Coyotes fall to Warriors in third place game

Though the top prize had already escaped their grasps, the Leyton Warriors and Potter-Dix Coyotes still had a long-standing rivalry to settle.

Though the Warriors couldn’t defend their MAC title of a year ago, they took the upper hand in their long-standing rivalry with the Coyotes with a 59-50 triumph in the boys’ consolation game Saturday at Sidney Middle School.

The Coyotes (6-8) gave their rivals all they could handle throughout much of the contest before the Warriors (7-7) began to pull away in the second half. After 16 minutes of play, the Warriors managed to gain just a two-point edge at 25-23. But the third quarter turned the contest decidedly in favor of Leyton.

With the game still close midway through the third quarter, the Warriors began their push towards the third-place prize. Cody McKay ignited and finished a 7-0 run while Zach Hellie completed a three-point play in between. When McKay’s second hoop of the run had fallen, Leyton quickly turned a three-point game into a 10-point affair (36-26).

Just before the buzzer sounded the Warriors’ Drew Brenner added to the lead as he disturbed the twine from beyond the arc for a 43-31 lead after 24 minutes.

Coyotes’ senior Cameron Purcell took just nine seconds to sink the first bucket of the fourth period, but the final stanza was largely a back-and-forth affair. Edward Barnes and Jake Johnson sank baskets to narrow the gap to six points, but Potter-Dix could never get any closer.

“It doesn’t matter what the game is for, we always want to beat Leyton,” Purcell said. “It’s always fun to play them, but none of us like losing to them. It’s pretty disappointing.”

The first quarter went primarily back-and-forth with neither team able to establish a lead greater than four points. Hellie, a Warriors’ sophomore, had a strong game in the post. On four occasions over the first three quarters, he was sent to the line with an opportunity for a three-point play. Though he converted on just one, he led all scorers with 18 points.

A side jumper by Kenny Ernest gave the Warriors their largest lead of the half at 20-12, but the scrappy Coyotes reeled them back in. Trace Sharman began and finished a six-point stretch for Potter-Dix with Purcell adding a deuce in between. Sharman later tied the game at 30 with a right-side jumper with seven seconds remaining in the half. Hellie quickly followed, however, with a buzzer-beating layup.

In addition to Hellie’s 18, Cody McKay (14) and Brenner (13) each reached double figures for the Warriors. Johnson was the high man for Potter-Dix with 16 points, while Purcell and Sharman each dropped in 12.

After Tuesday’s home contest against Pine Bluffs, Potter-Dix traveled for a game at conference rival Minatare on Saturday.