The Junior High Hoopster Yellow Jackets and Wildcats met in a contest of size versus speed Saturday morning.

But at the end of the quick-moving game, the Yellow Jackets’ size proved to be too much as they won 42-17 at Langston Hughes.

The Wildcats started off strong, winning the tip-off to begin the game. However, this would mark the only advantage the team would hold for the rest of the game, with the Yellow Jackets landing the first shot of the game. They followed that with a three-pointer by Jacob Beeson, then another quickly tossed up three by Jacob Wilson.

The Wildcats ran up and down the boards, keeping the Jackets on their toes. The pure size of the Yellow Jackets seemed to take control over the speed of the smaller Wildcats. Despite their time spent in the offensive zone, the Wildcats finished out the first quarter scoreless, trailing 12-0.

“It’s a big team,” said Wildcats coach Linze Tate. “We were missing two or three of our bigger guys, too.”

The second quarter saw a drop-off in the scoring of the Yellow Jackets, with random passes consistently going awry on both sides. The ball continued to be juggled back and forth, the Wildcats keeping the pressure on the Yellow Jackets’ defense. Following two free throws, Beeson followed up with a two-pointer to make it 16-0 with two minutes left before halftime.

One minute later, the Cats got back into the game with their first two points. Alex Zimmerschied scored one free throw for the Wildcats, followed by another penalty shot by Clarke Cunningham, to make the score 16-4. The last minute squeaked by with no progress on either side.

“The big guys took over,” said Yellow Jackets coach Jesse Hust. “Especially Jacob Beeson, the beast in the middle. He swallowed every ball that came near him.”

The third quarter saw an increase of intensity on both sides, with both squads racking up fouls every few minutes. The Jackets continued their advantage with Brent Wilson extending the lead straight out of the chute. Zach Losley wouldn’t let the Wildcats fall behind, as he kept the ball in the offensive zone.

Despite the energy put out by the Wildcats, the Jackets maintained their lead, 28-8, as the quarter came to a close. The beginning of the fourth saw Beeson rack up two free throws. Shortly after, Colin Philips kept the Wildcats from rolling over for an easy win, sinking a three pointer.

Yellow Jacket Ralph Wermy III goes up for the shot but is met by Wildcat Alex Zimmerschied. The Yellow Jackets' size was a problem for the Wildcats all game and resulted in the Jackets 42-17 win Saturday.

Both teams pounded up and down the court, keeping each other from getting too comfortable. In spite of the increased energy and offense put out by the Wildcats, they couldn’t overcome their early slump.

“We slowed the pace against a quicker team,” Hust said. “I’m really happy with how the guys played out there.”

He said the biggest hole he saw was in the defense, citing a need to improve the guard play. If the team doesn’t step up and take care of guarding, he said, they’re in trouble.

“We’re not going to win another one without guard play,” Hust said.

Despite the loss, Tate felt his team played the best they could.

“We’re going to be all right,” he said. “It was only the first game. They got a lot of our rebounds, so we need to work on blocking out. We also need to rotate the ball and work on getting some motion, even when we don’t have the ball.

“Besides, that’s what coaching is all about,” he added. “We get better each time we play.”