Jay struggles against Tigers

YORKTOWN — The Tigers outplayed the Patriots in nearly every way.

The Patriots only found slight advantages on the glass and in personal fouls. Those advantages weren’t enough to save them from their problems.

The Yorktown Tigers jumped on top of the Jay County High School boys basketball team early in a dominant 69-31 victory Saturday that the Patriots never came within 15 points of after the opening quarter.

“The effort was nonexistent,” JCHS coach Jerry Bomholt said. “I have never as a head coach struggled with mental toughness and those kind of things as I have with this team. …

“It was really an effort that reminded me of where we were earlier in the season. At this point in time, 17 games into the season, that shouldn’t happen.”

Yorktown (11-8) opened the game on a 19-0 run. It hit three triples, had two transition layups and converted two three-point plays.

Jay County (7-11) finally got on the board with only 30 seconds left in the opening quarter, when Jayden Comer pulled the trigger on a three early in the possession.

“We hadn’t played since the previous Thursday and we’ve just been grinding them out in practice, so honestly they were just ready to play against another color,” Yorktown coach Matt Moulton said. “I could tell in the locker room and at shoot around this morning they were juiced up and ready to go. The enthusiasm was there from the start and when the ball goes in the basket it sure helps.”

Things didn’t get much better for the Patriots as the game went on.

To start the second, Kieran Tewari drilled a three, assisted by Mason Moulton before a Westly Bihn putback. After the 22-5 deficit, Yorktown went on a 13-0 run to put it up 30 points and never looked back.

The Patriots scored 11 points in the second and 13 in the fourth, but gave up 21 and 16, respectively.

The Tigers got almost anything they wanted offensively, from transition opportunities to open threes. YHS won the turnover game 3-14, helping it get plenty of easy runnouts for layups. The Tigers also shot the lights out from 3-point range. They hit 45.5% of their threes (15-of-33).

Yorktown had three players reach double digits.

Nate Tyler hit all five 3-point shots he took to lead with 15.

Tyler Aul scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter off threes and free throws.

Tewari had 14, putting him at 1,001 career points. He broke the century mark early in the fourth quarter on a three assisted by Jacob Grim.

“He’s been a really good decision maker as our leading scorer,” Moulton said. “I think he’s second on our team in assists and always guards the other team’s best player, but never complains. He deserves it.

“He’s been starting since freshman year and he’s a big part of our program. We’re proud of him.”

Only two Patriots hit multiple shots in the contest. To go with his first-quarter three, Comer hit another in the fourth. Gradin Swoveland hit four shots and two free throws to lead with 10 points (32.3% of the total JCHS score).

“When teams are physically pushing us and bumping us, we don’t react to that well,” Bomholt said. “We’re missing some ingredients. … I feel like we don’t have a team right now. We have 12 individuals. We’re not functioning the way a team should function.”

Junior varsity

Cole Forthofer had a career day, but it wasn’t enough as the Patriots fell to Yorktown 58-40.

The Jay County sophomore scored 72.5% of the Patriots’ points, dropping a career-high 29 on 13 baskets.

Forthofer started with only four first-quarter points, but picked things up as the game went on, scoring 13 in the fourth, including a 3-pointer.

Yorktown’s Noah Long countered with 21 points, including seven in the fourth. Long had help from Mason Trammell, who’s six triples added 18 for the Tigers.

Only two other players scored for Jay County (12-5). Eli Dirksen put up nine points and Sean Bailey had two.