EUGENE, Mo. - Talk about getting off to a fast start.
The Blair Oaks boys basketball team scored its first basket just three seconds into the season, then added two more in the next 45 seconds.
The Falcons raced out to a 21-5 lead against Calvary Lutheran in the first round of the Eugene Tournament, eventually claiming a 75-30 win Tuesday night.
"Getting out quick is always a good thing," Blair Oaks coach Ryan Fick said. "Especially when you have a lot of new faces, like we do, if you can come out and score quick and build a little bit of a lead, everybody can relax and just play."
Owen Luebbering won the opening tip and Jordan Null did the rest, driving in for a layup. The Falcons then forced back-to-back turnovers on Calvary's first two possessions, with C.J. Closser scoring layups after both.
That would be a trend on the night, as Blair Oaks forced 22 turnovers while committing just seven.
"One of the things we reallly preached before the game was to value the basketball," Fick said.
Blair Oaks, the third seed in the event, forced sixth-seeded to Calvary into eight first-quarter turnovers. The Falcons didn't commit a single one in the period and took that 16-point lead into the second quarter.
"Blair Oaks is really good, obviously, and we knew that," Calvary coach Mark Buffington said. "... At times it looked like we got happy to complete just one pass, and then it was like, "Now I'll shoot it.' (As a coach) you try to keep telling them, "Be patient.'"
While the tempo wasn't to Calvary's liking, the Lions managed to keep things from getting totally out of hand by getting the Falcons in foul trouble. Calvary was in the bonus with 3:42 left in the first quarter, and in the double bonus with 7:40 left in the second quarter.
At halftime, where the Falcons led 39-18, Calvary had just eight points from the field but added 10 points from the free-throw line.
"Our energy was really good, but our energy wasn't always smart, especially in the first half," Fick said. "... At times in the second half we overcompensated and tried to play defense without fouling and were too passive. We've got to find that happy medium."
With last year's leading scorer, Kory Franks, shooting an uncharacteristic 4-of-17 in the first half, the rest of the Falcons were an impressive 11-of-19 from the field.
"We were getting good looks," Fick said. "I thought our transition game was good - we were kicking ahead and finding the open guy, and we had guys running hard, which is always good."
The Falcons outscored the Lions 18-10 in the third quarter to take a 57-28 edge into the final period.
It didn't take Blair Oaks long to get the mercy rule into effect in that quarter, as the final 6:38 was played with the running clock after a three-point play by Jason Rackers. The 45-point final margin was the biggest lead of the game.
"It was three things," Buffington said. "One was turnovers, two was transition defense and three was we need to make shots. We missed some shots we needed to make.
"Once we got into the game a little bit, we started playing better. The kids played really hard. I was proud of our effort, we just got beat by a superior team. Hopefully it will make us better."
Closser scored a game-high 16 points to pace Blair Oaks, while Franks was close behind with 15. Luebbering racked up a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Kellen Griep chipped in with 12 points.
Beau Monson was the lone Calvary player in double figures with 12 points. Cal Kolzow and Hance Sommerer paced the Lions with eight rebounds each.
Blair Oaks will now play second-seeded Eugene at 6 p.m. Thursday in the winner's bracket semifinals. Calvary (0-2) will play seventh-seeded St. Elizabeth at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the loser's bracket semifinals.
"We need to start seeing teams like this now that we're in Class 2," Buffington said. "We knew we'd have a tough first-round game, but we'll have some games we can compete in after this."