Flamed in first half

WOODBURN — Nine minutes, 10 seconds.

That’s how long it took for the Warriors to miss a shot.

Add another four minutes on top (13:10) and you’ve got how long it took the Patriots to get a defensive rebound.

While the Warriors only missed four shots in the first half, the Patriots only made five. With a mountain to climb, the Patriots could get back within striking distance.

Jay County High School’s boys basketball team couldn’t find its flow offensively, while the Woodlan Warriors shot the lights out as the Patriots dropped the Allen County Athletic Conference opener 56-40 on Friday.

The Patriots (1-2, 0-1 ACAC) got down early after struggling at the offensive end. While Jay County only had four first-half turnovers, they only managed to shoot 5-for-22 from the field (22.7%), with a bevy of tough 2-point, mid-range jump shots.

The second quarter was particularly bad, with the Patriots only scoring two points on a baseline drive and reverse layup by point guard Jayden Comer — who finished as the team’s second-leading scorer with 10 points — at the 3:36 mark.

“They thumped us,” said JCHS coach Jerry Bomholt. “We had some opportunities, but our good players were trying to shoot over 6-foot, 7-inch, 6-foot, 8-inch (players) and we couldn’t seem to get a good kick out at the right time. Our offense was not fluid at all. We were a second late, we just never looked the entire game that we had good rhythm offensively.”

While the Patriots struggled from the field in the first half, Woodlan (2-2, 1-0 ACAC) caught fire.

The Warriors finished the first half 10-for-17 from the field (58.8%), including 5-for-8 from beyond the arc (62.5%). WHS hit all six shots it took in the first quarter, only coming up empty on three possessions in which it turned the ball over.

Woodlan’s first miss came 1:10 into the second quarter, when Keaton Delagrange missed a three from the right wing, but Trey Yoder got the rebound for the putback.

“If you were at our game Tuesday, you would think it’s a different team, because we were not efficient,” said WHS coach John Baker referencing a 52-38 loss to Garrett. “We were bad in all the ways we were good tonight. … I think it’s just a carryover from the defensive end. I think it’s hard for kids to realize what defense can do for your offense. We’re not taking the ball out of bounds and allowing them to set up their zone. We’re able to get stops and bring it down and get them in a little bit of a bind.”

The glass also posed a problem for Jay County, as the Warriors crashed the offensive glass on the shots they did miss. At half time, Woodlan had four offensive rebounds, while the Patriots only had one defensive rebound on a 3-point shot Mason Moore missed and the ball bounced into a wire above the basket with 2:50 remaining in the second quarter. The Warriors finished with nine offensive rebounds, while JCHS only had six defensive rebounds, with Comer, Tucker Griffin and Aiden Phillips actually pulling the ball in rather than letting it bounce out of bounds.

Yoder, the Warriors’ leading scorer with 30 points, had 19 points at the half, helping his team walk into the locker room with a 30-12 lead.

Part way through the third quarter, the Patriots came out of their zone to play man-to-man with a smaller lineup. As a result, the Patriots forced 13 turnovers and managed to outscore Woodlan 28-26.

Bomholt found a positive of the game in his players’ effort despite facing a large deficit. His team will now turn to set its sights on Fort Recovery, which will come to Portland 24 hours after JCHS took the 16-point loss.

“It takes a special group of kids for one thing,” Bomholt said of trying to get back on track. “If they really want to compete and really want to get better, then we’ll show up tomorrow and look like a different team. If we don’t then there could be some struggles.”

Junior varsity

The Patriots rolled to a 59-25 victory over Woodlan in the junior varsity game on Friday.

Stout defense in the first quarter held the Warriors to only five points, while the Patriots poured in 14 on six field goals.

The Patriots built a sizable lead of 27-25 by halftime thanks to Benson Barnett, Brock Wasson and Kade Sommers all scoring six or more points.

A trio of third-quarter threes made Brady Jetmore Jay County’s leading scorer. He finished with 14 points, while Wasson followed with 11 and Barnett had 10.

Woodlan’s leading scorer, Cooper Smith, finished with just nine points.