Chris Appel
Cumberland Times-News
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FROSTBURG — Judge Memorial coach Jim Yerkovich wasn’t able to provide a win in his final game of a 44-year career, but what his Bulldogs and Saint Frances did provide was 32 minutes of excitement despite a relatively low score in the Panthers 42-34 victory in the consolation championship of the 50th ACIT.
Yerkovich’s final outing began more like one from his early years. His Bulldogs averaged less than 10 shots per quarter, while the Panthers averaged 12. Combine that with cold shooting and you get a first quarter that ended with a 7-6 St. Frances lead. The second quarter saw only slightly more scoring to finish at 18-17 Panthers. The period did see four lead changes and three ties as the teams went back and fourth.
St. Frances came out running in the second half to score 11 of the first 14 points. Wayne Sparrow had five of the nine, while R.J. Williams had three. Sparrow would lead his team in scoring with 10 points.
The Panthers built a 27-19 lead with 4:00 left in the third, but the Bulldogs chopped that to 30-26 within a period of 2:26. Daniel Shiramizu, who led all scorers with 11 points, scored nine in a 4-minute span at the end of the third. He helped Judge get the score to 34-32 with 5:30 remaining before the Panthers outscored it 8-2 from that point on. The 8-point advantage at game’s end represented the largest lead of the game.
“It would have been nice to be able to end it all with a win in this tournament,” said Yerkovich. “It’s still a memory I’ll keep along with all of the others from previous years. Not being able to play here anymore will be one of the things I’ll miss most about coaching.”
Beginning his career in 1966, Yerkovich has amassed 635 wins over his 44 years as a coach. He has three Utah state titles and six finals appearances to go along with 50 players he sent to Division I college programs.
On Saturday his Bulldogs suffered, along with the Panthers, from a poor shooting performance. Each team made just one three-point basket. Judge Memorial was 1-for-13, while St. Frances went 1-for-8. Judge made 15-of-37 field goals for a shooting percentage of 41. The Panthers were even worse off, shooting just 33 percent, or 16-of-48.
Besides Sparrow, who had seven rebounds to go with his 10 points, Greg Lewis added nine rebounds and six points for the Panthers, and Dante Holmes had eight points and six rebounds.
For Judge, Will Whitt finished with six points, six rebounds and three blocks.
St. Frances finishes its season at 25-10, while Judge Memorial ends up at 20-8.
Chris Appel is a sports writer for the Cumberland Times-News. He can be reached at cappel@times-news.com.
