Panthers have hot touch

CELINA - Parkway and Celina matched each other point-for-point for most of Tuesday's boys basketball game - save for roughly three minutes in the first quarter.

The Panthers went on a 10-0 run in that stretch to take an 18-8 lead at the end of the quarter, and the 10-point margin held up the rest of the way as the Panthers won their third straight game 52-42 at the Fieldhouse, denying the Bulldogs a solid chance to snap their season-opening losing streak.

Celina (0-7) had one of its best offensive efforts of the season, reaching 42 points for the second time all season and shooting 46.8% from the floor, but Parkway made 18 shots on just 27 attempts (66.7%) and kept the Bulldogs from getting offensive boards, finishing with a 20-14 rebounding advantage.

"We talked about getting out to a good start and do a job on the boards," said Parkway coach Doug Hughes. "We did both those things."

Celina coach Adam Johns couldn't fault his guys' effort on the night.

"Regardless, we're going to play 32 minutes," said Johns. "From when the ball's thrown up (for the opening tip) to (the final horn), we'll play. We'll keep playing and scrapping along."

Landen Ackley knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:16 to play in the first quarter to get Celina within a point at 4-3, but Caiden Berry's first of four treys on the evening triggered the 10-0 run as Celina turned the ball over on four straight possessions. Trevor Stearns added a bucket, Fletcher Smith got the hoop-and-harm 3-point play and Trent Rollins got a bucket to quickly make it 14-3 before Braylon Gabes snapped the Bulldogs' cold spell with a trey with 2:24 to go in the quarter.

An Isaac Rasawehr free throw got Celina within nine less than a minute into the second quarter before Parkway tried to pull away, scoring five straight points on a trey by Berry and a bucket by Rollins. Celina, though, kept clawing back and cut the deficit to 25-17 at the half.

Parkway tried to pull away again in the third quarter, pushing its lead to 20 points at 42-22 midway through the third quarter, but Celina was able to hit some shots to close in late in the game.

"We gave up 20 in that third quarter. You can't expect to have success on a regular basis, especially how at times we struggle to score," said Johns. "Once we settled in, we were okay. Got some turnovers but weren't able convert all of them. That was a little bit of frustration."

Parkway (3-3) had three players reach double figures, with Rollins and Stearns scoring 14 each and Berry finishing with 12.

"I was impressed with Fletcher Smith finding Caiden for nice open looks. Caiden's a nice shooter when he gets his feet set," said Hughes. "We shared the ball pretty well.

"We have seven guys that we feel very comfortable with leading us in scoring. That versatility helps us."

Caleb Gabes paced Celina with 10 points with brother Braylon Gabes adding eight.

Both teams get a game in before Christmas, as Parkway hosts Waynesfield-Goshen on Thursday and Celina travels to Delphos Jefferson on Friday.