Perrysburg boys take down Lima Senior (3-1-11)

FINDLAY — Perrysburg’s boys are moving on.
The Yellow Jackets nearly squandered a 17-point lead in the second half, but made enough plays down the
stretch and hung on for a 61-56 victory over a talented Lima Senior team in a Division I sectional
semifinal Tuesday at Liberty-Benton High School.
The win improved Perrysburg’s record to 14-7 overall, and set up a sectional final showdown with Northern
Lakes League rival Bowling Green on Friday back at L-B.
“Lima is a great traditional power, a great tournament team that has had a lot of success in this
building,” said Perrysburg coach Dave Boyce, who recorded his first win over a Lima Senior team. “For us
to come in here and get one against them is a real nice win for our kids.
“When they came back you could feel all of a sudden the finality and the sense of desperation on both
sides,” Boyce added. “I give our kids credit for hanging in there.” PHOTO
GALLERY

Perrysburg, which most considered the underdog in the matchup with the Spartans, looked very good in
building a 39-22 lead after a Scott Milne 3-pointer with 2:40 left in the third quarter.
But Lima (12-7) finally started making its acrobatic shots at the basket and cut Perrysburg’s lead to as
few as two points twice in the fourth quarter.
However, Perrysburg made enough free throws down the stretch, finishing 14-of-17 from the foul line in
the second half, and got contributions throughout its lineup to hold on.
Senior Matt Schimmoeller finished with 15 points and added seven rebounds and five assists to lead
Perrysburg.
Junior Jake Pfleghaar had 14 points and nine boards, and senior Kevin Schenk, who was the focus of Lima’s
defense throughout, went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line and finished with 11 points. Senior Alec
Schmenk also chipped in with seven points and nine boards.
“We just wanted to get the victory and keep the season going,” said Schimmoeller. “The intensity was
great. I loved it. Both sides were getting into it when the game got close. That’s what you live for —
March Madness.
“We knew they were going to make a run at some point in time. We knew we weren’t going to be up 17 the
whole game,” Schimmoeller added. “But we have seven seniors. We all know how to handle the pressure.
We’ve been through it for a while, so that helps out a lot.”
Pfleghaar was assessed a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a missed dunk on a putback with 47
seconds left in the game, and Lima’s Adrian Hutchins made 1-of-2 free throws to cut the lead to 56-53.

Schimmoeller then took a charge on Lima’s next possession to give the ’Jackets the ball back. Schenk was
fouled on the next possession and went on to make 5-of-6 free throws in the final 37 seconds to close
out the win.
“They made some tough shots during that stretch and we hung in there until we got a chance. Then we got
some free throws to go back up,” Boyce said. “We took what they gave us. They missed some shots and
there was that stretch where we came up with a lot of loose balls and we were aggressive going to the
basket.
“When you play sideways against them you’re in trouble and we went right to the basket in that stretch.
But then it wasn’t the same when everything they threw up went in.”
Lima made just 9-of-24 field goals in the first half as Perrysburg took a 22-18 lead into halftime. The
second half was a different story, as the Spartans shot 52 percent (17-of-33) and 3-of-7 from 3-point
range.
Senior Kendall Jackson finished with a game-high 16 points for the Spartans, Tyler White had 15, and Ryan
Downton scored all 10 of his points after halftime.
“Well, they finally missed,” Boyce said of Lima. “Part of it was to come back, they fouled some.
Ultimately we got to the free-throw line and made some free throws.
“We didn’t finish real well in the open court, let’s face it … But then we got to the foul line and we
converted pretty well from there. That enabled us to keep matching them until they missed a couple.”
Perrysburg’s performance was a far cry from its last time out, a disappointing 57-45 loss to Maumee to
end the regular season.
Now the ’Jackets will get a third shot at trying to beat NLL champ Bowling Green, which recorded 11- and
13-point victories over Perrysburg during the regular season.
“It was something that they had to prove to themselves, that they could win on the big stage against a
good, traditional, powerful team,” Boyce said. “It’s a big confidence builder. But Bowling Green who we
play Friday has a ton of confidence.
“We’ll see. Obviously what we hope is that it gives us confidence to play Friday night very well and it’s
not one-and-done.”
PERRYSBURG 61, LIMA SENIOR 56
LIMA SENIOR
White, 6-1-0—15; Allen, 0-0—0; Rumbaugh, 0-0—0; Martin, 1-1-0—5; Bates, 1-0—2; Downton, 5-0—10; Hutchins,
2-1-1—8; Jackson, 8-0—16; Perkins, 0-0—0. TOTALS: 23-3-1—56.
PERRYSBURG
Milne, 0-2-0—6; Gordon, 0-0—0; Schenk, 2-7—11; Sell, 1-1-1—6; Pfleghaar, 6-2—14; Dunbar, 1-0—2;
Schimmoeller, 5-1-2—15; Schmenk, 1-1-2—7. TOTALS: 16-5-14—61.
LIMA SENIOR 8 10 10 28 —56
PERRYSBURG 13 9 17 22 —61