Yellow Jackets Outlast Fighting Scots 75-72

by Tim Smith

The Cedarville Yellow Jackets defeated the Ohio Valley Fighting Scots Saturday night by a score of 75-72. The Jackets improve to 12-8 on the season and 9-3 in the G-MAC, and increased their win streak to four games.

It didn’t come easy, though.

“Ohio Valley came out confident and hit some tough shots,” head coach Pat Estepp said. “But, I’m proud of our guys for pulling it out in the end.”

The Yellow Jackets led for the majority of the game, but Ohio Valley began to take over in the final minutes.

But, thanks to some good defensive stops and free throw opportunities, the Jackets ended up on top in the end.

Though not the prettiest win, there were some bright spots for the Cedarville team.

“A lot of teams get tight in that last five minute stretch, especially when they (Ohio Valley) took the lead,” said Estepp. “But our guys battled till the end – got the stops and points we needed to win the game.”

The Yellow Jackets’ effort was carried by a strong game by sophomore Conner TenHove, who finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.

Isaiah Speelman and Quinton Green also had valuable offensive contributions, with 11 points from each of them.

Freshman Quinton Green recognized that there were aspects of the game that the Jackets’ need to improve on.

“In the end, we played tougher than the other team. I think they out-rebounded us by 12 tonight, and that is something we need to fix, but we battled hard and got the win.”

Looking to the future, Cedarville is up against the G-MAC’s top dawg in Findlay next week, followed by second-best Hillsdale. These games will be high intensity, with the outcomes most likely determining the final conference standing.

“We need to come in and focus on these next games. We know we can win them both, and doing so will put us at the top of the conference. We just need to focus up and play our best basketball,” said Green.

Tim Smith is a freshman Journalism Major and Staff Writer for Cedars. He loves football, 3 Muskateers Candy, and primarily speaking in movie quotes.