January 17, 2024 at 1:52 p.m.
The Patriots have faced a lot of good teams this year. Four of their eight previous losses came against ranked teams, by an average of 23 points.
The Patriots again faced off with a high-ranked team, but they kept the game in single digits.
The Jay County High School boys basketball team gave its best offensive performance of the season Tuesday, as it fell to the Class 2A No. 3 Bishop Luers Knights 69-60.
The Patriots’ 60 points was the highest mark they’ve hit all year. Their previous high came in the season opener with 56 at Elwood. Since then, Jay County (2-0) had scored more than 40 points just three times and more than 50 once, in their 55-42 win Dec. 1 over Woodlan.
“Our effort tonight was fantastic,” JCHS Jerry Bomholt said. “The execution wasn’t perfect but it was better.
“If you had told me before the game that we were going to score 60 points, I would have probably told you we won.
“We’ve still got some little things to work on … but they’re a good team. They are not 11-1 by accident.”
The Patriots gave up a handful of small spurts to the Knights (11-1) but in general kept things under control. The first run came in the second quarter after a three-point play by Westly Bihn. Bishop Luers went on a 9-0 run during the final two minutes of the half to earn a 31-20 lead.
The 11-point lead was cut by one basket as Levi Muhlenkamp curled off a hand off from Eli Dirksen for a jump shot.
Bishop Luers had another 8-0 run in the third quarter to give it the largest lead of the game at 16 points.
The Knights found most of their offensive success when they pushed the pace, forcing turnovers or ripping down rebounds and going coast to coast for a lay-in.
“Typically we have about four guys on the floor that we feel pretty good about if they get the rebound, or are close by to get it and take off,” BLHS coach Seth Coffing said. “We don’t necessarily have to wait for a point guard, which I think is an advantage in transition for us.
“I'm comfortable with several guys handling the ball and then guys filling lanes and we work on that every day in practice. We hope that it translates to the games and it should be our strength.”
The third quarter was the biggest struggle for Jay County defensively. It gave up 21 points as four players had four or more points. Drelyn Truesdale had six of his 14 total points in the third, while his twin brother Dereon Trusdale had five of his team-high 20 points.
As a response, the Patriots put together one of their highest-scoring quarters of the season. Jay County put up 24 points in the final frame, led by Liam Garringer with 14 of his 21 points and Gradin Swoveland with six of his 14. They added five assists in the frame as well, finding ways to connect after an offensive change that put Garringer as a baseline runner while Swoveland attacked the 3-2 defense.
Jay County even went on a 7-0 run that included a reverse layup and a free throw from Garringer and a basket off an offensive rebound and a pair of foul shots for Swoveland.
“Instead of settling for a three or a jumper every possession, I was trying to look to attack more and had my guys around me ready to shoot and attack off the dribble too,” Swoveland said. “We just need to know our roles. Liam is a scorer and can shoot and drive. I think I’m a scorer too and I need to be looking to attack more when my jumper is not falling.”
After going down by double digits in the start of the third quarter, Jay County finally cut the deficit to nine in the fourth on a Garringer 3-pointer assisted by Swoveland, but at that point, the clock wasn’t the Patriots’ friend. Time ran out before they could mount a full comeback.
Despite going up against a ranked opponent, this was the narrowest margin of defeat since Jay County fell at Fort Recovery by seven points to begin its eight-game losing streak.
Jay County will have the opportunity to snap the losing streak Friday against South Adams.
“I’m happy that at least we showed we can compete,” Bomholt said. “That’s what we needed to do before we get into this next stretch of eight to 10 games.”
Junior varsity
Nineteen fourth-quarter points powered a Bishop Luers 53-51 victory over Jay County in the game on Tuesday.
Cole Forthofer scored eight of his game-high 23 points in the final period, but it wasn’t enough to hold onto the lead.
Daniel Murphy and Jayce White fueled the Knights’ fourth-quarter comeback with 10 and six points, respectively.
Murphy ended as Bishop Luers’ leading scorer with 18 points, including three triples in the second half. White added 11 points for the Knights.
Outside of Forthofer, the Patriots got a strong night from Eli Dirksen and Levi Muhlenkamp who went for nine and eight points, respectively.
Jay County Patriots vs.
Class 2A No. 3 Bishop Luers Knights
Boys varsity summary
Bishop Luers (11-1)
FG-FGA FT-FTA PTS
DeTruesdale 8-15 2-5 20
Kelly 1-3 0-1 2
Zay 5-7 0-0 11
Jackson 2-2 0-1 4
DrTruesdale 5-8 3-4 14
Mitchell 3-4 0-0 7
Meek 0-0 0-0 0
Calderon 0-2 0-0 0
Kiracofe 0-1 0-2 0
Davis 4-9 0-0 11
Totals 28-51 7-13 69
.549 .538
Def. rebound percentage: .783
Jay County (2-9)
FG-FGA FT-FTA PTS
Mhlnkmp 2-3 0-0 4
Fugiett 1-3 0-0 2
Garringer 8-15 1-4 22
Dunnington 3-4 2-2 9
Crouch 0-1 0-0 0
Dirksen 1-4 0-0 2
Phillips 0-1 0-0 0
Bihn 3-4 1-3 7
Swoveland 4-12 6-8 14
Totals 22-47 10-17 60
.468 .588
Def. rebound percentage: .800
Score by quarters:
B. Luers 19 12 21 17 — 69
Jay Co. 11 11 14 24 — 60
3-point shooting: Bishop Luers 8-19 (Davis 3-7, DeTruesdale 2-4, Mitchell 1-1, Zay 1-2, DrTruesdale 1-3, Kelly 0-1, Calderon 0-1). Jay County 5-15 (Garringer 4-9, Dunnington 1-2, Muhlenkamp 0-1, Dirksen 0-1, Swoveland 0-2).
Rebounds: Bishop Luers 29 (DeTruesdale 7, Zay 5, DrTruesdale 4, Kelly 2, Jackson 2, Mitchell 2, Davis 2, team 2, Meek, Calderon, Kiracofe). Jay County 26 (Bihn 5, Swoveland 4, Muhlenkamp 3, Dunnington 3, Dirksen 3, team 3, Garringer 2, Phillips 2, Fugiett).
Assists: Bishop Luers 18 (Zay 5, Davis 5, DeTruesdale 4, DrTruesdale 3, Mitchell). Jay County 11 (Garringer 4, Swoveland 4, Fugiett 2, Dirksen).
Blocks: Bishop Luers 2 (DeTruesdale, Kelly). Jay County 2 (Crouch, Dirksen).
Personal fouls: Bishop Luers 17 (Dr Truesdale 4, DeTruesdale, Kelly 2, Zay 2, Meek 2, Kiracofe 2, Davis 2, Mitchell). Jay County 12 (Garringer 4, Bihn 3, Muhlenkamp 2, Swoveland 2, Dirksen).
Turnovers: Bishop Luers 18. Jay County 17.
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