Staying at the top

TOLEDO, Ohio - It was a big night for high school league battles with several of the top teams successfully fending off challenges from worthy opponents.

In the City League, St. John's stayed perfect with a 68-53 against Waite. That kept some distance between the Titans and the rest of the league, where the four teams tied for second played each other on Friday night. In those games, Central Catholic beat Libbey 59-51 while Whitmer (fans pictured) held off St. Francis 61-57 on the strength of Dareon Jones' 20 points and key free throws down the stretch.

Meanwhile, the top NLL teams battled on Friday night too. Perrysburg stayed perfect with a 57-48 win over Bowling Green. The Yellow Jackets increased their lead over the Bobcats to two games. Charlie Hughes scored 27 points to lead the way.

The top two teams in the TAAC also rumbled and again, the top team going into the game came out victorious. Ottawa Hills triumphed over Toledo Christian 54-35. Eliot Browarsky score 20 points for the Green Bears.

More league noise at the top came in the Blanchard Valley Conference. Future Ohio State Buckeye Aaron Craft hit a three-pointer with five seconds left, helping to keep Liberty-Benton ahead of McComb with a 43-39 win.

Elsewhere, Eastwood staved off rival Elmwood 58-52 in overtime. The Eagles remain tied with Otsego atop the SLL after the Knights dispatched of Lake 67-44.

SCORES AND STATS called in...

BOYS
St. John's 68
Waite 53

Central Catholic 59
Libbey 51

Whitmer 61
St. Francis 57
-W: D.Jones 20 pts.

Start 73
Scott 49
-St: A.Henderson 25 pts.

Perrysburg 57
Bowling Green 48
-P: C.Hughes 27 pts.

Southview 64
Anthony Wayne 49
-SV: A.Borcherdt/A.Gant 17 pts. each
-AW: B.Celusta 18 pts.

Rossford 65
Maumee 51
-R: Z.Leahy 26 pts.

Springfield 61
Northview 41
-S: L.Alexander 25 pts.

Elmwood 58 F/OT
Eastwood 52

Otsego 67
Lake 44

Genoa 46
Northwood 37

Ottawa Hills 54
Toledo Christian 35
-OH: E.Browarsky 20 pts.

Liberty-Benton 43
McComb 39

Archbold 44
Wauseon 43

Hilltop 62
Pettisville 52