Puck Systems Version 2 Demo

The Perrysburg Yellow Jackets must have felt that they were looking into a mirror last night as they faced the Ashland Arrows in the Division I district finals at Bowling Green. The Arrows play a similar style game and, like the Yellow Jackets, are a team of battlers that do not quit. Both teams played true to form but it was the Yellow Jackets that were just a little bit better as they held on to win, 40-38.

In the first few moments of the game it appeared that Perrysburg was going to have an easy go of it as they jumped out to an early 6-0 lead but those first few moments would be the last time that anything came easy for the Jackets all evening. The Arrows came surging back and by halftime the teams were only three points apart, 25-22, and the bumps and bruises on both team were increasing.

Interestingly, neither team scored in the half’s last two minutes as the Yellow Jackets held the ball as the Arrows collapsed into the paint area on defense. The Arrows decided not to come out and play a tighter defense and the Jackets remained content to pass the ball around the outside waiting for the Arrows to come out. The result was a stalemate.

Leading the Perrysburg offense in the first half was the coach’s son, David. Young Boyce scored 10 of his team’s 25 points. Averaging only 10 points a game, Boyce took advantage of the fact that the Arrows were keying their defense on other players.

“They did a good job of shutting Neal (Perrysburg’s Neal Linthicum) down in the first half,” said Perrysburg coach Dave Boyce. “We had to adjust and that left David (Perrysburg’s David Boyce) open for some good looks.”

The second half was as hotly contested as the first. The Yellow Jackets were able to increase their lead to a more comfortable 7 points, 35-28, by the end of the third quarter but it was not done without a great deal of hard work and energy. As the fourth quarter developed, the Jackets would need all of those 7 points in order to hold off the Arrows.

“I think we played for 32 minutes,” said Boyce. “They were a very athletic team, and we knew they would fight to the end. We just kept plugging away.”

In the final quarter the Yellow Jackets struggled to score and watched as the Arrows chiseled away at their lead. Although they never trailed, the Jackets knew they were in a tight battle and at the end it took a gutsy defensive effort by the Jackets to finally hold off the Arrows. In the final fourteen seconds the Arrows had two chances to either tie or go ahead but the Perrysburg squad turned both efforts aside.

“This is a goal-oriented group,” said Boyce. “I think they went out and believed they could win.”

The only Yellow Jacket in double figures was point guard, David Boyce, with 14. For the Arrows, Logan Kerr had 10.

“It was a tough loss,” said Ashland coach Rob Larengood. “Anytime you get this far in the tournament, any loss is a tough loss. When you have a group of seniors who you have been with for four years it is tough to see them play their last game.”