CENTENARY, Ohio — The Blue Devils finish strong and pick up their second straight win.

Gallia Academy out scored the visiting Marauders by 15 in the second half Saturday night to secure the 53-38 victory.

GAHS (3-5) took advantage of Meigs’ (4-3) slow start and jumped out to an 8-0 lead midway through the first quarter. MHS answered with a 8-to-2 run but GAHS scored four unanswered points to end the opening stanza with a 14-8 edge.

The Marauders flipped the script in the second, slowing the pace and out scoring Gallia Academy 11-to-5 in the quarter. The teams went into the half tied at 19.

The third quarter began much like the first, with an 8-0 GAHS run. Meigs rattled off eight points in the final 3:30 of the third but a pair of three-pointers gave the Blue Devils the six point lead headed into the finale.

After a 4-to-2 MHS run to start the fourth Gallia Academy scored 11 consecutive points to expand it’s lead to 15 points. Each team scored seven points over the final 4:30 and the Blue Devils earned the 53-38 win.

Gallia Academy was led by senior Justin Bailey, who finished with 14 points. Nick Clagg finished with eight points, while Aaron Jackson, Wes Jarrell and Jimmy Clagg each contributed with six. Cody Call marked five points, while Wade Jarrell and Reid Eastman each scored four points to round out the GAHS total.

The Blue Devils hit a trio of three-pointers on the night, two by Jackson and one by Call. All three long-balls came in the second half of play. GAHS was 6-of-9 from the charity stripe in the game, equaling 66.7 percent. Gallia Academy committed 14 turnovers in the triumph.

Meigs was led by freshman guard Kaileb Sheets who finished with 11 points on the night, including the Marauders only three-pointer. Cody Stewart finished with 10 points and five rebounds, while Jared Williamson finished with nine points and six rebounds. Ty Phelps, Dillon Boyer, Treay McKinney and Jordan Hutton each contributed two points to round out the MHS total.

The Maroon and Gold shot 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from the free throw line, 15-of-41 (36.6 percent) from the field, and just 1-of-7 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Meigs committed 16 turnovers on the night, half of which came in the first quarter.

The loss ends the Marauders four game winning streak, while Gallia Academy has now won two consecutive games.

This is the lone meeting between the Marauders and the Blue Devils this season.