Staff photo / Brian Yauger. Badger’s Preston Geracitano (3) goes up for a layup past Mathews’ Jayden Perkins (30) on Tuesday.

VERNON — To call Duncan Moy’s start on Tuesday “hot” would be an understatement. The senior went thermonuclear in the first quarter to propel Badger past rival Mathews in an 86-57 victory for the Braves.

Moy scored 24 of the team’s 35 first quarter points and had 30 total points in the first half, finishing with 42.

For a team that has had issues starting games the way they want, Moy’s early explosion was a welcome surprise for the Braves.

“You just can’t explain things like that,” Braves coach Josh Upshire said. “Then Preston (Geracitano) followed up when Duncan didn’t have a shot and (Geracitano) was three feet behind the line making shots too.

“It was good to see us come out strong. We typically aren’t starting like that. We went to Mathews and we got down by 17 in the first half, and against Pymatuning Valley here, we got down 14-0 so we’re typically not a hot-starting team, so that was good to see. Hopefully we can keep that going.”

After Moy’s red-hot start, the California University of Pennsylvania commit settled back down, which allowed Mathews to inch their way back into the game.

Closing the gap to as little as four points in the middle frames, the Mustangs put a tough effort together, but just ran out of gas.

That first quarter was just too much to overcome.

“Duncan was the difference. He scored 24 of the first 35, but our kids are resilient,” Mathews coach Michael Weymer said. “We were never going to quit. We knew we would fight our way back into the game.

“Our kids, they care and they give us everything they have. For us to beat Badger, especially up here, we really have got to hit some shots. The first time we played them, I think we hit 16 threes and still lost. They have Duncan and we don’t.”

As the Mustangs were running out of gas, Badger was getting its second wind. At that point it was going to come down to which team was hitting shots late, and that team was Badger.

“A lot of times you just let guys do what they do. It’s not a whole lot of X’s and O’s,” Upshire said. “(Weymer) and I, (Bristol coach) Craig (Giesy) and I, we all know each other. We all know the tendencies of what everybody’s going to do. Players just have to make plays. Great thing for us is that we have (Moy) and (Geracitano) on our team.”

Moy and Geracitano’s 21 points combined for 63 in total.

Mathews and Badger has been one of the premier tilts across the area over the last few seasons.

The programs each have undergone a renaissance under their alumni coaches, each of whom have crossed the 100-win threshold with their teams this year.

Their biseasonal contests usually have postseason and league implications as well. That’s led to some intense battles over the years, including Tuesday’s game.

“(Games like) this are what makes our league great,” Weymer said. “Every night you have two small schools, small school communities come out to support their kids. Our kids look forward to these games every year. At Badger, Pymatuning Valley, Maplewood, they matter to these kids. I’ve got a locker room that’s searching for answers, but I know we’ll find them. We’ll get in the right direction before the end of the year.”

The Mustangs (9-6, 5-6) look to set things right on their home floor for the first time in almost a month, when they host Fairport Harding on Friday.

With league title hopes on the line, the Braves travel to Andover to take on Pymatuning Valley.

Badger took the first meeting of the season 71-69, but it’s a different kind of battle in Ashtabula County.

“We’ve got to come out hot up there. It’s a tough place to shoot,” Upshire said. “We typically don’t start out well there, but we have to come out hot, play some defense, have to rebound the ball and limit them to one shot as much as possible. I know with their length, it’s hard to do, but we’re going to try and limit the second chance points and hopefully we can do that like we did during the fourth quarter tonight.”

byauger@tribtoday.com