AMBER – Am-Po coach Steve Spears spent last weekend watching his team improve. On Tuesday, he saw his Panthers dominate.

Building on a solid effort in the Comet Classic last weekend, Am-Po outscored visiting Wayne by 20 points in the first quarter and never looked back on the way to a 62-27 non-conference blowout Tuesday.

Kyler Nichols and Chase Johnson came up big in the decisive first quarter, combining to score 16 points, as the Panthers raced to a 23-3 lead after the first eight minutes of play.

The Panthers, who improved to 3-7 overall, scored the final 17 points of the first stanza to all but put the game out of reach.

Spears called it the Panthers' best performance to date and said his club built on a victory over Carnegie and hard-fought losses to Bray-Doyle and Healdton in The Classic last week. The loss to Bray-Doyle came in overtime.

"We've been playing a lot better in the last three or four games," said Spears, whose club struggled through a difficult early schedule that featured Okarche and Dale. "We played three really good games at the Velma tournament, and I think we've turned the corner."

Am-Po wouldn't let Wayne turn any corner without being challenged. The Panthers defense harassed Wayne's guards and challenged every shot, particularly from the perimeter.

Wayne won the rebound battle early, but the Bulldogs still didn't convert point-blank putbacks inside the the lane and found themselves mired in a scoring drought as dry as the Dust Bowl.

Wayne scored a free throw and field goal in the first two minutes of the game and then didn't score again for six more minutes. Meanwhile, Am-Po ramped up its transition game and mixed in some three-pointers to set the tone.

The Panthers built a 33-12 halftime lead and then padded their advantage to 30 points heading into the last period.

Nichols, a sophomore, came off the bench and helped pace the Panthers with 10 points. Junior Seth Mosier, who also came off the bench, scored 10 points as well. Chase Johnson added 9, and Josh Jackson and Tucker Collins each added 8.

Jackson made two three-pointers to help spark the Am-Po first quarter barrage.

Sam Martin scored a team-high 10 points for Wayne.