JV/Varsity Boys Basketball vs Jay County 12/8/12

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Written BY:Mike Bennett of the Star Press--PARKER CITY — Brock McFarland and his Jay County teammates were ready to make a step-up statement after a lackluster start on Friday night at Monroe Central.

The Patriots did in improving their record to 3-0. They broke open a tight game for a 31-point lead early in the fourth quarter and then coasted to a 70-42 victory.

McFarland led the way with 21 points, seven rebounds and anaggressive display of offense and defense.

The Golden Bears’ Chase Bly also scored 21 — including 14 in the first half.

The junior swished four 3-point shots to help Monroe Central stay within 23-20 with 2 minutes left in the half. One of the treys came from 22 feet with a second left in the first quarter.

“We were very disappointed how we played,” McFarland explained. “We already knew what we needed to fix for the second half.”

The Patriots needed to counter Monroe Central’s deliberate pace, Bly’s shooting and the double-teaming of post player Scott Schwieterman, who entered with a 20-point average.

The Patriots were warned by Jay County coach Craig Teagle that the best way to lose was to allow long shots: “Don’t give up the 3’s and we did exactly that. They played smart and spread us out,” he said about the first half. “He (Bly) hit some tough shots. We did a good job of taking away the three in the second half.”

Monroe Central had trouble getting off clear shots as the Patriots took a 43-24 lead with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. They made extra passes for easy scores, swatted away a half-dozen shots and dominated the boards in moving to their biggest lead, 59-28, with 5 minutes left.

That pace was in contrast to a first half that was tightly contested. “We started off doing what we needed to do. We were disciplined,” said Monroe Central coach Luke Zartman. “That broke down. You can’t get behind big to disciplined teams.”

The breakdown included allowing Jay County to score on easy layups and open 3-point shots, including a pair from Darren Bogenschutz. He scored all 12 of his points in the second half.

“Those baskets allowed us to pull away,” Teagle said, noting that the Patriots hit seven or eight shots in a row off of assists.

Bracken Barga hit two second-half treys and totaled 12 points for Monroe Central. Fellow junior Jake Combs scored seven.

Kegan Comer scored 14 points, while Tyler Back and Jacob Schlosser added seven piece for the Patriots. Schwieterman was held to four points, but grabbed six rebounds in a 29-15 rebounding advantage for the game.

Comer, Bogenschutz, Schwieterman, Back and McFarland are all seniors. Everybody is prepared to step up when needed, McFarland said. “All of the seniors have been playing together since the third grade. We definitely know what we need to do to (win games).”