Overcome in opener

As the Patriots took the court on Tuesday, they hadn’t lost a season-opener played at home since 2000.

The relentless pressure and effective scoring of the Fort Wayne South Side Archers were enough to overcome the quarter-century-old precedent and hand the Jay County High School boys basketball team a 64-57 loss.

“I knew we were going to see some pressure,” said Tyler Rigby, the first-year coach of the Patriots. “We had kind of talked about it all along, worked on it a little bit, but it’s hard to simulate that in a game-like situation. We didn’t handle the pressure well. … You’re not going to win many games turning it over that (many) times. I don’t care who you’re playing.”

Jay County (0-1) coughed up 22 turnovers, including 14 in the first half, as South Side utilized pressure across the length of the floor. The Patriot miscues enabled the Archers (1-0) to get ahead of the defense and earn a myriad of close-range looks, with 16 of the 22 South Side baskets (73%) coming via layups.

“We’ve just got to be more confident with the ball, stronger with the ball,” Rigby said. “I tell them all the time, ‘You’re in control. You have the ball. You’re in control. It’s your space, own the space.’ We just get a little sped up and want to go too quickly sometimes, and we’ll get better at it, but we didn’t do what we needed to do tonight.”

When they did maintain possession, the Patriots were prolific on the offensive end, with their efficiency helping them keep pace despite benefiting from just five Archer turnovers. Though Jay County attempted 22 fewer shots than their opponents, they shot 58% from the field and 55% from downtown, with the accuracy helping them keep the game within two points as late as the 1:48 mark in the fourth quarter.

“We’re going to be really good offensively,” Rigby said. “We’re only going to get better. We’re really versatile. … Offensively, I don’t have any worries.”

The Patriot attack was buoyed by the duo of guard Jayden Comer and forward Gradin Swoveland.

Early in the contest, it was Comer who had the hot hand, drilling all four of the 3-pointers he attempted in the second quarter and helping the Patriots stay in front in a chaotic half that saw nine lead changes. The junior’s brightest moment came with 2:37 remaining in the half, when he nailed a triple through contact and completed the four-point play as the Patriot faithful chanted his name.

“It felt great,” Comer said. “I’m just glad my teammates could kick the ball out and give me that open shot.”

Though Comer was unable to carry the momentum from his scorching second quarter past halftime, notching just two of his team-high 17 points after the intermission, Swoveland filled the void with his aggression at the rack.

“I realized I was just settling too much for jumpers in the first half, so I just needed to attack the rim, and I did that,” Swoveland said. 

The senior was true to his word. Save for a late miss from three, Swoveland hit on all four of his shots in the second half — three of which were driving layups — to finish the game with 15 points after heading to the locker room with just four.

Though the Patriot duo also received support from Cole Forthofer (11 points on 5-for-5 shooting), Benson Barnett (eight points on 2-for-2 from 3) and Brock Wasson (six points), it wasn’t enough to secure the victory, in large part due to the Archers’ offensive exploits. Terrance Jordan topped all scorers with 24 points, including 13 in the second quarter to go toe to toe with Comer.

“He’s pretty shifty, he’s pretty versatile,” Rigby said. “I mean, he can hit a shot and he can get to the rim, so it’s kind of a hard thing — which one do you take away? We knew he was a good player coming in. … Good players are hard to stop. You’ve just got to make them take tough shots, and we didn’t make him take enough tough shots tonight.”

When the Archers did need a tough shot, they often turned to Jayvon Irby, who finished just behind Jordan with 23 points. Irby helped seal the contest with an acrobatic reverse layup with roughly two minutes to go, extending South Side’s tenuous two-point lead to four and forcing Jay County to play the foul game in the final moments.

While the Patriots couldn’t overcome South Side’s blend of scoring and relentlessness, they’ll seek to remain confident and reset on Saturday night when they host the Richmond Red Devils, a team that beat them 43-36 last season.

“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” Swoveland said. “Obviously, a loss should never sit right with anybody. There’s undoubtedly things we need to work on. There always is to start the season, so we’re going to work hard and we’re going to bounce back.”