Host Anthony Wayne stayed in the fray with preseason Northern Lakes League boys basketball favorite Perrysburg until the first minute of the final quarter Friday night.
But, from then on, the Yellow Jackets (6-1, 3-0 NLL) went to a higher level that AW was unable to match in Perrysburg's 66-45 victory.
After Generals junior Griffin Pike hit a 3-pointer 26 seconds into the fourth quarter to get AW (4-2, 3-1) within 43-30, the Yellow Jackets hit their first nine shots from the field in the quarter to pull away.
Senior guard Matt Watkins led Perrysburg with 23 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the way in what was a balanced Jackets attack.
“We had some opportunities in the first half offensively, and we took a quick shot or had a turnover,” Perrysburg coach Dave Boyce said of his team's inability to pull away earlier. “And, we just weren't putting things together.
“In the second half, we got our chances and were able to increase the lead a little more. Matt Hubbard [3 points, 7 rebounds] came off the bench and did a great job. He gave us a spark, and a bunch of guys who didn't have their greatest night hung in there and showed a lot of poise.”
Junior guards Austin Shultz and Gavin Fenneken had 12 points apiece, and senior twin brothers Andrew and Avery Hunt added 10 and 7 points, respectively, for Perrysburg, which was coming off an impressive 65-52 nonleague win at Whitmer on Tuesday.
Eighteen seconds after Pike's 3 got his team within three points, Shultz drove for a bucket and then followed with a 3-pointer with 6:42 remaining. That launched a game-breaking 17-3 run for the Yellow Jackets, which was capped on Andrew Hunt's driving basket for a 60-43 lead with 3:26 left.
“We were hitting shots and they were hitting shots, and we just couldn't extend the lead in the first half,” Watkins said. “But, coach Boyce talked about coming out with poise and playing with a lot of heart, and in the second half we started hitting a bunch of shots from that point on.
“I think we showed a lot of heart and endurance to play a a tough team Tuesday at Whitmer and then come out here against a rival and get a tremendous win in the league.”
Unable to shake AW, Perrysburg led 13-12 after one quarter, 28-25 at halftime, and 43-37 after three quarters.
But Perrysburg, which shot 51 percent (28 of 55) from the field in the game, including 7 of 18 on 3-pointers, outscored AW 23-8 in the decisive final quarter.
“They did a tremendous job defensively,” AW coach Josh Arthur said of Perrysburg's fourth-quarter surge. “They're long and they move their feet well. They did a nice job staying in front of us.
“We need to get back to work [Saturday] morning and work on some skills and a couple things that we can fix. We need to get a little stronger with the ball.”
How did AW hang in for three quarters?
“With our heart and our hustle and our tenacity,” Arthur said. “But, down in the end, in the fourth quarter, they kind of picked it up a notch and we weren't there.
“That was a tremendous display. They did a great job running their offense, and some of those were contested. But we needed to make those more contested and a little bit harder on them.”
The Jackets also outrebounded the Generals 31-25, and forced 15 turnovers while committing just nine in the game.
Senior forward Aiden Schmenk topped Anthony Wayne with 14 points, and the Generals also got 11 points apiece from Pike and senior guard parker Schofield.
AW was 19 of 44 (43 percent) from the field, including 2 of 6 on 3-pointers.
“They all look to each other, and they all do it together,” Boyce said of his team's chemistry. “Andrew [Hunt] is great rebounder and Matt [Watkins] is a great ballhandler and shooter, and they all do their part with everything else. Everybody is just buying into that right now.”
First Published December 17, 2022, 3:08 a.m.
