THE PLAINS, Ohio — The Meigs boys basketball completed its 2012 regular season on a down note Thursday night during a 57-37 setback to host Athens in a Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division matchup in Athens County.

The visiting Marauders (1-18, 1-9 TVC Ohio) never led in the contest, as the Bulldogs (10-9, 7-2) jumped out to an early 8-0 lead before claiming an 11-4 edge through eight minutes of play. AHS followed with a 14-8 run in the second canto, giving the hosts a 25-12 intermission advantage.

Athens kept that momentum going into the second half, as the Bulldogs used a 20-11 third quarter surge to take a comfortable 45-23 cushion into the finale. MHS responded with a small 14-12 spurt down the stretch, but the guests never came within real striking distance.

With the win, Athens claimed a season sweep of Meigs after posting a 52-49 decision at Larry R. Morrison Gymnasium back on Dec. 16. The loss was also the fourth straight for the Marauders as they head into tournament play.

Meigs connected on 13-of-39 field goal attempts for 33 percent, including a 6-of-11 effort from three-point range for 55 percent. The guests were outrebounded by a 31-24 margin and also committed 20 turnovers in the setback, compared to only nine giveaways by the Bulldogs.

Dillon Boyer led MHS with 12 points, followed by Jordan Hutton with six points and Michael Davis with five markers. Rocco Casci and Jesse Smith both chipped in four points apiece, while Cody Mattox and Dustin Ulbrich respectively added three and two markers.

Jared Williamson rounded out the Marauder scoring with one point. The guests were 5-of-11 at the free throw line for 45 percent.

Athens made 23-of-54 shot attempts for 43 percent, including a 3-of-13 effort from behind the arc for 27 percent. The hosts were also 8-of-16 at the charity stripe for 50 percent.

Josh Maxson paced the Bulldogs with a game-high 16 points, followed by Joe Burrow with 11 points and Nick Stanley with 10 markers. The Senior Night contest at Charles McAfee Gymnasium was originally supposed to be played Friday, but was moved to Thursday because of Division II and Division III wrestling tournaments at AHS this weekend.

Meigs opens Division III sectional play Tuesday when it travels to Athens High School for a semifinal matchup against Alexander at 8 p.m.

Athens 57, Meigs 37

M 4-8-11-14 — 37

A 11-14-20-12 — 57

MEIGS (1-18, 1-9 TVC Ohio): Dillon Boyer 5 0-0 12, Jordan Hutton 2 0-1 6, Rocco Casci 1 2-4 4, Cody Mattox 1 0-0 3, Jesse Smith 1 2-4 4, Ty Phelps 0 0-0 0, Michael Davis 2 0-0 5, Cody Stewart 0 0-0 0, Dustin Ulbrich 1 0-0 2, Jared Williamson 0 1-2 1, Dennis Teaford 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 13 5-11 37. Three-point goals: 6 (Boyer 2, Hutton 2, Davis, Mattox). Field Goals: 13-39 (.333). Rebounds: 24 (Smith 7). Turnovers: 20.

ATHENS (10-9, 7-2 TVC Ohio): Nick Stanley 5 0-0 10, Josh Skinner 2 0-0 5, Josh Maxson 6 4-4 16, Kramer Simmons 3 2-4 8, Joe Burrow 4 1-2 11, Ryan Luerhman 2 0-2 4, Michael Germano 0 1-2 1, Sawyer Summers 0 0-0 0, Adam Luehrman 0 0-0 0, Kyle McCarthy 1 0-0 2, Jared Elmore 0 0-2 0. TOTALS: 23 8-16 57. Three-point goals: 3 (Burrow 2, Skinner). Field Goals: 23-54 (.426). Rebounds: 31 (Maxson 9). Turnovers: 9.