Calm, controlled

BLUFFTON — The Tigers kept the game slow and forced the Patriots to play in the half court.

After a rough start, the visitors improved their shot selection and stepped up in big moments to pull away.

The Jay County High School boys basketball team played calm and under control down the stretch to remain perfect in Allen County Athletic Conference play on Friday night with a 47-39 victory over the Bluffton Tigers.

“We knew it was going to be a hard game to win,” said JCHS coach Tyler Rigby. “Anytime you play coach (Craig) Teagle, it’s going to be tough. I thought we responded really well to some adverse situations. Made some really big plays in big moments, which is what it was going to take.”

It was the Patriots’ 10th win in a row as they stayed perfect in the ACAC at 4-0 to keep their regular-season title hopes alive. At the same time, it knocked the Tigers (11-4, 5-1 ACAC) out of the top spot in the standings, leaving Heritage, which JCHS beat in the ACAC tournament, as the other undefeated team in conference play.

The game marked the first time Rigby matched up with his former coach. Teagle guided Rigby and the Patriots to the Class 3A state championship game in 2006.

“I don’t know if I want to start counting wins and losses against him, but it is good to get a win,” Rigby said. “It’s always tough to get a win against him because he’s so tough, so disciplined, coaches the game so well. You know what you’re going to get into. My whole staff knows what we’re going to get into. So to come out on top is always a good feeling.”

The Tigers gave Jay County (12-2, 4-0 ACAC) a run for their money as Maddox White knotted the game up at 33-33 with 3:54 remaining, while also saddling Gradin Swoveland, the game’s leading scorer to that point, with his fourth foul.

The Patriots stayed calm and continued to run their motion. On back-to-back possessions, the ball got swung to Jayden Comer on the wing. Center Kade Sommers came up to set a ball screen, getting Comer, who finished with a game-high 15 points, wide open for a pair of 3-pointers to go up 39-35.

Bluffton bounced back with a Gavin Grieser layup, but soon imploded. Swoveland pushed the margin back to two possessions with a pair of free throws and then Benson Barnett and Comer forced consecutive turnovers to extend the lead to eight points.

“That’s the best basketball team we’ve played all year, with their length and skill,” Teagle said. “And they’re well coached. Tyler does a great job with them. I’m just disappointed with my group because I felt that we just panicked in the last minute. … But that’s on me. I need to make sure that we play with poise and don’t panic in those situations.”

Barnett’s defense also played a key role in the first half. Prior to the junior subbing in, White found ways to attract extra Patriot defenders before kicking the ball for four first-quarter 3-pointers. (Bluffton moved the ball well all night, recording 11 assists on 15 made field goals.)

    Jay County High School boys basketball coach Tyler Rigby (right) chuckles while talking to Bluffton coach Craig Teagle prior to Friday night’s clash between the Patriots and Tigers. They were two of the key cogs for the Jay County 2006 Class 3A state runner-up squad — Teagle as the coach and Rigby as the leading scorer. Rigby got the better of his former coach in their first meeting as his Patriots beat the Tigers, 47-39. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)
  

But Barnett played strong enough defense both on and off the ball to keep White from setting up his teammates or scoring himself as the game went on.

“I was just keeping my eyes on him,” Barnett said. “I was hot on the screens. I was letting him get the ball, but I wasn’t letting him go anywhere. I kept him outside the middle and that’s what coach wanted.”

His defense slowed the Tigers down throughout the second quarter to help the Patriots go on a 13-0 run.

While the defense was important, the Patriots’ offense also settled in. Rather than rushing shots early in possessions, they ran their motion and attacked the basket on set plays to get easy buckets.

“We give them information, take what we see, feed it to them and they have to digest it,” Rigby said. “They did such a good job. … We didn’t have the normal prep time for this game, so there were things I had in my brain that I hadn’t communicated with them. We did it on the fly and they answered things as good as I could have asked with no preparation.”

Junior varsity

The Patriots let a late lead slip away in the fourth quarter en route to a 45-41 double overtime loss on Friday.

Samuel Wiggins and Nick Snow led JCHS with 15 points apiece, but only managed six in the overtime periods.

Brody Collins followed with eight points, Paul Dirksen had a bucket in the first quarter and Tyler Wasson scored his lone point from the charity stripe in the second overtime.

Reid Abbott matched Snow and Wiggins with 15 points to lead the Tigers. Gibson Grieser and Rafe Gerber both hit double digits for Bluffton with 13 and 11 points, respectively.