(March 4th, 2015) – PAULDING: An epic comeback effort fell just short for the Blackbirds in their Sectional first round game against Antwerp on Wednesday, March 4.
The senior laden Pettisville boys suffered a tough loss to the Archers in a contest much closer than the 47-37 score would indicate.
The Blackbird boys got off to a sluggish start, and Antwerp took full advantage. As the buzzer went off to signify the end of the opening frame, Pettisville found themselves on the wrong side of a 17-4 differential. They would make up a sizeable portion of that gap in the second period, however. The Fulton County boys would outscore their opponent from the Green Meadows Conference 18-9 in the moments leading up to halftime.
Still facing a deficit, Pettisville entered their locker room trailing 26-22.
Scoring decreased significantly for both teams in the third stanza. The Blackbird boys were able to continue chipping away at their disadvantage with a 6-3 effort in the period. With only the fourth quarter remaining, Pettisville was down by just a single point.
The final period wouldn’t go their way, though. Antwerp began to pull away late in the frame. In order to extend the game, Pettisville fouled, although they were able to match the made Archer free throws down the stretch. This is why, despite how close the contest was, Antwerp was able to secure the 10 point win.
Stuart Yoder and Caleb Rychener co-led the Pettisville scoring effort, with each boy producing 11 points. Yoder, a junior for the Blackbirds, spread his scoring throughout the game, putting points on the board at crucial times to help trigger Pettisville runs. A 6’5” sophomore, Rychener did most of his work in the paint, though he did connect on a mid-range jump shot from the baseline.
Senior Noah Miller also had a solid game for the Pettisville boys. With 6 points, Miller didn’t hesitate to attack the rim. He also stole the ball the Archers 3 times in the loss.