PARKERSBURG — A barrage of second-half scoring was largely the difference, as the Parkersburg South Patriots took this round of the crosstown showdown, 70-52 over the rival Parkersburg Big Reds on Friday night from the Rod Oldham Athletic Center. Malaki Sylvia led the way with 21 points, as he forced the issue early and often. His physical play lended itself to the pace of this one, and nine points in the first quarter helped get the ball rolling. After a bucket from PHS’s Julian Martin cut the South lead down to 13-11 with just a few minutes left in the opening stanza, Alex Woolard found Sylvia on the inside with two minutes left, and that was the final time the Big Reds were within one possession of the Patriots. A one-handed jam in transition from Sylvia furthered the Patriot cause, and a coast-to-coast layup by Jake Hogsett pushed the lead to 19-12 as time was expiring. Sylvia attributed his performance to the atmosphere of the night, as he talked about what worked for the Southsiders. “I think it’s just the PHS game,” Sylvia said as to what made this victory possible. “I mean, this rivalry always gives you a little bit more adrenaline than any other game would. I just think that for me, coming into a rivalry game puts a chip on my shoulder. I noticed they weren’t very big inside, so I took advantage of that.”