Waterford's Finn Pennock (left) puts up a shot against Peebles during Monday's Division VI District Semifinal in Waverly. (Photo by Patricia Miller)

WAVERLY – The No.8 seeded Waterford Wildcats t

ook care of the basketball and rebounded well enough Monday evening to hang with top-seeded Peebles in their Division VI District Semi-Final at Waverly Downtown Arena but the Wildcats simply didn’t make enough shots to get over the jump.

The end result was a 69-58 loss to eliminate the Wildcats from the playoffs.

The Wildcats trailed by just six points at halftime but quickly fell behind by double digits in the third quarter and were never quite able to claw their way back into it against a deep Peebles squad.

Waterford outrebounded the Indians by a healthy 36-22 margin and only turned the ball over nine times but were done in by a dismal 32 percent (19-of-59) shooting performance including 6-of-26 from behind the arc.

Waterford's Avery Pottmeyer dribbles downcourt against a pair of Peebles defenders during Monday's Division VI District Semifinal in Waverly. (Photo by Patricia Miller)

The Indians (19-3), who will advance to the District Final, were led by Josh McClary with 22 points and Bo Johnson with 13 while Paxton Ryan and Colyn Sims finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.

The D.J. Cunningham coached Wildcats (11-12) were paced by Reece Lang with 17 including four 3-pointers and Avery Pottmeyer with a dozen.

Finn Pennock finished with a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards while senior Weston Fairchild added six points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Fairchild along with team manager Ryker Hutchins are the only seniors on the Wildcat roster.

Cunningham had high praise for what Fairchild has meant to his team.

Waterford's Gavin Hiener (1) goes up for the block attempt during Monday's Division VI District Semifinal against Peebles in Waverly. (Photo by Patricia Miller)

“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen so much growth from one year to the next in a high school basketball player,” said Cunninham of Fairchild. “His willingness to give 110 percent and sacrifice every single night for the betterment of the team was incredible.”

Peebles will advance to the District Final Sunday afternoon (2 p.m.) at The Convo in Athens.