Ben’s Ford built a 10-point halftime lead with solid defense, and a gridiron connection that moved to the hardwood, helped play a key role in the Eagles’ 58-49 victory over Central Private.
The host Eagles jumped out to a 12-3 lead after the first quarter Tuesday.
Central Private won the tip and scored when Joey Torres, who scored four points, hit for two.
Ben’s Ford then went on a 12-1 run.
Tyler Winstead started the spurt by tallying a fastbreak layup to tie it at the 7:39 mark. Kameron Underwood hit a layup. Winstead hit for two and got fouled. He missed the free throw, but Underwood grabbed the offensive rebound and was good after grabbing his own miss.
Jacob Dale, who had 11 points, split from the line, to make it 8-3 with 3:29 left, but Ben’s Ford showed good ball movement when Winstead passed to Justin Moore, who went back to Winstead for two. Moore passed to Jarrett Williams for a field goal with 1:15 left for a 12-3 lead after one.
Ben’s Ford led 23-13 lead at the break.
The Eagles had a big third quarter, ballooning their lead to 20.
“We came into the game and coach told us, the defense, they’re going to be trying to build those traps in the corners,” Winstead said. “Whenever they did that, it’s kind of easy. Getting double-teamed, you’ve got someone standing under the goal open and that’s where we got a lot of points and a lot of open looks because they were double teaming us.”
The second half’s first five points came a familiar connection to Eagles’ football fans.
Winstead passed to Underwood for a 3-pointer and the Eagles were up, 26-13. The connection went the opposite way for the next two when Underwood found Winstead for a layup. It was 28-13 with 6:27 left.
Winstead is the Ben’s Ford quarterback and was first-team all-district. Underwood played tight end/wide receiver this season and was the league’s MVP this season.
Underwood scored 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out two assists. Winstead recorded a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds to go with three assists, a steal and two blocked shots.
“Me and Tyler have always had that connection,” Underwood said. “In football, he was able to always find me on those touchdown passes and he’s able to find me on (the basketball court as well). He has really good vision when it comes to sports and he’s able to find open people and that’s what he does best.”
The Eagles led 38-25 with 1:37 left and finished with a 7-0 run.
Isaac Wascom found Underwood for a layup. Winstead went to Underwood, who was fouled, hit the shot and the free throw for a 43-25 lead. Williams found Winstead at the buzzer to cap the run and Ben’s Ford led 45-25 through three.
“We had a little bit of a ‘Come to Jesus’ meeting at halftime,” Ben’s Ford coach Landon Tims said. “We didn’t play in the first half. By my standards, we didn’t play well in the second half either, but we got a few steals, we got a couple easy layups, but we’ve got a lot of room for improvement.
“I hate to beat my guys down, especially when they’re 2-0, but we’ve got a lot of room to grow. We’ve got to cut the turnovers out. We’ve got to be better at the free-throw line (7-for-16, 43.7 percent). We just have to overall be better. Maybe that’s a little harsh when we’re 2-0, but it is what it is. I tell them all the time, I expect perfection and that’s what we’re striving for.”
Central Private got as close as nine, as Ben’s Ford won, 58-49.
Jarvis Dawson scored nine points, pulled down eight boards while adding two steals and two blocks. Tucker Keating had two points, four rebounds, an assist and six steals. Williams posted two points, a rebound and an assist. Seth Schilling and Seth Burns tallied two points and two boards each. Wascom had two points a board, two assists and three steals. Moore and Dalton Crain had two assists each and Gage Tervalon made a steal.
Jace Pendarvis led Central Private with 15 points.
Braxtoon Shows scored five points while Blake Kolb and Nick Weber had four each, Joe Romero posted two and Kory Nisoka, Parker Toural and Lawson Turner added one each.
Like the Eagles, Central Private struggled at the charity stripe, hitting just 15-of-28 (53.5 percent).
The Eagles made it 3-0 with Thursday’s 70-63 home victory over Sylva Bay Academy.
Underwood had a huge night with a double-double. He had 36 points and 13 rebounds to go with two assists and a steal.
Winstead had 12 points, seven boards, three assists and a blocked shot.Keating tallied 11 points, four rebounds an assist and two steals. Schilling totaled five points, eight boards, an assist and a blocked shot. Williams recorded two points, a rebound and an assist. Dawson finished with two points to go with seven rebounds and two steals. Crain had two points and Tervalon added four rebounds, five assists and five steals.