Patriots plow Panthers

ELWOOD —  The Patriots built a 12-point lead in the first half.

Coach Jerry Bomholt wanted them to throw that out and worry about winning the second half. His team stepped up to the challenge, choking out the Panthers.

The Jay County High School boys basketball team’s defense suffocated the Elwood Panthers in the second half in a 56-19 victory during Tuesday evening’s season opener.

“We talked to them and wanted to treat the second half like the score was tied 0-0,” said Bomholt, an Elwood graduate. “We came out and took immediate control of the game in the first five minutes. We wanted it to be over. Our kids responded to that, and I was real proud of them.”

The defensive pressure ramped up in the second half.

The most consistent offense the Panthers (0-1) found in the first half came from post touches by forward James Ward. He was 4-for-4 on layups through two quarters and had two free throws as well, scoring 10 of Elwood’s 15 first-half points.

The Patriots (1-0) put enough ball pressure on the Panthers’ guards to prevent them from getting any entry passes to Ward in the post.

“Jay County has tremendous length and did a really good job of playing long, and getting their hands on a lot of deflections and steals,” said Elwood coach Ryan VanSkyock, a 2003 JCHS graduate. “I felt like we went away from (Ward). We don't have the firepower from outside. … He's got to touch the ball, every possession for us to even have a chance to be successful.”

Jay County High School senior Liam Garringer goes up for a layup while he fights through contact by Elwood’s Cam Gallegos on Tuesday. Garringer led all scorers with 15 points as the Patriots won the season opener 56-19. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)

 

Ward only got two looks the entire second half inside the 3-point line, one of which he missed and the other he drew a foul and knocked down a pair of free throws for the Panthers’ only points in the third quarter.

In the second half, the Patriots forced 11 turnovers, while only allowing Elwood to take 12 shots from the field, seven of which were threes.

Jay County only allowed one field goal off of a broken play when the ball got deflected before Beau Brandon picked it up from the short corner and sent it in, late in the fourth quarter.

“In the second half, we turned a notch up with intensity on the defensive end,” Bomholt said. “All in all, it was a good opener. We got a lot of deflections, a lot of good things out of our traps, and good conversions on the other end.”

While offense was hard to come by for Elwood in the second half, it flowed the entire game for Jay County.

The Patriots lit things up from beyond the arc in the first half, splashing five threes and matching Elwood’s total score. Senior Liam Garringer led the way through the first two quarters 11 points and three triples.

“Some nights I’m hitting, some nights I’m not,” Garringer said. “Tonight just happened to be one of the nights I was hitting.”

Garringer also found success when he caught the ball on the wing and drove to the baseline. The senior continuously got past the initial defender and with the weak-side help coming late, he beat them to the rim for a pair of easy buckets.

He finished with a game-high 15 points.

In the second half, Bomholt wanted to see the ball go inside the 3-point line more often and wanted some extra production out of Gradin Swoveland. The sophomore was silent during the first half, missing the only two shots he took in the first quarter.

In the second half he started to pick up the pace, knocking down four shots and a free throw to finish with 10 points.

“Obviously always looking to attack, but I started off a little slow,” Swoveland said. “(I) wasn't happy with how I came out the first half. Came out second looking to score. So I’ve got to work on those things.”

Swoveland is one of two players with significant varsity experience for the Patriots. The other, Ben Crouch, was not dressed as he is returning from an illness that kept him out of the early practices.

While Swoveland wasn’t scoring much in the first half, he still contributed by pulling down rebounds, dishing out assists, blocking shots and deflecting passes. He ended up leading the Patriots in rebounds (six), assists (four) and blocks (two).

Junior varsity

The Jay County junior varsity team also dominated Elwood in a 64-21 victory.

Freshman Jayden Comer torched the Panthers (0-1) with 18 points. He knocked down five threes for Jay County (1-0), including two in both the second and third quarters.

Elwood’s leading scorer was Corbin Leavell with eight. He hit a three in the first and second quarter and converted a two-pointer in the third.

Four more Patriots tied or exceeded Leavell’s mark. Post players Cole Forthofer and Kade Sommers provided a lift from the front court, with 10 points each. The 6-foot, 8-inch Forthofer put up eight points in a dominant first quarter, while Sommers spread his points out over the first three quarters.

Eli Dirksen was one point away from double digits with, while a pair of fourth-quarter free throws and buckets helped Carter Fugiett match Leavell.