Jets shut out in third quarter, drop final
BERNE — The goose egg got ‘em.
Adams Central’s 7-0 start and its skimpy 18-16 halftime lead were swallowed up by Blackhawk Christian’s 11-0 shutout in the third period that turned the tide in what became BC’s 39-32 win in Saturday’s Class 2A sectional championship game at the South Adams Stardome.
The battle between two 20-win teams was a struggle of strength and height, speed and experience, and desire and determination as AC ended its record-setting season at 20-6, while the 21-3 Braves — highly ranked all year, number three in 2A, and winner of three prior state titles – move on and up to next weekend’s regional at Lapel, where, ironically, Central reserve coach and assistant coach Tim Hildebrand taught and coached for 10 years.
“I don’t know that there was an underdog in this game,” Flying Jet head man Aaron McClure told the media afterwards. He noted that the Jets held Blackhawk, which ripped an 18-win Manchester squad with 75 points on Friday, to its lowest score of the year. The Braves’ previous low was 61, he said. In the second half, BC, which does not play football, was heaving gridiron-type crosscourt passes with regularity as time evaporated.
McClure said the obvious difference was Central’s scoreless period, explaining that Blackhawk’s solid defense denied inside shots and also was quick enough to prevent open looks outside. “We just couldn’t get a bucket” during that decisive eight-minute stretch. he stated.
While BC’s 39 was way below average, so was AC’s 32, with the school’s all-time male point scorer, senior Ethan Poling, held to just three points: the first goal of the contest. He closed his career as a four-year starter with 1,289 points. In his final appearance, Number 25 (at 6-5, 235) added four rebounds and two assists.
The Jets only got off only 11 two-point shots, but made nine. Blackhawk had five blocks, with three by 6-8 sophomore Kellen Pickett, who did a very good job fronting Poling and 6-7 junior Isaac Schultz.
The Braves made only six deuces, but outhit the Jets in threes six to four and had the upper hand in free throws: nine of 14 versus two for four.
McClure said both teams played at a “very high level,” as was expected from the types of seasons each side had.
Coach M pointed out that after the Jets began the season 1-4, they went 19-2 in January, February, and March, including a schoolrecord 15 victories in a row, the school’s first Allen County Athletic Conference Tournament title in 47 years, and the regular-season championship of the ACAC, plus the plaudits accorded Poling, such as first team all-league recognition.
“It’s an honor to coach ‘em,” McClure said of the 2022-23 unit, which includes his junior son, Micah, a guard.
No Adams Central player reached double figures, with fast-developing 6-3 freshman Breyland Reber leading with eight, Schultz seven, McClure six, Trace Maller five, and Poling and Ryan Tester three each.
Schultz led in rebounds with six (and blocked two shots) and McClure nabbed four caroms. McClure and Tester each stole twice. McClure passed for three assists (half his average) and Tester had a pair of assists.
For the Braves, only one guy got twin digits: 6-5 junior Isaac Smith, with 13, including four for eight from the arc and the play of the night — a four-point score on a trey and foul shot to create a 31-18 lead opening the fourth quarter.
Josh Furst, who’ll be a walk-on player with big brother Caleb at Purdue this fall, tallied nine, including two flushes. Gage Sefton (6-4), headed to Grace College to study and play hoops, had seven and Jimmy Davidson (6-3), whose late father, Marc, was the BC head coach for many years, notched six.
Oddly, Pickett, likely a lively Division One prospect in two years, managed just one point and missed the three three-point shots he tried.
The Game
. Poling’s triple at 7:30 was followed by Reber’s layup at 6:42 and an eight-foot J by Schultz in the lane at 4:30, shortly after he blocked a closein shot by Pickett.
Blackhawk finally lit the scoreboard at 4:07 with a Smith three, but McClure replied with a layup at 3:21 for a 9-3 Jet lead.
Davidson sank his only trey of the night at 3:10, then the muscular Furst slammed the ball home to the loud delight of a large Blackhawk fan section and it was 9-8 at 2:22. The jam came after a steal and a halfcourt toss to the open Furst.
The Braves took a 10-9 lead at 1:46 as Pickett pitched to Davidson for a layup.
However, Maller took the lead back 42 seconds later with a layin, then the Jets pull off their best bangbang play of the night. Tester stole the sphere and dashed in to score, but missed, although McClure was right there and tipped in the ball for a 13-10 edge.
In the second period, another driving layup by Reber made it 15-10, then one more Tester theft and a pass to McClure led to a layup and a 17-10 AC margin.
Reber was fouled and went one for two to create an 18-10 lead, but Blackhawk came back with a 6-0 run to end the half: a three by junior Aiden Muldoon and three free throws by Sefton.
Then came the third period, when Smith nailed a triple, Sefton rebounded and scored from below, Smith knifed another trey, Sefton blasted an 18-footer, and Furst hit a FT — all while AC experienced complete offensive futility. Maller had a good shot under the basket at two seconds, but Picket was there for the rejection.
The Jets revived in the final period, but it wasn’t enough. They cut the 31-18 lead to 31-24 as Maller buried a three, AC got possession on a held-ball call, Schultz hit a free toss, and Isaac rebounded and scored — all in about 90 seconds of game time.
The Braves staved off the comeback with two Furst free throws and another dunk before Reber knifed a trey to make the score 35-27 at 1:21.
Tester’s trey at 36 seconds made it 37-30 and after two more FTs by Blackhawk, Schultz’s last goal just before the horn created the 39-32 final.
The Future
Afterwards, Coach McClure lauded Poling as a player he noticed in middle school who had “great body control” and played a steady game. He commended how Poling worked hard over four years to better himself into being proficient in shooting twos, threes, and foul shots, while also rebounding very well and never fouling out.
McClure also thanked the other two seniors, 6-4 Hudson Conkling, a reliable sixth man, and Keaton Springer, a backup guard, for their contributions.
He looks ahead to having four starters back next year (Schultz, Tester, Reber, and his son), plus the very hard-nosed Maller and several up-and-coming reserves.
The coach said the core of this year’s team won 36 games over two years. The 15-game winning streak might last for many years.
Reaching 20 “W”s for the first time in AC’s 73 years of basketball history was also a key achievement and, with the returners, perhaps another 20 wins could be attained next season.
Let’s rev it up after football, fans!