COVINGTON — Franklinton split a pair of games against St. Paul’s School on Tuesday, capturing the first, but falling in the second.

The opener was a 54-42 win, as Darrius Dawson put on a shooting clinic to the tune of 27 points, which included seven 3-pointers.

“He can fill it up, can’t he?” Franklinton coach Brad Oestriecher said. “He’s a very good vocal leader for us. He’s got a ton of talent, he’s got a rare ability to score and you saw his ability tonight.”

Dawson, who will be a senior next season, showed off his scoring ability from different spots on the floor.

The Demons jumped out to a 21-9 lead. Up 10-7 with 12:28 remaining in the first quarter, Franklinton went on a 9-2 run.

Dawson began the spurt by hitting a floater after a backcourt steal by the Demons. Sheldon Baham made a steal and passed to Sam Smith for two. St. Paul’s got fouled and hit a shot, but was unable to convert the three-point play, trimming it to 14-9.

The Demons then scored seven straight. Baham, who had 10, was good for two. Dawson nailed a 3-pointer and then T.Y. Pope drove baseline and hit the reverse layup to make it 21-9 with 7:59 remaining in the first half.

St. Paul’s cut the lead to 25-17 by halftime, but Dawson stretched the lead back to double digits on the Demons’ opening possession of the second half with a 3-pointer.

Baham added two more to the advantage and Dawson was good on a three-point play. The Demons were up 33-19 just 4:31 into the second half.

Franklinton led by as many as 23 in the second half at 53-30 with 4:07 left.

St. Paul’s made a run toward the end, outscoring Franklinton 12-1 down the stretch, as the Demons won 54-42.

Smith finished with nine points while Pope had four and Zach Riley and DeAndre Martin recorded two each.

Oestriecher said he was happy with what he saw in the first game.

“We’ve gotten better and better,” Oestriecher said. “Our defense was what I was happy with. We shut down a little at the end there, but to hold a team like that in the 30s in summer league games is pretty good.”

St. Paul’s scored its 40th point with 21 seconds left.

The second game was a 57-55 loss for the Demons.

Franklinton is back in action Tuesday at Lakeshore with games against Mandeville and Lakeshore at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively.

In the Mandeville Basketball League, teams play a pair of 20-minute halves with a running clock, which does not stop until there is a minute left in each half. At that point, the game goes back to standard clock operating procedures and stops on every whistle.