December 9, 2019 at 6:27 p.m.
FRHS boys hold off Patriot rally
FRHS boys hold off Patriot rally
Both teams had been there before.
For the Patriots, it was the inability to put the ball in the basket.
For the Indians, it was letting a large lead slip away.
Jay County High School’s boys basketball team finally started scoring in the second half, but Fort Recovery was able to fend off its comeback attempt as it won the state-line battle 47-37.
“This is same song, second verse,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team shot 20 percent in the first half of Friday’s loss to Woodlan. “We started out just jacking up threes. … We didn’t even look to attack the basket or try to get inside. … It’s so much easier to hit a three if you go inside out instead of just running and just shooting. So that hurt us. That dug us a hole.”
Fort Recovery was in a similar situation in its season opener against Memorial (St. Marys). It had a 13-point first-half lead disappear and needed some free throws in the closing moments to eke out a win.
“I think we let off the gas a little bit in the second half, kind of played the scoreboard,” said FRHS coach Jim Melton. “That tends to happen some. We weren’t pushing in transition like we were in the first half. That’s something we’ve got to learn from.”
The first half could not have gone much worse for Jay County (2-2) or better for the Indians (2-1).
Fort Recovery scored the game’s first six points while the Patriots were scoreless for the first 4:19 of the game. The home team pushed out to a 14-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A Brayden Sprunger 3-pointer opened the second quarter, but Jay County went the next 6:03 without scoring. In that span, the Indians went on a 14-0 run beginning with a three-point play by Clay Schmitz and including a 3-pointer from Grant Knapke.
FRHS went into halftime with an 18-point lead after limiting the Patriots to just five points in each of the first two quarters.
“I’m a defensive-minded guy and I’ve been beating the drums about our defense,” said Melton, whose team bounced back after allowing 43 first-half points Friday to Versailles. “We did get into the toolbox a little bit tonight and you saw multiple different defenses … to try to throw Jay County, keep it off balance. That was the whole goal.”
The Patriots came alive after the break, pulling to within nine by the end of the third quarter. A 10-2 run that included a couple of hoops off of steals closed the gap to 42-37 with 4:13 to play. But JCHS never scored again as the Indians secured the victory.
“I’m proud of our kids,” said Krieg, reiterating the same message he gave the night before. “We didn’t give up. We battled. The second half, we attacked the gaps. … We just played too timid the first half.
“We may go through periods where we struggle, but in the end we’re going to make a game out of it. And we did.”
Grant Knapke led a balanced scoring effort by Fort Recovery with 10 points. Regan Martin followed with eight, and Brian Bihn and Clay Schmitz each scored seven.
Brayden Sprunger and Ethan Dirksen reached double figures for the Patriots 11 and 10 points, respectively. Noah Arbuckle added eight points for JCHS, which shot 15-of-40 (38 percent) from the field including 4-of-18 from 3-point range.
Junior varsity
As was the case in the varsity game, Jay County had trouble scoring, especially early, as the Indians won 41-26.
Fort Recovery held the Patriots to four points in the opening quarter and led 23-10 at halftime. Jay County was unable to close that gap in the second half.
Owen Jutte racked up 21 points to lead the Indians, with 19 of those coming in the first half. Cobe Wendel took over the second-half scoring with all of his 11 points after the intermission.
Gavin Myers paced Jay County with seven points. Crosby Heniser added six points.
For the Patriots, it was the inability to put the ball in the basket.
For the Indians, it was letting a large lead slip away.
Jay County High School’s boys basketball team finally started scoring in the second half, but Fort Recovery was able to fend off its comeback attempt as it won the state-line battle 47-37.
“This is same song, second verse,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team shot 20 percent in the first half of Friday’s loss to Woodlan. “We started out just jacking up threes. … We didn’t even look to attack the basket or try to get inside. … It’s so much easier to hit a three if you go inside out instead of just running and just shooting. So that hurt us. That dug us a hole.”
Fort Recovery was in a similar situation in its season opener against Memorial (St. Marys). It had a 13-point first-half lead disappear and needed some free throws in the closing moments to eke out a win.
“I think we let off the gas a little bit in the second half, kind of played the scoreboard,” said FRHS coach Jim Melton. “That tends to happen some. We weren’t pushing in transition like we were in the first half. That’s something we’ve got to learn from.”
The first half could not have gone much worse for Jay County (2-2) or better for the Indians (2-1).
Fort Recovery scored the game’s first six points while the Patriots were scoreless for the first 4:19 of the game. The home team pushed out to a 14-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A Brayden Sprunger 3-pointer opened the second quarter, but Jay County went the next 6:03 without scoring. In that span, the Indians went on a 14-0 run beginning with a three-point play by Clay Schmitz and including a 3-pointer from Grant Knapke.
FRHS went into halftime with an 18-point lead after limiting the Patriots to just five points in each of the first two quarters.
“I’m a defensive-minded guy and I’ve been beating the drums about our defense,” said Melton, whose team bounced back after allowing 43 first-half points Friday to Versailles. “We did get into the toolbox a little bit tonight and you saw multiple different defenses … to try to throw Jay County, keep it off balance. That was the whole goal.”
The Patriots came alive after the break, pulling to within nine by the end of the third quarter. A 10-2 run that included a couple of hoops off of steals closed the gap to 42-37 with 4:13 to play. But JCHS never scored again as the Indians secured the victory.
“I’m proud of our kids,” said Krieg, reiterating the same message he gave the night before. “We didn’t give up. We battled. The second half, we attacked the gaps. … We just played too timid the first half.
“We may go through periods where we struggle, but in the end we’re going to make a game out of it. And we did.”
Grant Knapke led a balanced scoring effort by Fort Recovery with 10 points. Regan Martin followed with eight, and Brian Bihn and Clay Schmitz each scored seven.
Brayden Sprunger and Ethan Dirksen reached double figures for the Patriots 11 and 10 points, respectively. Noah Arbuckle added eight points for JCHS, which shot 15-of-40 (38 percent) from the field including 4-of-18 from 3-point range.
Junior varsity
As was the case in the varsity game, Jay County had trouble scoring, especially early, as the Indians won 41-26.
Fort Recovery held the Patriots to four points in the opening quarter and led 23-10 at halftime. Jay County was unable to close that gap in the second half.
Owen Jutte racked up 21 points to lead the Indians, with 19 of those coming in the first half. Cobe Wendel took over the second-half scoring with all of his 11 points after the intermission.
Gavin Myers paced Jay County with seven points. Crosby Heniser added six points.
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