Edwardsburg boys basketball coach Steve Wright started clearing his bench with 2:41 left in Friday’s game against Paw Paw.

A battle for first place in the Wolverine Conference West Division was dominated by the Eddies as Edwardsburg rolled past Paw Paw, 70-49.

The Eddies, who improved to 3-1 in the division and 7-2 overall, never trailed and went into halftime with a 45-27 lead.

“We played well and we played hard for four quarters,” said Edwardsburg boys basketball coach Steve Wright. “We were unselfish and shared the ball.”

In the first half, Edwardsburg shot 52-percent (16-of-31) from the field, made seven 3-pointers and turned the ball over only once.

Derek Pierce scored all 15 of his points, including two 3-pointers, in the first half for the Eddies.

Paw Paw, which fell to 4-1 in the division and 8-3 overall, pulled within 12 points of Edwardsburg three times in the second half, but couldn’t get any closer.

Jackson Gaideski scored nine of his 21 points for Edwardsburg in the third quarter. Gaideski also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

“Jackson had a great second half,” Wright said. “He was aggressive and really attacked the rim hard. We needed that. (Paw Paw) got to within 12 points and (Gaideski) hit a couple of big shots underneath for us. Jackson rebounded too. He really rebounds well and has a nose for the ball.”

Dante Razzano totaled 13 points and five rebounds for the Eddies, who outrebounded the Redskins, 34-26.

Collin Siwula scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Paw Paw.

 

EDWARDSBURG 70, PAW PAW 49

Paw Paw 49

Jacob Vorce 6, Parker Marcon 8, Jordan Edwards 0, Tanner Eubank 8, Collin Siwula 12, Nick Klingel 8, Eli Toliver 6, Luke Toliver 1, Julian Newell 0. TOTALS: 22 1-7 49

Edwardsburg 70

Dante Razzano 13, Jackson Gaideski 21, Dalton Raymond 4, Isaac Vite 2, Derek Pierce 15, Joe Queener 3, Adam Kozinski 8, Jon Albrecht 4, Ben Robertson 0, Shane Streb 0, Nate Brown 0. TOTALS: 26 11-21 70

 

Paw Paw                                 18        27      43       49

Edwardsburg                        27       45       60       70

3-point baskets: Paw Paw 4 (Eubank 2, Klingel 2), Edwardsburg 7 (Pierce 2, Kozinski 2, Razzano, Gaideski, Queener). Total fouls (fouled out): Paw Paw 16 (none), Edwardsburg 10 (none). Shooting: Paw Paw 22-of-54 for 41-percent, Edwardsburg 26-of-53 for 49-percent. Rebounding: Paw Paw 26 (Siwula 10), Edwardsburg 34 (Gaideski 8). Turnovers: Paw Paw 15, Edwardsburg 9. Varsity records: Paw Paw 8-3, 4-1 West; Edwardsburg 7-2, 3-1 West