January 29, 2017 at 5:05 a.m.

Jay Co. pushes around Bruins

Second-quarter surge and defensive pressure throughout lifts Patriots to 70-26 win
Jay Co. pushes around Bruins
Jay Co. pushes around Bruins

HARTFORD CITY — The Patriots were taller. They were faster. They were stronger.

The Bruins got pushed around for 32 minutes.

Jay County High School’s boys basketball team had four players in double figures, scored on every possession during the second quarter and kept the opportunities to a minimum on defense Saturday in a 70-26 thrashing of the host Blackford Bruins.

“It’s hard to beat somebody when they’ve got you outmanned in every aspect of the game,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team has won three straight games and improves to 11-5.

Blackford (1-14) trailed 9-4 just past the midway point of the first quarter, and Andrew Beckley drained a 3-pointer from the right wing to get the Bruins as close as two points, 9-7.

Then the Patriots really flexed their muscles on both ends of the court.

Wyatt Geesaman scored on a Jay Houck Assist to kick off a stretch of nine straight points to close out the quarter, while the JCHS defense forced the Bruins into turnovers on their final five possessions of the period.

Geesaman put back a Schlosser miss for the first points of the second quarter, and Blackford’s Nathan Brown hit a jumper from the left side to make it a 20-9 ball game.

From there, the Patriots just got stronger as the game went on. They used a stretch of 20 consecutive points, highlighted by a fast break slam from Geesaman, as Jay County scored on all 12 possessions during the second quarter.

“I felt like we executed well offensively,” said Krieg, whose team kept Blackford off the scoreboard for nearly six full minutes during the second period. “We executed well defensively. We just took them out of everything they had.”

Jay Houck scored seven of his 12 points during the second-quarter run. Max Moser nailed four free throws on his way to a career-high 12 points, sharing the game-high scoring total with Houck.

“Max needed this,” Krieg said, noting Moser’s struggles shooting this year. “Max is a kid we felt was going to be one of our better outside shooters this year. He’s just been tight.

“Max finally relaxed and played tonight. He needed that so I’m proud of him.”

As effective as Houck was scoring during the second quarter, he played the role of the passer during the third. He tallied four of his game-high seven assists in the third quarter. He helped on back-to-back Schlosser baskets to start the second half, dished an assist to Moser for a layup midway through the period and found Moser in the corner for a 3-pointer with one second on the clock.

“That’s why Jay is such a phenomenal athlete and a great kid to coach because he is so unselfish,” Krieg said.

Schlosser scored 11 points and Geesaman notched 10 as every Patriot who touched the court hit the score sheet. Cole Stigleman finished with nine points, narrowly missing giving Jay County five players in double figures for the first time this season.

“We all played well,” Krieg said.



Junior varsity

Like its varsity counterparts, Jay County used a strong second quarter to beat Blackford, 62-22.

Jay County (10-4) led 16-11 after the first period before outscoring the Bruins 20-4 in the second for a 36-15 halftime advantage. The Patriots had an 18-3 margin in the third quarter to go on top 54-18 heading into the final seven minutes.

Matthew Franks led all players with 16 points, and Jordan Stultz joined him in double figures with 10 points. Korbin Auker tallied eight points with Gabe Faulkner and Parker Grimes adding six points apiece.



Freshman

It was a stellar third quarter, not the second, that lifted Jay County to a 49-22 win over Blackford.

The Patriots (4-7) led 13-7 after one quarter and 20-14 at intermission. Jay County’s offense exploded for 21 points in the third quarter while keeping Blackford to just two points for a 41-16 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Gabe Link led all players with 15 points, and Brayden Sprunger followed with eight points. Gavin Lambert chipped in seven points, with Brian Williams and Brinnin Wasson scoring six and five points respectively.
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