November 30, 2021 at 6:02 p.m.
Riding the rhythm
Patriots roll past Red Devils once they find their touch in 42-29 victory Saturday
Riding the rhythm
The Patriots started with three turnovers and a missed shot on their first four possessions.
Once they got in rhythm, the Red Devils weren’t able to keep up.
Jay County High School’s boys basketball team went on a 15-0 scoring streak that spanned the first quarter break Saturday to run past the Richmond Red Devils 42-29.
“I don’t know if we were scared, we didn’t start the game, in my opinion, that we were very confident,” said JCHS coach Jerry Bomholt, whose team moves to 2-0 on the season and opens Allen County Athletic Conference play Friday at home against the Woodlan Warriors (2-0). “We won fairly easy, but it could have been more of a margin. They got really aggressive.”
The 29 points allowed by the Patriots is the fewest in a game since a 59-26 win over Hagerstown Nov. 20, 2018.
After both teams struggled to score early on — Richmond (1-1) led 5-3 nearing the midway point of the opening quarter — Dusty Pearson made a jumper from the right baseline to kick off the Patriots’ run.
Josh Dowlen scored on a fast break, then two possessions later Ethan Dirksen drained a triple from the top of the key to make it 10-5. Gavin Muhlenkamp made two free throws with 1:10 to play and Dirksen sank another triple in the waning seconds as JCHS led 15-5 at the end of the first.
Nearly 90 seconds into the second, Pearson put back a Bennett Weitzel missed 3-pointer to cap the spurt and they went into the break leading 22-11.
Richmond, which attempted half of its 18 first-half shots from behind the arc, managed just two points over seven minutes in the third quarter. Jay County, meanwhile, scored six consecutive points twice, going on a 12-2 run to open up a 21-point lead, 34-13.
“Real big,” Bomholt said of the third-quarter burst. “We never let the game, once we got control of the game, we never let them back into it where we felt like they had a chance.
“Yeah, we made some mistakes, but we never, ever, felt in danger of losing the lead.”
Dirksen, who had three 3-pointers in the first quarter, finished with a game-high 14 points. Gavin Muhlenkamp, who went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, ended with nine points, while Dowlen and Pearson had six points apiece.
“Pretty good balance overall defensively (and) offensively,” Bomholt said.
Richmond shot poorly in the first half (5-of-18 for 27.7%) and didn’t get much better from there, ending the night just 30.2% (13-of-43). Nearly half (19-of-43) of the Red Devils’ shots came from the perimeter as they had difficulty getting to the paint with Patriot forwards Weitzel and Pearson occupying that space.
“I think we broke down a couple times on the baseline, but all-in-all we contested,” Bomholt said. “Our size bothered them.”
Bomholt said a series of events late in the fourth quarter, despite the Patriots still holding a double-digit lead, encapsulated his assessment of his squad’s defensive efforts.
Jay County deflected a Richmond pass and sent it deep in to the Patriots’ offensive zone. Dowlen, a speedy, 5-foot, 9-inch guard, chased down the ball as it rolled toward the baseline, diving to stop it while colliding with Richmond’s Gunnar Kovach who was trying to do the same.
Dowlen wasn’t able to come up with the loose ball — it deflected off his hands out of bounds — but Bomholt enjoyed the effort even with a commanding advantage.
“I thought the play … kind of summed up our defensive play because that’s how hard we were playing and really doing a good job,” he said. “I’m pleased. The good thing about being a head coach some times is you get a couple wins and you still get to practice because you’ve still got some things we’ve got to work on.”
Junior varsity
Jay County squandered a 14-point halftime lead in a 63-58 overtime loss to Richmond.
Ahead 28-14 at the end of the second quarter, Jay County got outscored 22-8 in the third quarter. Richmond made seven 3-pointers in the second half.
Jay County’s Parker Nichols scored 22 points to lead all players.
Cameron Smitley chipped in a dozen points to support Nichols’ efforts, while Owen Ransom added eight points.
