever may be looming in a potential conference championship game.
The Patriot boys team was coming off a tough stretch during which it dropped three of its last four games, including an eight-point loss to the Cooper Jaguars in the Kentucky-Indiana Challenge Cup on Saturday in Frankfort, Kentucky.
During that time, which included a loss to Winchester on a last-second shot and getting pushed around against Muncie Central, they did not start well.
Saturday in Kentucky, the Patriots fell behind 9-0 before they finally scored points late in the opening quarter. They finally got their offense going, eventually getting within three points early in the fourth quarter, but free throws down the stretch put them away.
So Jay County, which finished as the ACAC runner-up to Leo in the regular season standings and in the tournament last season, wanted to forget about the slow starts in the past and hit the ground running to start the tournament this year.
It just so happened South Adams was next on the schedule.
Jay County (6-4) shot 65 percent in the first half to build a lead, and was even better in the final 16 minutes for a 75-41 throttling of South Adams.
“That is what (JCHS coach Chris Krieg) has been stressing all week, coming out with energy and getting up in them — forcing turnovers and being fundamentally sound while we’re trying to push it,” said Patriot senior Jay Houck.
The Patriots’ performance Wednesday night was a stark contrast to how they began play Saturday in the Bluegrass State.
They came out with tempo; scoring from the opening tip and closing out the game on a 19-2 run.
Their shots began to fall; they were 25-of-34 from inside the 3-point line.
Nothing was going to stop them; not even the Starfires.
Statement made.
Even Krieg thought so.
“I really think the kids wanted to make a statement tonight,” he said after the game Wednesday.
No question.
The effort on the court Wednesday showed.
It’s clear Jay County’s girls did too in continuing their dominance against the ACAC.
Bluffton’s boys team could pose a challenge to the JCHS boys, though.
The Tigers outlasted the Starfires 79-75 on Dec. 4 in four overtimes, and knocked off Woodlan 62-51 on Saturday.
Grant Prible, a 6-foot, 1-inch guard, leads the Tigers in scoring (17.9), rebound (7.4) and assists (4.3). Aaron Sturgeon, another 6-foot, 1-inch guard, is second in scoring (12.4), and they are able to create space for themselves.
The Tigers also have forwards Dakota Cole (6 feet, 4 inches) and Collin Barker (6 feet, 3 inches) that can give teams trouble in the post.
So Jay County’s post players Adam Dirksen and Jay Houck could be challenged tonight.
It will be up to them — and the Patriots’ guards, too — to make another statement.