Perrysburg boys fall to Whitmer (12-28-11)

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Perrysburg’s Jake
Pfleghaar (24) goes up against Whitmer’s Nigel Hayes (23). (Photo: Aaron
Carpenter/Sentinel-Tribune)

PERRYSBURG — Defensively, Perrysburg was great Wednesday night.
But Whitmer’s defense was just a little bit better.
In the end, a 14-2 scoring run and their size advantage was enough for the Panthers to squeak by with a
44-36 non-league road win over the ’Jackets.
Perrysburg is 4-3, while Whitmer is 6-0. PHOTO
GALLERY

“Clearly, it was a defensive struggle. Every possession mattered,” Perrysburg head coach Dave Boyce said.
“In the end, we had a four-minute stretch where we just lost our discipline a little bit. We did some
things that allowed them to get control of the game.”
Perrysburg held a 16-14 lead at the half, but the third quarter was the difference of the game.
The ’Jackets were forced into turnovers and were out-scored, 10-2 in the quarter. In the final 3:50 of
the period, Whitmer rattled off seven consecutive points.
The run gave Whitmer a 24-18 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
“They started turning up the heat and we just had a couple minutes there where we didn’t control the
ball,” Boyce said.
The Panthers had many plays which could have swayed the momentum towards them indefinitely, but the
’Jackets still hung around.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Nigel Hayes came up with one of his seven steals and turned it into a
right-handed breakaway dunk to give Whitmer a 32-21 lead.
But Hayes’ game was highlighted by his defense. He had nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
Springfield transfer Leroy Alexander extended the Panthers’ lead to 13 when he followed Hayes’ dunk with
two of his game-high 17 points.
The ’Jackets put together an 8-2 scoring spurt, led by Scott Milne, cutting their deficit to seven.
After a dunk by Alexander with 53 seconds remaining, the game looked to be in control, but Milne answered
with his only triple, lowering Whitmer’s lead to 42-36.
But that was all Perrysburg could do as Alexander made two free throws, and the Panthers ran out the
clock.
“We believed we could win the game and we didn’t think until there was triple zero on the clock that it
was over,” Boyce said. “We played that way and that’s what we’ve got to be proud of.”
Perrysburg contained Whitmer’s offense, which features three players (two starters) who are 6-foot-7 or
taller, throughout the first half.
“We did a good job, for the most part, of guarding their inside game, making it very hard for them to get
high-percentage shots,” Boyce said.
But the Perrysburg offense couldn’t match the team’s defensive effort.
Boyce referred to open looks his team was creating, but missing, in the first half as a reason they
weren’t able to pull away for a bigger lead.
“I definitely think, in the first half, we left some points out there. There’s no doubt about that,”
Boyce said. “It means what we have to do is convert our chances.”
It was evident Whitmer was stifled offensively by Perrysburg’s zone defense for the first 16 minutes of
the game.
The Panthers weren’t able to use their height advantage as they were unable to move the ball fluently or
get it inside to the post.
“We got what we deserved in the first half. We didn’t move the ball and we didn’t move people,” said
Whitmer head coach Bruce Smith. “And that makes their zone look even better than it is, and it is very
good.”
Whitmer won the junior varsity game 48-44. Matt Mesker led Perrysburg with 14 points, while Mason Cajka
added 10.
WHITMER 44, PERRYSBURG 36
WHITMER
Hickey, 1-1-2—7; Smith, 1-1-0—5; Klem, 0-0—0; Hayes, 2-1—5; Alexander, 5-1-4—17; Clemons, 0-0—0;
Rublaitus, 0-0—0; Norton, 0-0—0; Wormley, 5-0—10. TOTALS: 14-3-7—44.
PERRYSBURG
Milne, 6-1-1—16; Byrd, 2-0—4; Fox, 0-0—0; Thomas, 1-0—2; Moschetti, 0-0—0; Pfleghaar, 3-0—6; Johnston,
0-0—0; Edwards, 0-1-3—6; Patterson, 1-0—2. TOTALS: 13-2-4—36.
WHITMER 8 6 10 20 —44
PERRYSBURG 10 6 2 18 —36
Junior varsity: Whitmer, 48-44.

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