Abraham Dirksen chipped in five points.
Zion Deloney scored 20 points to lead the Red Devils.
Once they got in rhythm, the Red Devils weren’t able to keep up.
Jay County High School’s boys basketball team went on a 15-0 scoring streak that spanned the first quarter break Saturday to run past the Richmond Red Devils 42-29.
“I don’t know if we were scared, we didn’t start the game, in my opinion, that we were very confident,” said JCHS coach Jerry Bomholt, whose team moves to 2-0 on the season and opens Allen County Athletic Conference play Friday at home against the Woodlan Warriors (2-0). “We won fairly easy, but it could have been more of a margin. They got really aggressive.”
The 29 points allowed by the Patriots is the fewest in a game since a 59-26 win over Hagerstown Nov. 20, 2018.
After both teams struggled to score early on — Richmond (1-1) led 5-3 nearing the midway point of the opening quarter — Dusty Pearson made a jumper from the right baseline to kick off the Patriots’ run.
Josh Dowlen scored on a fast break, then two possessions later Ethan Dirksen drained a triple from the top of the key to make it 10-5. Gavin Muhlenkamp made two free throws with 1:10 to play and Dirksen sank another triple in the waning seconds as JCHS led 15-5 at the end of the first.
Nearly 90 seconds into the second, Pearson put back a Bennett Weitzel missed 3-pointer to cap the spurt and they went into the break leading 22-11.
Richmond, which attempted half of its 18 first-half shots from behind the arc, managed just two points over seven minutes in the third quarter. Jay County, meanwhile, scored six consecutive points twice, going on a 12-2 run to open up a 21-point lead, 34-13.
“Real big,” Bomholt said of the third-quarter burst. “We never let the game, once we got control of the game, we never let them back into it where we felt like they had a chance.
“Yeah, we made some mistakes, but we never, ever, felt in danger of losing the lead.”
Dirksen, who had three 3-pointers in the first quarter, finished with a game-high 14 points. Gavin Muhlenkamp, who went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, ended with nine points, while Dowlen and Pearson had six points apiece.
“Pretty good balance overall defensively (and) offensively,” Bomholt said.
Richmond shot poorly in the first half (5-of-18 for 27.7%) and didn’t get much better from there, ending the night just 30.2% (13-of-43). Nearly half (19-of-43) of the Red Devils’ shots came from the perimeter as they had difficulty getting to the paint with Patriot forwards Weitzel and Pearson occupying that space.
“I think we broke down a couple times on the baseline, but all-in-all we contested,” Bomholt said. “Our size bothered them.”
Bomholt said a series of events late in the fourth quarter, despite the Patriots still holding a double-digit lead, encapsulated his assessment of his squad’s defensive efforts.
Jay County deflected a Richmond pass and sent it deep in to the Patriots’ offensive zone. Dowlen, a speedy, 5-foot, 9-inch guard, chased down the ball as it rolled toward the baseline, diving to stop it while colliding with Richmond’s Gunnar Kovach who was trying to do the same.
Dowlen wasn’t able to come up with the loose ball — it deflected off his hands out of bounds — but Bomholt enjoyed the effort even with a commanding advantage.
“I thought the play … kind of summed up our defensive play because that’s how hard we were playing and really doing a good job,” he said. “I’m pleased. The good thing about being a head coach some times is you get a couple wins and you still get to practice because you’ve still got some things we’ve got to work on.”
Junior varsity
Jay County squandered a 14-point halftime lead in a 63-58 overtime loss to Richmond.
Ahead 28-14 at the end of the second quarter, Jay County got outscored 22-8 in the third quarter. Richmond made seven 3-pointers in the second half.
Jay County’s Parker Nichols scored 22 points to lead all players.
Cameron Smitley chipped in a dozen points to support Nichols’ efforts, while Owen Ransom added eight points.
Abraham Dirksen chipped in five points.
Zion Deloney scored 20 points to lead the Red Devils.
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD