A 16-point first half lead didn’t hold up for the Paoli Pugs as Maysville rallied to cut the lead to one with four minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Paoli had a late burst and then Rickey Jeandemange sealed the win with a pair of free throws for a 57-50 win in the opening round of the Big 8 Tournament in Wayne Monday.
R. Jeandemange finished with a team high 20 points and was one of three Pug players that scored in double figures, Jerry Johnson added 17 and Cody Travis 14.
Aaron Power lead all scorers with 21 points for the Warriors. Dillon Donaho also finished in double figures with 11.
The game went back-and-forth early on before an 8-0 run at the end of the quarter gave Paoli the lead for good. Travis had four points in the run that gave the Pugs a 14-7 lead.
Maysville would stay with striking distance until late in the second quarter when the Pugs would go on a 10-0 run to open up their largest lead of the game, 36-20. R. Jeandemange would score six points in the run as Paoli had a commanding lead at the break.
Maysville would come out strong in the second half behind the offensive play of Power and Donaho and a tough defense. The Warriors would cut into the lead early in the second half and a 9-2 run at the end of the third quarter cut the lead to five. Donaho scored six points in the run cutting the score to 43-38.
The run would continue on into the fourth quarter as Maysville extended the run to 17-6 cutting the lead to 47-46 with just under four minutes remaining.
Johnson would hit two short jumpers and R. Jeandemange would added a pair of free throws in a 6-0 run over the next minute.
Maysville would cut the lead to three with a minute to go after a Dalton Hunter put back in the lane. Maysville would get a steal but would miss a shot that would have cut the lead to one.
After a miss on the other end by Paoli, Maysville would miss another two-point shot. Maysville’s Jim Bohnstedt would get the rebound and was fouled but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Maysville would force a turnover and get the ball out of bounds. Hunter would have a wide open look at a three pointer as the shot was on line but hit the front of the rim.
Maysville was forced to foul and R. Jeandemange put the game out of reach with under 10 seconds remaining with a pair of free throws.
Maysville falls to the consolation side of the bracket where they will face the loser of Stratford and Wayne. Paoli advances on to face the winner of that same game.
