Tuesday night’s Alachua County showdown between host P.K. Yonge and unbeaten Newberry had two double-digit scoring runs.

The host Blue Wave had their run early, but a 13-0 outburst midway through the third quarter helped keep Class 3A No. 1 Newberry (6-0) unbeaten with a 76-68 win on the road.

“I thought both teams played really hard, really well,” said Newberry coach Patrick Green. “At times, I question our team’s motivation and how hard they were playing. There’s a couple of things that we talked about in the locker room that we wanted to get done, as far as being better at boxing out. I don’t think we did a good job of that tonight, and I think it came back to bite us.”

Although P.K. Yonge got it back to single digits, including a 2-possession game with less than 20 seconds to play, the Blue Wave (3-5) never got closer than six following the Panthers’ third-quarter run.

But early on, the home team was primed for an upset with a double-digit lead.

“I felt like they were the tougher team, both mentally and physically,” said P.K. Yonge coach Willie Powers III. “We started off strong, but we had a couple of mental lapses. They hit first all night, and the whistle goes to the aggressor. That’s a very good team, very well coached, very disciplined. It’s no mistake that they’re undefeated now, and they were undefeated most of last year. They’ve got a good thing going over there, and I really respect their program right now.”

Newberry senior guard Henry Mathias opened the scoring with a 3-pointer near the left corner a little over two minutes into the first quarter.

PKY’s freshman guard Jayden Harriott answered with a 3-ball near the right corner, sparking a 10-0 run which ended with a pair of free throws by 6’7 junior forward Eugene Hall (14 points) for a 10-3 lead with 4:30 left in the first quarter.

The Blue Wave, who only dressed eight players, took their largest lead of the game, 20-10, on a layup by Harriott with 1:44 remaining in the quarter.

Harriott scored 15 of his 19 points in the opening half.

“He’s only a freshman, trying to figure out how to deal with the physicality of the game, and it’s a lot on his shoulders right now, but I think he’s handling it well,” Powers said.

A pair of 3-pointers by Newberry, one in the right corner by senior Kai Washington (5 points), and one on the left wing by junior Darius Debose (7 points) with 11 seconds left, cut it to four, 22-18, at the end of the opening quarter.

Debose and Washington helped Newberry’s bench outscore P.K. Yonge, 18-0, including 14-0 in the opening half.

“Their bench was ready,” Powers said. “They came in and they had no drop off at some points. They actually added to their lead when they went to the bench, and that’s just a tribute to what they have going in the program.”

The Blue Wave maintained their lead throughout most of the second quarter until senior guard Juwan Scippio’s offensive put back tied it, followed by a layup left side by Mathias, which gave the Panthers a 32-30 lead with 3:57 remaining in the half.

There were three more lead changes in the quarter, including junior Reggie Williams’ tip-in with four seconds left in the half to give the Panthers a 40-39 lead at the break.

Newberry held P.K. Yonge scoreless for over three minutes in the second half of the third quarter and went on a 13-0 run to turn a 1-point lead, 47-46, into a 60-46 advantage.

Scippio scored 11 of his team-high 20 points in the second half, which put him within four points of 1,000 points in his career.

“Juwan is one of those kids that if you shut him down one way, he’s going to find a way,” Green said. “His defense has been massive for us. He’s a great scorer of the basketball, but the kid just does it all.”

Mathias had 11 of his 18 points in the second half.

“I always call those two (Mathias & Scippio) brothers,” Green said. “They’re a lot to like in a lot of ways. They play a lot of basketball together. They just find ways to win ball games.”

Junior guard Decedric Sowell scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half to keep the Blue Wave in the game.

“He’s getting better,” Powers said. “He’s getting better every week. He had a slow start to the season, but we watched a lot of film, did a lot of talking, and his game has grown. He’s not only grown as a player, but he’s starting to grow as a leader and see the game through my eyes, which feels good as a coach, and he’s reaping the benefits right now.”

Despite being down 13 following an and-one by Mathias for a 73-60 lead with 2:17 remaining, the Blue Wave didn’t give up.

Sowell hit a right-wing 3-pointer to cut it to single digits with 49 seconds left, then got fouled and made three free throws with 17 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to six at 74-68.

Newberry’s game at The Rock on Thursday was canceled, so the Panthers will be off until Friday, when they travel to Fort White.

P.K. Yonge will host North Marion (Citra) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.