By: Daniel Cooley
BRYAN – Both the Pettisville and Stryker boys basketball teams saw their seasons come to an end on Friday night, after suffering close losses.
Pettisville lost to second seeded Antwerp, 48-39 and Stryker lost to third seeded Toledo Christian, 56-48. Both games took place at Bryan.
In the opening game, Pettisville found itself behind 12-4 after one quarter and it proved to be too much to overcome.
Antwerp jumped out to a 7-0 lead right out of the gate. After Jack Leppelmeier’s three-pointer cut the Antwerp lead to 7-3, Reid Lichty came right back with a trey and Zaine McMichael’s layup brought Antwerp’s lead back up to 12-3.
Pettisville was able to cut the Antwerp lead down to 12-8 in the second quarter, after a pair of free throws from Sean Adkins and a Cayden Jacoby basket.
Antwerp answered back with a trey from Carson Altimus and a layup from Cam Fuller to push the lead back up to 17-8. That propelled Antwerp to a 21-12 halftime advantage.
“We came out too tentative and Antwerp came out fired up and took it to us,” said Pettisville coach Brian Leppelmeier.
“And we needed to get the ball a lot more to (Cayden) Jacoby. He only had three touches in the first half.”
After another Altimus three-pointer to start the third quarter put Antwerp up, 24-14, two Jacoby baskets and a layup from Adkins brought Pettisville to within four points, at 24-20.
However, Antwerp answered with a 7-0 run to take a 31-20 lead. Trailing, 33-23 after an Altimus two-pointer, a Jaret Beck basket and two Leppelmeier free throws cut Antwerp’s lead to six, 33-27, after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Pettisville closed to within 40-35 with two minutes left, on a Jacoby basket. However, Altimus then hit four straight free throws to put Antwerp up by nine, 44-35, with 41 seconds left.
Antwerp was able to keep Pettisville at bay, by going a perfect 16-16 at the charity stripe.
“I appreciated the efforts of this team all season long,” coach Leppelmeier said.
“We won 15 games with a very tough schedule, and we were in every game. This group always had a lot of fight. But it was hard to battle back from our rough start (down 12-4 after one quarter).”
Antwerp (19-4) was led by Altimus, who garnered 21 points, while Landon Brewer added 16 markers.
Pettisville (15-9) was led by Jacoby’s 23 points, while Leppelmeier added 10 points.
In the nightcap, Toledo Christian used a great shooting start to hold off Stryker. The Eagles made seven three-pointers in the first half, en route to a 36-26 lead.
Stryker was also hurt by foul trouble and had to keep its two big men, 6-6 Elijah Juillard and 6-3 Levi Barnum on the bench, for long stretches.
Stryker came to life early in the third quarter, scoring eight straight points, to cut the Eagles’ led to 36-34.
A Juillard basket and three-pointers from Michael Donovan and Daniel Donovan, closed the Toledo Christian lead to just two points.
However, the Eagles closed out the third quarter on an 8-0 run to go back up by 10 at the end of the third quarter, 44-34.
Stryker chipped away at the Eagles lead in the final quarter, getting to within two points, at 48-46, on Juillard’s basket.
Stryker then had a chance to take the lead, but Daniel Donovan’s three-point attempt missed and Toledo Christian’s Kalon Butler then sank four free throws to give the Eagles breathing room at 52-46.
Stryker’s Daniel Donovan then hit a jumper to close the Eagles lead to 52-48.
Butler then made two free throws and Karter Koester made two more charity tosses to bring the final margin to 56-48.
Koester, who made five three-pointers in the first half, finished with 25 points for Toledo Christian (16-8). Butler contributed 19 points.
Daniel Donovan led Stryker (14-10) with 13 points, while Juillard put in 11 points and Michael Donovan added 10 points.
“Toledo Christian was unbelievable offensively in the first half,” said Stryker coach Tyler Woolace.
“But we were able to fight back twice and I’m proud of the guys’ effort and the community is proud of their effort. It was a battle, and we did everything we could.”
PETTISVILLE (39): Leppelmeier 10; Ripke 0; Aeschliman 0; Adkins 4; Beck 2; Wyse 0; Jacoby 23; Totals: 14-1-8 – 39
ANTWERP (48): Moore 2; McMichael 2; Altimus 21; Lichty 5; Brewer 16; Savina 0; Fuller 2; Totals: 10-4-16 – 48
THREE-POINT GOALS: Pettisville – Leppelmeier; Antwerp – Atimus 3, Lichty; REBOUNDS: Pettisville – 26 (Jacoby 11); Antwerp – 19 (Altimus, Brewer 4); TURNOVERS: Pettisville – 11; Antwerp – 12
PETTISVILLE 4 8 15 12 – 39
ANTWERP 12 9 12 15 – 48
STRYKER (48) – Juillard 11; Villanueva 3; LaBo 0 M. Donovan 10; Cadwell 4; D. Donovan 13; Barnum 7; W. Donovan 0; Totals: 13-6-4 – 48
TOLEDO CHRISTIAN (56): Hesson 7, Ryan 2; Criss 0; Duck 3; Koester 25; Mickel 0; Hesson 7; Butler 19; Totals: 10-7-15 – 56
THREE-POINT GOALS: Stryker – D. Donovan 3, M. Donovan 2, Villanueva; Toledo Christian – Koester 5, Duck, Butler; REBOUNDS: Stryker – 24 (Juillard 8); Toledo Christian 28 (Butler 7); TURNOVERS: Stryker – 11; Toledo Christian 10
STRYKER 8 18 8 14 – 48
TOL. CHRISTIAN 16 20 8 12 – 56
Dan can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com