MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The Matthew C. Perry High School Samurai came out on top as they dribbled and scored their way to a 50-48 victory over the Camp Zama High School Trojans at the M.C. Perry High School gym here Saturday.
This is the first time the Samurai have played the Trojans this season.
With the win, the Samurai brought their record to 11-5.
“It was a very close game, both teams fought hard, but at the same time we kind of let them get back in it at the end of the game,” said John Ayers Sr., Samurai’s assistant coach.
The players of both teams worked hard for the entire game.
“I’m not unhappy about how the game went,” said Tom Allensworth, Trojans’ head coach. “I would have liked the outcome to have been different.”
The score was neck and neck for most of the game until the Samurai broke free from the point race and took a large lead at the end of the first half.
The Samurai maintained the lead during the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Samurai players began to show their exhaustion and allowed the Trojans to score multiple points bringing the score back to neck and neck.
There were way too many turnovers according to Ayers.
The Samurai stole the ball and the victory at the end of the game after several Trojan missed shots.
“There were times when we played a really excellent defense, but there were times when it could have been better,” said Allensworth.
Both teams discovered areas for improvement from this game.
For the Trojans, the mental aspect of the game could be improved upon, such as the patience of the players said Allensworth.
According to John Ayers Jr., a Samurai forward, the team needs to work on not making the turnovers that were seen in this game.
Overall, the game was rough. Many of the players took some hard hits and fell to the ground, only to get back up and keep pushing through.
“(The Trojan players) were good, they kept up a fight, and we just happened to come out on top,” said John Ayers Jr.
Both of the teams are relatively young, and with a little more playing time and experience, they should improve.