By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
STRYKER (February 7, 2026) – Most of the night looked like a game of one-on-one between Stryker’s William Donovan and Dane Ewers of Ayersville.
However, the biggest shot of the game was a layup off a turnover by the Pilots’ Jeremiah Peake with 30 seconds left, that put Ayersville up for keeps in a 48-45 Pilot win.
Donovan and Ewers each scored seven points in the first, but Eli Capps’ triple was the difference as Stryker took a 10-7 lead into the second quarter.
Donovan’s power move at the 5:54 mark doubled the score at 14-7. Ewers came right back with a layup and a three-pointer to chop the Stryker lead to 14-12.
Capps stuck another three-ball and Andrew Batterson scored from in tight to extend the Panther lead to 20-14.
Ewers countered with an inside move and a bucket off a lob to again cut the Panther advantage to two with 1:36 to go.
Peake scored only the second Ayersville bucket of the game that didn’t have Ewers’ name on it, a triple with 58 ticks left to give the Pilots a 21-20 halftime lead.
After Donovan hit from outside the arc to start the second half, Ewers, Peake, and Owen Lloyd all hit from long range to give Ayersville a 33-28 bulge with 1:16 left.
This time it was Donovan who countered with a power move and scored off a turnover to bring the Panthers within 33-32 after the third.
Ewers’ three-point play, then a baseline drive, put the Pilots up 38-36. Donovan hit a pair from the line to tie, then Bradley Williams got a three-point play off a steal that regained a Panther lead with six minutes to go.
A triple by Dylan Dunn forced a 43-all tie at the 4:10 mark. Donovan hit a foul line jumper 29 seconds later to give Stryker the lead back at 45-43.
Ewers rebounded his own miss to again knot the game with 2:20 to go. After a miss on each side, Stryker played for one shot with 90 seconds left.
With the clock running down, Ayersville sent a trap behind a Stryker ball-handler and Peake ended up the beneficiary, with a layup with 30 seconds left.
After a turnover on the next possession, Stryker was forced to burn fouls and with 5.7 on the clock, Dunn split a pair to give Ayersville a three-point lead.
Ayersville elected to foul, and with one second left, Donovan went to the line, hoping to hit the first, then run the miss-and-tip play on the second.
However, his first shot was offline, and there was not enough time on the clock for a quick shot after the intentional miss on the second.
Ewers had 29 for Ayersville (12-6) and Peake added 12. Donovan hit for 26 for the Panthers (10-10).
AYERSVILLE (48) – Lloyd 3; Peake 12; Dunn4; Ewers29; Booher 0; Stambaugh 0; E. Wolfrum 0; Totals: 13-6-4 – 48
STRYKER (45) – Donovan 26; Williams 5; Juillard 0; Capps 9; Emmons 0; Rivas 0; An. Batterson 2; Stewart 3; Totals: 12-5-6 – 45
AHS 7 14 12 15 – 48
SHS 10 10 12 13 – 45