AYERSVILLE: A packed house at the “Hanger” at Ayersville High School was the setting for another edition of the River Rivalry, boys basketball edition.

Less than 24 hours after a jammed Tinora High School hosted the girls edition of the River Rivalry, fans headed across the Maumee River to fill up Ayersville High School on Friday night.

Tinora, coming in off a season-high 74 points in a win over Hilltop, came out ready to match the host Pilots point for point. The Rams held an 8-5 lead through the first quarter as the Tinora defense had its hands full trying to stop the dynamic duo of Dane Ewers and Jeremiah Peak, who mustered just 2 points between them through the first eight minutes.

The second quarter was a 180-degree turn for both teams. The Pilots Ewers was rolling as he dropped nine of his 15 overall points in the second stanza. Ayersville outscored the Rams 16-10 in the quarter to grab a 21-18 lead.

In a very physical quarter, the Pilots forced numerous turnovers, frustrating the Rams’ offense. Ayersville held the Rams due of Josh Lieb and Grant Lymanstall to just three points combined in the first half.

The third quarter saw the Pilots remain very physical on defense, pressing the Rams into unforced errors for the second straight quarter. The Rams, with Parker Hancock’s efforts on offense and defense and Jared Neff’s rebounding, tried to keep the game close. Tinora chipped away at the Ayersville lead, cutting it to 32-26 after three.

The fourth quarter was much of the same for both teams. Tinora’s Josh Lieb started to get hot in the final stanza as he put up six of his nine points.  The Rams Parker Hancock would wind up with a career high 13 points. Still, it was not enough as Ayersville and Jeremiah Peak bucketed 10 of his game-high 21 points in the final quarter as Ayersville came out with a hard-fought 49-40 win in the River Rivalry.

TINORA 8-10-8-14 = 40
AYERSVILLE 5-16-11-27 = 49

Tinora scoring: Ferrell 6, Neff 2, Hancock 13, Lieb 9, Horn 5, Lymanstall 5

Ayersville scoring: Lloyd 7, Peak 21, Dunn 1, Ewers 15, Stambaugh 5

Freshman – Tinora
JV – Tinora

Tinora drops to 6-11, 2-3 in the GMC. The Rams will host Archbold Saturday night.

Ayersville improves to 9-6, 3-2 in conference play. The Pilots will post Pettitsville Saturday evening.

Watch it back below (AUDIO ISSUE)