Trey Mills Guards his opponent in the last quarter of the game. More pictures at westbendnews.net
Flyin’ high, Trenton Copsey passes the ball to Josh Longardner. More pictures at westbendnews.net
The Saturday night game at Antwerp took place between the Archers and the Stryker Boys. The basketball game was especially punishing for the home team.
The first quarter was lead by Stryker’s Raffer with 6 points to his name, the team scoring 13. Meanwhile Antwerp posted 6 for the whole team. The Archers just wasn’t much for hitting baskets the first quarter.
Second quarter was different but not where the Archers needed to be. Trenton Copsey and Sam Williamson both started pushing the ball through the hoop. Still there were too many bricks. The Panthers, though, were very well rounded and probably one of the best games they have had for this season. Six of their players scored this quarter. The halftime score was 17-28.
The next period showed the Archers weakness on rebounds. Passing the ball also caused problems when Stryker picked the ball off. Only 7 points were added with Copsey getting hacked and getting a foul shot. Stryker put up another 11.
Antwerp changed the fourth quarter. In fact, this was not only their best quarter, but it was the best of both teams. They nearly doubled the points of their previous three periods combined. They were aggressive and asked for no forgiveness. Beginning at only 24 points put the Archers at an undeniable state of challenge when the Panthers were up at 39 points. All cylinders were firing together, shifting in to high gear for Antwerp. Matt Jones led the home team in points followed by Copsey and Brandon Pendergrast.
The whole team was working together. Antwerp was nearly able to stop the guests but one fault stopped them: Fouling. It can be used for the underdog team to get possession but it doesn’t work all that often especially when the your opponent is good at foul shots. Stryker is very good at foul shots, making 14 foul shots out of 19, and winning the game by 11 points.
The revival by Antwerp was incredible and showed the true potential for these boys. If this unharnessed potential could be put into regular action for the entire game, this team would be going far.
The game finished 46-57.
Score by Quarter:
Antwerp: 6 11 7 22 = 46
Stryker: 13 15 11 18 = 57
Antwerp Scorers: Williamson 14, Copsey 13; Jones 9; Pendergrast 5; Mills 3, Longardner 2
