Comeback falls short

The host Patriots fell behind early and rallied to get within two late in the first half.

They saw their deficit balloon to double figures again in the third quarter, but clawed back again.

They just didn’t have quite enough to get over the hump.

The Jay County High School boys basketball team missed one opportunity to tie the game late and then could only watch as time ticked away after a Tucker Griffin 3-pointer with three seconds left as it fell 64-63 Friday to the visiting Heritage Patriots.

“Frustrating loss,” said JCHS interim coach Brogan Gary. “Competitive, back-and-forth game, one that we didn’t give up on, so I’m proud of that.

“There’s good moments to take away and to learn from. We just have to learn to start off with that intensity, that much aggression and togetherness.”

JCHS (9-8, 3-3 Allen County Athletic Conference) scored the game’s first points but trailed most of the way after falling behind 18-7 at the 2:44 mark of the first quarter. It kept fighting back, getting to within two on a Griffin drive with just under a minute to play.

Landon Lybarger of Heritage (11-8, 4-2 ACAC) split his free throws with 28.7 seconds to go, leaving the door open for Jay County to potentially pull even. Following a timeout, the home team got the ball to Jayden Comer for a 3-point try from the left wing, but the sophomore could not get the shot to fall.

Another free throw split, this time by Lucas Taylor, proved enough for Heritage to hold on. It was able to let the final seconds tick off the clock without inbounding the ball after Griffin’s triple with three seconds to play.

“It’s been an issue this year,” said Heritage coach Kyle Sovine, whose team was coming off of consecutive losses to Bluffton and Norwell. “We’ve had two or three that we’ve dropped at the end. ... That pressure can do some things to you. I thought we handled it well.”

    Jayden Comer of Jay County dribbles past Heritage’s Taurean Brown during the second half Friday night. JCHS is now 9-8 and will be back at home tonight to take on Yorktown, which is 5-13 and last lost six in a row. (The Commercial Review/Ray Cooney)
 

Heritage took control early thanks to some easy baskets as well as a 4-for-4 start from 3-point range. Jay County got back to within two on a three-point play by Gradin Swoveland, only to have Davian Bates rain in a high-arcing 3-pointer as time expired in the first half.

The visiting Patriots took advantage of a technical foul on the JCHS bench in the third quarter, hitting both free throws and then cashing in a Lybarger 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. A defensive stop and a score by LanTae Cassel pushed their lead back to a dozen points.

“Basketball can be a funny game sometimes, a game of runs, ups and downs,” said Sovine. “You’ve just got to kind of ride the wave is what we tell these guys. That was a big turning point in the game. ... I thought we took advantage of it.”

Jay County chipped away from there, closing the gap with a 9-2 run that included three Eli Dirksen baskets and a 3-pointer from Benson Barnett. But it was unable to ever pull even.

The three from Griffin that left the host Patriots one point short was his fifth of the game as he led all scorers with 23 points. Dirksen tallied eight of his 14 in the second half and Swoveland added 12.

Barnett entered the game for the first time in the fourth quarter and provided stable ball-handling and a defensive spark in addition to hitting his triple.

“He’s had a good attitude this whole year,” said Gary of the sophomore. “His tenacity, that stuff’s contagious.”

Lybarger led three players in double figures for Heritage as he made four 3-pointers en route to his 19 points. Cassel added 15 points and Taurean Brown scored 11. Braden Walter and Bates each added eight.

Junior varsity

Jay County rallied from a double-digit deficit but fell short, 45-39.

JCHS trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half before closing the gap to just two on a shot Nick Snow jumper in the final 30 seconds. But Heritage cashed in four free throws around a missed Jay County 3-pointer to hold on for the win.

Myles Harris totaled 15 points for Heritage while Kingston Galentine had 12.

Snow matched Harris for the game high with 15 points. Jacob Monroe added eight for JCHS.

Freshman

A massive third quarter was key for Jay County as it overcame a halftime deficit for a 40-31 victory.

JCHS outscored Heritage 19-7 in the third quarter after trailing by six at halftime. It added 10 more points in the fourth quarter to preserve the win.

Dash Thacker led a balanced scoring attack for the host Patriots with seven points. Oak Gaerke and Kadyn Carpenter each had six, and Alex Miller, Owen Muhlenkamp and Brayden O’Brian added five apiece.