Patriots fall short

SELMA — For the fourth time this season, the Patriots trailed at the intermission.

Despite giving up 20 points in the first quarter and facing one of their toughest opponents, the Patriots didn’t back down. But they couldn’t complete the comeback to pull off victory.

Jay County High School’s boys basketball team got within two points of the Class 2A No. 1 Wapahani Raiders with a minute left in Saturday’s game but ultimately fell 50-46.

“They really battled out there,” said JCHS coach Jerry Bomholt. “To be down that big and fight to come back was nothing small, especially against the No. 1 team in the state. Just proud of the kids.”

After Wapahani (9-0) exploded for a 20-8 lead at the quarter break, the Patriots (3-4) won the next two quarters by a combined four points to get within single digits at the start of the fourth. The teams traded baskets over the first 4 minutes, 26 seconds, of the final period before Jay County started to figure things out.

Tucker Griffin started things off for JCHS with a corner three assisted by Swoveland with 3:14 remaining, before adding another basket off of a drive 76 seconds later.

Cole Forthofer converted the front end of a three-point play on a baseline-out-of-bounds play before Swoveland got fouled on a second-chance attempt from Forthofer’s missed free throw. Swoveland knocked down both of his foul shots to cap off a 9-0 run for the Patriots and get them within two points with 1:13 left.

“We had to chip away by getting a stop, then a score, then a stop, then a score,” said Bomholt. “We did that and got back into it. The problem was we would do some things right and make some mistakes. We’d get it within two or four, then make some mistakes and it’s six or eight again.”

    Jay County High School’s Eli Petro contests a reverse layup by Camden Bell during Saturday’s 50-46 loss to No. 1 Wapahani. Bell hung in the air to make the shot, giving the Raiders a two-possession lead. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)
  

The first major mistake came on the next play. After Jayden Comer took a foul to put the ball out of bounds in front of the Raiders’ bench, Wapahani got the ball to leading scorer Camden Bell in the near corner. Bell — finished with 19 points on 61.5% shooting — ripped through to get past Forthofer on a baseline drive. The junior met Eli Petro at the basket, but hung in the air for a reverse layup that put Wapahani ahead by four with 45 seconds remaining.

“Camden Bell is a good player and makes winning plays,” said WHS coach Matt Luce. “It was designed to throw it to him in the corner and what he does after that is up to him. … For Camden to make that play at the end was a wonderful play.”

The Patriots’ second mistake followed on the other end of the floor. Swoveland drove toward the rim and made the shot through contact, but it was wiped away after he was called for a travel.

With 34.6 seconds left and a 48-44 lead, WHS tried to milk the clock away but Jay County fouled Nate Luce twice to send him to the line. The senior guard officially put the game on ice as he knocked down both free throws to go up 50-44 with only 9.8 seconds remaining.

Jay County got one more bucket from Eli Dirksen, as he put back an offensive rebound as the final buzzer sounded.

The Raiders got off to a blistering start, nailing six triples in the first quarter. The hot shooting led to a 20-3 run over the first six minutes before Jay County finished the quarter with a Griffin 3-pointer and a put-back by Forthofer.

The Patriots’ first-half offensive woes came from a combination of Wapahani’s defensive intensity that prevented the ball from reaching the paint easily and the lack of offensive sets being run effectively.

“The thing is, they weren’t different plays," Bomholt said. “We weren’t trying to run anything different in the second half, but it didn’t look that way. It’s just a lot different when we are able to actually run the play.”

Nate Luce of the Raiders led all scorers with 20 points while hitting six 3-pointers. Eli Andrews followed Luce and Bell with six points while dishing out a game-high six assists. Griffin led the Patriots with 14 points while Comer and Forthofer added 10 apiece.

Jay County did find some strength on the glass, ripping down an extra 17 rebounds, including 14 on the offensive end of the floor. Forthofer grabbed the most, with 12 total boards, seven of which were offensive.

Junior varsity

Contributions from five players in the fourth quarter helped the Patriots take down Wapahani 39-34.

Jacob Monroe and Nick Snow both scored three points in the fourth period, while Brack Wasson, Kaden Sommers and Drew Schemenaur each had a bucket to top the Raiders.

Wasson led Jay County (6-1) with 12 points, followed by Monroe with six.