Supersized Schultz

MONROE — The Patriots have given up at least 25 points to one of the opposing players in their last five losses.

New Castle’s Colin Taylor and Class 2A No. 1 Wapahani’s Isaac Andrews did it with distance shooting.

D’Amare Hood of Class 3A No. 6 Delta utilized his athleticism and got out in transition.

Muncie Central’s Demarkus Cole dominated the offensive glass.

Saturday night, Isaac Schultz outsized the Patriots and dominated them in the paint and the free throw line.

Schultz’s 32 points led the Adams Central Jets to a 66-45 blowout win over the Jay County High School boys basketball team.

The loss pushed the Patriots’ losing streak to six and was their first conference defeat.

Throughout the game, the Patriots (2-7, 1-1 Allen County Athletic Conference) were playing one step behind Schultz, who got whatever he wanted in the paint finishing 11-of-14 from the floor. Fouling the big man wasn’t a viable strategy either as he knocked down 10-of-12 free throws.

“He’s the best player in the conference,” JCHS coach Jerry Bomholt said. “He was last year and he is again. He’s gotten bigger and stronger. …

“It’s kind of like playing defense before the pass gets there or before the play is made instead of the play being made and then playing after. You can’t do that.”

The 6 foot, 7 inch, 210-pound senior scored the Jets’ first five points, all of which came on free throws. His first field goal came with 5 minutes, 20 seconds, in the first quarter when he caught a lob from Micah McClure and laid it in from midair.

Schultz converted two more buckets in transition and hit another pair of free throws to score 13 of the 22 ACHS first-quarter points.

“He got some scores in transition and some offensive rebounds for put backs but he does a good job sealing,” Jets coach Aaron McClure said. “With the size we have, we were able to toss it in there.

“We’ve got guards that can make those plays. If you don’t have guards that can make the pass then it doesn’t do you much good. Fortunately, we were able to get the ball in there and take advantage of it.”

Micah McClure, Ryan Tester and Trace Maller had a majority of those post feeds, finishing with five, four and three assists, respectively.

In general, Adams Central (6-1, 2-0 ACAC) had strong ball movement. When the Jets didn’t get a quick hitter, they would pull the ball out and instead of sticking, players would quickly make decisions and pass if they didn’t have an immediate shot or driving lane.

“One of our montras is ‘push to patience,’” Aaron McClure said. “You gotta push the ball down the floor and try to score in those first six-seven seconds. If you don’t get a quick basket you know the other team is going to be set up in their half-court defense.

“Then you have to move the ball a little bit. I think our kids have bought into that and are finding that balance of pushing it but not getting out of control.”

Outside of nine first-period turnovers for the Patriots, Jay County had some improvements on the offensive end of the floor.

Gradin Swoveland had a strong game, finishing with 16 points on 6-for-13, including a pair of 3-pointers. Thirteen of those points came in the second half when the JCHS offense started picking up with 12 points in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth.

The Patriots also successfully attacked the offensive glass, snagging 16 offensive rebounds, five of which resulted in second-chance points.

“We keep telling (Swoveland), in this scenario with the guys we’ve got playing right now he’s got to be a scorer for us,” Bomholt said. “He’s been getting better in practice but he hasn’t really showed it in the game. …

“He played good tonight. This is how he’s got to play for us to be at least a factor. We’re still playing a lot of young kids and not ready yet to jump in and score 70 points yet.”

While Bomholt would have liked to contain Schultz more, he said he was pleased with the improvements his team made and the effort from the players who were on the floor.

Jay County’s next game will be on Jan. 12 when it hosts the winner of South Adams and Adams Central in the ACAC tournament, potentially setting up a rematch with the Jets.

“I was happy with the second half we battled, we finally showed a little bit of gumption,” Bomholt said. “We’ll build on this for next week hopefully.”

Junior varsity

Jay County escaped Monroe with a 46-43 overtime win over Adams Central in the junior varsity game.

A late game three by Lawson Deathe tied the game at 39-39 to force overtime.

Drew Schemenaur opened the overtime period with a three and Kade Sommers added a jump shot from the elbow to take a 44-43 lead with 10.3 seconds left. Schemenaur forced a jump ball that turned into a turnover and Eli Dirksen iced the game away with a pair of bonus free throws.

Dirksen led all the Patriots (7-2) with 17 points while Sommers added 10. Deathe’s half-court attempt to tie came up just short, hitting the rim.

Deathe topped the Jets scorers with 15 points while Kolton Combs and Marcus Bollenbacher each had 10.

Freshman

The Adams Central Jets came crashing down in the storm the Jay County freshman team brought on Saturday afternoon in a 45-20 Patriot win.

Despite scoring zero points in the fourth quarter, the Patriots hit double digits in the first three while holding Adams Central to seven or less in all four periods.

Brock Wasson and Boston Barnett fueled the JCHS assault with 16 and 12 respectively. Barnett hit four triples while Wasson poured in seven baskets.

Cooper Steele led the Jets with 12, 10 of which came in the second half on six free throws.