Retrospect: Patriots won with defense

Thirty years ago this week, the Jay County High School boys basketball team used a traditional tactic — lock-down defense — to win its season opener in the first game it played with a new rule — the 3-point shot — in place.

The Patriots, playing their season opener on Nov. 20, 1987, held Wapahani to just a single point over the final two minutes of the first half. That allowed them to push a one-point lead to 12 at the intermission on the way to a 70-58 victory.

It didn’t take long for the 3-point shot to come into play for the first time, as Scott Woods of the Raiders hit one less than 30 seconds after the opening tip. Less than 20 seconds later, Aaron Williams of JCHS responded with one of his own. Together, the teams would bury 11 triples.

But it was the defense that stood out, especially late in the second quarter. The stretch started with a steal by Tony Overton, followed by a steal and fast-break layup by Dan Dirksen. Two more steals led to a pair of hoops, with a free throw following the first, for Mark Hardwick. And finally a Williams 3-pointer at the buzzer pushed the Patriots to a 35-23 advantage at halftime.

“We won the basketball game defensively tonight,” said JCHS coach Mike Lederman. “I think defensively, we did a good job. Certainly the spurt at the end of the second quarter was a defensive spurt, not an offensive spurt.”

Wapahani never got closer than 10 points in the second half.

Williams paced the Patriots with 20 points, and Hardwick followed with 16. Dirksen and Overton each scored 11.