Williamstown’s Louis Goodnow (0) handles the ball during Tuesday’s game against Magnolia. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

WILLIAMSTOWN – At times, Magnolia felt right at home shooting in an opposing gymnasium.

Putting forth its best effort of the season, the Blue Eagles kept No. 3 ranked Williamstown on edge for three-plus quarters only to fall to the unbeaten Yellowjackets, 70-51, on Tuesday night.

“Magnolia had a good gameplan coming in,” Williamstown coach Scott Sauro said after his ballclub improved to 8-0. “They had a good defensive gameplan and they were patient on offense. And they made shots.

“I thought my guys played hard, especially in the first half. We just weren’t real efficient offensively. We were just a little uneven.”

Magnolia, which kept Williamstown in close view by knocking down 6-of-8 3-pointers in the third quarters, trailed 57-48 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter before the Yellowjackets slammed the door shut with a pair of baskets from Parker Schramm – including his fourth 3-pointer of the game – as part of a 9-0 run.

Williamstown’s Parker Schramm (2) goes up for a jumper during Tuesday’s game against Magnolia. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“I think this is our best effort to date,” Magnolia coach Dave Tallman said after his Blue Eagles slipped to 2-6. “Even though we lost, to come in here and have Williamstown run 10 guys at us under the circumstances (of team illnesses), I think we are getting better. We are getting smarter.”

Schramm scored a team-high 24 points while surpassing the 20-point barrier for the third consecutive game. The streak could almost be considered four if not for his 18-point effort at St. Albans.

“Parker has really expanded his game,” Sauro said. “Obviously, he is a very good 3-point shooter. Now he is able to put the ball on the floor and go to the rim. It’s not only good for his development, but it is also very beneficial to our team to have another guy who can attack the basket.”

A total of three Yellowjackets scored in double figures, including Jayden Bryant, who scored 10 of his 15 points in the opening quarter as the Yellowjackets led by as many as 14 points at 22-8.

WHS point guard Cruz Isaly added 10 points, including two on a nifty out of bounds play with two seconds remaining in the first half. With the ball underneath the Yellowjacket hoop, Isaly inbounded the ball off the back of a Magnolia defender. The ball kicked right back to Isaly for the easy lay-in on the bang-bang play.

Magnolia definitely gutted it out with starters Hayden Pyles and Kingsten Christen fighting the flu bug recently. Pyles missed three days of practice but kept the Blue Eagles in shouting range with a game-high 26 points on four 3-pointers. Christen was a game-time decision and still finished with 12 points.

“I’m really proud of my guys being mentally tough tonight — they dug deep and competed for 32 minutes,” Tallman said.

At the outset, Williamstown blindsided Magnolia with a 14-0 run. Schramm contributed a pair of threes and another two assists on Bryant’s two 3-pointers.

The gap held steady at 14 (32-18) in the second quarter when Magnolia created some momentum and responded with an 8-0 surge.

Williamstown turned the game back in its favor by ending the first half on an 8-0 run and leading 40-26.

Magnolia’s best offensive production occurred in the third quarter as three different Blue Eagles combined for six threes — the same number of total field goals for the team in the period which resulted in Williamstown being outscored 18-17.

Five Magnolia turnovers in the quarter negated any opportunity to reduce the gap to single digits. The Yellowjackets took a 57-44 lead into the final eight minutes.

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com