Bihn for the win

The Raiders struggled to take care of the ball the entire night, disrupting their offensive flow.

They finally got things working to start the fourth quarter.

Wesley Bihn put an end to that.

The Jay County High School basketball team’s big man scored two momentum-shifting buckets that halted an 11-0 run Thursday as the Patriots held off the Southern Wells Raiders for a 53-39 victory that extended the JCHS winning streak to five.

“We just got big contributions from Wesley and (Trevin) Dunnington and Liam (Garringer) at the right time,” JCHS coach Jerry Bomholt said. “When we needed baskets, those three got them.”

Bihn delivered two shot when it mattered most.

Southern Wells (5-11, 1-4 Allen County Athletic Conference) opened the fourth on a 9-0 run with threes from Chandler Oswalt and Landon Johnson and a three-point play by Perrin Gates. The run pulled the Raiders within four points.

In comes Bihn.

The big man’s first basket came when he rebounded a missed jumper by Garringer and powered up for the put-back and a foul on Perrin. He knocked down the free throw to get three points back for Jay County (7-9, 4-1 ACAC).

He scored 23 seconds later on a quick post up, assisted by Levi Muhlenkamp, to push the lead back up to nine.

“We knew coming into this we were the better team,” Bihn said. “It’s one of our last home games we’ll ever play. Losing just wasn’t an option.

“We were just hustling. We wanted him to put all the seniors in and we wanted to prove that we could play together.”

After a floater from Jaden Comer and another Johnson three, the five seniors got their wish to have a lineup of Parker Nichols, Jackson Edwards, Garringer, Dunnington and Bihn.

Nichols, Dunnington and Bihn all scored to extend the lead to 14 before they got to leave the floor to standing ovations.

While Bihn’s big shots came in the fourth, Garringer provided an offensive spark as he hit a pair of threes and a free throw in the first to score seven of Jay County’s 12 points.

Dunnington’s production came in the third quarter. He scored on an offensive rebound, hit a turnaround jumper and converted a layup on a pass threaded by Garringer. He had six points during a 12-0 run in which the Raiders struggled to score.

Jay County’s run came when Southern Wells’ leading scorer, Oswalt, dealt with foul trouble, forcing him to the bench. The Raiders finished the quarter with nine points on five field goal attempts, while committing five turnovers.

“Turnovers are a part of the game and when your rotation and your lineups a little out of the ordinary sometimes you struggle,” SWHS coach Joel Roush said. “They’re just so long and I’m fairly certain whatever defense they played, it’d be problematic just because of the length and the size and the foot quickness.”

Oswalt finished with a game-high 13 points and Perrin added 12. The Raiders didn’t get much offensive production out of anyone else, as Johnson was next with six.

Bihn finished as Jay County’s leading scorer with 11. After him, five players got heavily involved in the mix as Gradin Swoveland and Dunnington put up nine apiece, Comer had eight and Garringer scored seven.

Comer played — and started — for the first time since Dec. 23 as he underwent an appendectomy shortly after that first start. His eight points came on a pair of threes, a floater and the foul line, where he shot 3-for-4.

“It was good,” Comer said. “I got a little nervous at the beginning, but once you start playing ball the nerves go away. …

“We could have done better and attacked more, but my teammates did really good with that.”

Jay County won most statistical battles in the game, including rebounding, assists and turnovers.

 The rebound margin was 30-26 — led by team rebounds with eight then Aiden Phillips with seven. 

Garringer dished out four assists as the Patriots totaled 10 and the Raiders only managed six.

Despite giving up eight first-half turnovers, Jay County turned things around in the second to win the battle 10-23.

“Because of the zone and the way we play it, sometimes we’ll give up something when someone misses a responsibility,” Bomholt said. “But, because of the way we rotate, we get really good opportunities to deflect the ball and strip it.”

Junior varsity

The Patriots dominated Southern Wells in a 40-10 two-quarter blowout.

Eli Dirksen, Cole Forthofer and Brock Wasson dominated the opening quarter, as Jay County (11-4) outscored the Raiders 24-3. Dirksen and Wasson tied for the game-high with seven points.

Landon Johnson led Southern Wells with six.