(December 23rd, 2014) – STRYKER: Hosting their North Western Ohio Athletic League neighbor Archbold, the Panthers of Stryker knew they had a tough game ahead of them.
It was tougher then they could handle, as the Panthers fell to the Blue Streaks 58-34.
The Archbold defense was smothering for the Stryker boys. In the first period, the Panthers dropped behind 14-8. The second quarter went similarly, with Stryker being outscored 15-5. Going into the locker room, the boys of Stryker were facing a 29-13 deficit.
It was more of the same in the third quarter. The Panthers couldn’t get going offensively, as they were again bested in the period by the Blue Streaks, 16-5. Stryker found its offense in the fourth quarter, but it was too late to give them a shot at victory. Winning the final period 16-13 was not enough to get them back into the game.
Parker Ruffer and Tanner Clingaman, both seniors, led the Panthers in scoring. Each player had 11 points against the Archbold boys. Ruffer scored all of his points from inside the arc. Clingaman also had a strong inside presence, but he stepped out to hit the team’s only three as well. Colteon Benson added 7 points to the Stryker total as well.
After taking care of the ball in the first half, Stryker got a bit careless in the second. The Panthers committed just 3 turnovers within the first two periods. Between the third and fourth quarters, however, they added 10 more of the possession-costing mistakes. Still 13 turnovers isn’t a high number.
The Panthers didn’t get to the free throw line enough to stay in the contest. With just 12 attempts from the line, the Buckeye Border Conference unit only made 5 of them, good for a 41% average. In particular, Ruffer, who had 5 inside field goals, took just a single free throw in the entire game. Such a strong inside presence needs to find ways to get fouled while shooting.
The reason Stryker lost this game, however, was their offense’s struggles against an admittedly stingy Archbold defense. Being held to 5 points for two consecutive quarters really put a lot of separation between the two teams on the scoreboard.