By Matt M. Stutz

The Pandora-Gilboa boys basketball team made a huge statement Saturday night taking control of the Putnam County League standings with a convincing 63-40 win over rival Ottoville (2-1 PCL, 9-3).  A trio of Rockets reached double digit scoring and the win keeps the Rockets undefeated on the season at 12-0.

Played in front of a full house at the Launch Pad, P-G gave the home fans much to cheer about in the opening eight minutes of this highly anticipated match-up.  The Rockets flew out to an early 15-8 advantage, as close as the game would be all night.

Led by a tenacious defense, P-G then blew the game wide open in the second quarter as the Rockets outscored the Big Green 24-7 to go up 39-15 at the halftime break. P-G senior Aiden Harris hit two trifectas, scoring fifteen of his game high 19 points in the quarter.

The Rockets were not done.  They started slow in the early minutes of the third quarter but eventually went up by as many as twenty-five points and led 53-28 heading into the final quarter.  Ottoville had no answer all night long.

P-G’s Colin Harris scattered his scoring throughout all four quarters, finishing his night with 14 points.  Teammate Nate Maag pumped in nine first half points on his way to 11 points.  Others to find the bottom of the net for the Rockets were Zack Neuenschwander who chipped in with 6 points. Owen Huffman and Nate Walker each added 5 points a-piece as Walker knocked down a first half three-pointer. Finally Cam Verhoff hit a third quarter layup for his 2 points and Aidan Morris hit a couple of late free throws to also finish with 2 points.

The Rockets will take the court again this Friday night, Jan. 19 when they host Arlington (6-4) in a Blanchard Valley Conference tilt.  P-G will then host Delphos St. John’s (8-2) in big non-conference match-up Saturday evening Jan. 20.