Williamstown's Parker Schramm, who went for a game-high 22 points, uses a screen by teammate Cruz Isaly to get away from Parkersburg Catholic's Preston Randolph during the Yellowjackets' 65-29 victory Thursday night. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

PARKERSBURG — Parker Schramm’s thunderous slam via a Cruz Isaly assist off the backboard in the third quarter here Thursday night for part of his game-high 22 points helped Class AA, No. 4 Williamstown extend its winning to streak to four games after the Yellowjackets saddled Parkersburg Catholic with a 65-29 setback.

The 3-8 Crusaders of head coach Jim McLean, who will try to snap a four-game slide come 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Waterford, led 2-0 thanks to a Preston Randolph deuce and only trailed 6-5 at the 4:22 mark after Leonardo DeAngelo drained a 3 via a Branson Lott assist, but WHS scored the final 12 points of the stanza and never looked back.

On a night when the ‘Jackets shot nearly 50% in the first half, PCHS was unable to find its range from distance missing 10 of 11 from deep in the opening 16 minutes.

“I mean I actually thought we played well in the first quarter. We came out rebounding well, which was our goal,” admitted coach McLean, who got 11 points from DeAngelo, eight from Preston Randolph, six bench counters by Jayden Walker and a quartet of markers from Carter Nelson. “We got open looks. They just didn’t fall and it seemed like every shot they made from about three minutes in the first quarter until halftime went in.

“We had the exact same looks and they just didn’t go in so credit to them. This ended our first half of the season and we’re about to start the second half where we have a lot more teams in our region coming up and LKC teams. I scheduled a lot of these teams so we could get better on the front end so hopefully on the back end we can start finding ways to win and understand where our deficiencies are.”

Williamstown's Wyatt Powell, who had a game-high three steals, makes a pass to the post as Parkersburg Catholic's Leonardo DeAngelo (4) defends during the Yellowjackets' 65-29 victory Thursday night. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Schramm pumped in a dozen points in the first and his putback at the 5:13 mark put the visitors ahead for good.

“Look, it’s a conference game. I think Catholic is pretty good,” admitted ‘Jacket boss Scott Sauro, who got 12 points along with game-highs of eight boards and six assists from Isaly as well as 10 counters and seven caroms from Jayden Bryant. “I think their record is deceiving because they’ve played some teams really tough.

“They can shoot the ball. They have a lot of kids who can shoot the ball. I know that we kind of jumped on them there, but they are a very capable team because they are so good from the perimeter. That was a worry of ours coming into the game.”

The 12-0 spurt to end the first started with an Isaly dime to Carson Hill, who joined teammate Tyler Keiser with five markers.

Although a three-point play by DeAngelo with 2:12 to go in the half made it 31-14, the ‘Jackets scored the final six points, which included a Bryant hoop via an Issac Beall assist for the 23-point intermission bulge.

Williamstown's Cruz Isaly, who scored 12 points and had game-highs of eight rebounds and six assists, challenges the shot of Parkersburg Catholic's Carter Nelson during the Yellowjackets' 65-29 victory Thursday night. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Williamstown, which improved to 8-3 and extended its winning streak to four games, opened the third with a 6-0 run thanks to hoops by Schramm, Lynken Joy and Bryant.

Schramm’s highlight reel throwdown, which made it 51-17, came following a steal by Hill, who got the ball ahead to Isaly. The ‘Jacket point guard, who had a no-look behind the back dime to Hill in transition during the second quarter, attacked the basket in front of the WHS bench. As he approached the block he passed the ball off the backboard to the other side and Schramm came barreling down the lane to flush it home.

Williamstown will try to keep the good times rolling come 2:45 p.m. Saturday in New Martinsville for the Rotary Challenge when the Yellowjackets square off versus Class A, No. 1 Tucker County.

“It’s a team that we don’t see all the time. We know how good they are,” admitted coach Sauro. “They were in the state finals last year in single-A. They beat the defending state champion (Tug Valley) earlier this year and they’ve got a nice team because they have good bigs.

“They have good guard play. They shoot from the perimeter well and they attack the basket well.

Williamstown's Carson Hill challenges a shot by Parkersburg Catholic's Branson Lott during the Yellowjackets' 65-29 victory Thursday night. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

They present a lot of challenges, but we’re excited to go play them. It’s a good opportunity for us. We’ll go up there and give it our best shot.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

Williamstown's Parker Schramm, who went for a game-high 22 points, draws a charge on Parkersburg Catholic's Leonardo DeAngelo during the Yellowjackets' 65-29 victory Thursday night. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)