Panthers defeat Archers 59-53

VAN WERT - Parkway got out to a fast start against Antwerp on Wednesday in the Division IV sectional opener.

And the Panthers needed it.

After opening the game with a 14-1 run, Parkway continuously held off every Antwerp comeback attempt the rest of the evening, defeating the Archers 59-53 at Cougar Gymnasium in Van Wert.

For the first time since the beginning of the 1980s, Parkway won tournament openers in consecutive seasons. Next up is a date with top-seeded Crestview on Friday at 6 p.m. in Van Wert. The Knights defeated the Panthers 86-54 on Dec. 9 in Convoy.

"They are a very, very good basketball team," Parkway coach Doug Hughes said. "It'll be a very big challenge for us, but it's a challenge we're ready to accept."

The star of the show for Parkway on Wednesday was Corey Walls, who netted a career-high 18 points in the win. He finished 6-of-14 from the field and added six rebounds.

"He's just a kid who is a grinder," coach Hughes said. "He plays hard every practice. He plays hard every minute he's out on the floor. He's probably in there right now more for his defense than his offense, but he comes out tonight and he hits big shots in the first quarter. He has 18 points, and I think we had him for six rebounds, a couple assists, a couple of steals. He had a great game. He was all over the place tonight."

The Panthers (10-13) started the game with an 8-0 run, the points coming on 3-pointers by Walls and Dylan Hughes and a transition layup by Jack Wehe. The lead grew to 14-1 by the 3:51 mark of the first quarter. Parkway finished the first quarter 5-of-11 shooting, 3-of-4 from deep and 5-of-6 from the foul line. Antwerp went 1-of-9 shooting, 1-of-6 from 3 and 3-of-5 at the charity stripe.

"We had a real good start," coach Hughes said. "We got up 14-1, 18-6 at the end of one quarter. They had to use two timeouts. The start was huge. I thought we made some really nice plays to start the game. The energy level to start the game was really good, especially on the defensive side of the floor."

But the Archers cut the lead to 20-15 3 minutes into the second period. Cole Selsar finished with 10 in the quarter for the Archers, but they couldn't get any closer than six. Walls and Caleb Kinney combined for all 14 points in the frame for Parkway. A 3 by Walls just before the buzzer put the Panthers in front 32-23.

Antwerp went on a 6-0 run over the first 3 1/2 minutes of the third quarter, cutting the deficit to three. That, however, was the closest the score got.

Parkway stretched its lead to 40-32 by the end of the third and kept the distance between six and 12 points for the entire fourth.

"We knew they were a quality opponent coming in at 13-9," coach Hughes said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy. I just told our guys that I was really excited and happy with the way we answered. They continued to cut (the lead) to six and we'd get it back to nine or 10."

Caleb Kinney had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds for Parkway. Wehe added nine points.

Selsar, held scoreless in the first quarter, finished with a game-high 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting.