MERIDIAN - It's hard to imagine that in a game where 26 fouls were called in the first half, things didn't get ugly until the third quarter.

But after the whistles stopped blowing - or at least silenced for a bit - the Cato-Meridian boys basketball team opened up a 20-point lead over rival Port Byron en route to a 82-68 victory Friday night.

The Panthers' Jake Ross sparked a rally to bring Port Byron within 12, but when the junior picked up his fourth foul early in the fourth, the Blue Devils were able to balloon their lead back up to 18 and hold on for the OHSL Patriot League victory.

“It was a fun game to coach,” said Port Byron coach Chris Ford. “I don't think the score was any indication of the intensity on the floor.”

Ford's team scrapped for every loose ball until the end, until the Blue Devils were able to hold onto the ball for the last 20 seconds.

“We know that Port Byron is Port Byron and they're going to what they're going to do,” said Cato-Meridian coach Ryan Brunelle. “You're either going to have match them or run right through them.”

The Blue Devils were able to pick apart the Panthers midway through the third quarter, when Cato-Meridian was holding a six-point lead. A.J. Rothenburg, who Brunelle had held off the court due to foul trouble late in the first half, gave the Blue Devils an immediate spark.

The center was able to muscle his way inside to inch Cato-Meridian's advantage to 10 and open up things from the outside, leading to Andy Wegman and Preston Dennison's back-to-back 3s. After that, the Blue Devils were able to return to their post play.

“They hit a couple of 3s, then they went right back inside,” Ford said

When Rothenburg was on the bench, Brunelle said the Blue Devils were having a little trouble finding a new rhythm with one of their five experienced starters sitting out.

“We got away from what we wanted to do,” he said. “It was more of our guys trying to figure out who the next guy is.”

However, the inside-outside combination was clicking all night for Cato-Meridian, especially on the glass. The Blue Devils out-rebounded the Panthers 44-21 (Rothenburg and guard Dennison had eight each).

“It's not as much as our big men rebounding, but our big men boxing out so our guards can rebound,” Brunelle said.

As soon as the Blue Devils found its spark, it was able to move the ball well in the lane to create more opportunities and build on its lead. Brunelle credits the experience and basketball IQ of his five starters (Wegman, Rothenburg, Dennison, Dillon Caswell and Cody Humberstone) for the success.

“We get away with things we haven't been able to do in the past because we have five now,” he said.

Rothenburg lead all scorers with 23 points to go along with his eight rebounds and one block. Wegman added 19, Caswell had 14 and Dennison chipped in with 11.

For the Panthers, Ross paced the team with 18 points while DJ Helmer and Tom Giannettino had 13 apiece.

Cato-Meridian (3-0) hosts Pulaski Wednesday, while Port Byron has another county rivalry game with Weedsport the same night.