WARDSVILLE, Mo. - After a flurry of four games in seven days to start the season, the Blair Oaks boys basketball team was looking forward to some practice time to polish its game.
After spending the next eight days on the practice floor, the Falcons came out Tuesday night shining like a diamond.
The Falcons took a 50-point lead twice before cruising to a 78-30 win against the South Callaway Bulldogs.
"I was really pleased with the energy to start the game," Blair Oaks coach Ryan Fick said. "I thought the first guys out there did a good job of setting the tone and then the guys who came in off the bench sustained that level of energy."
While the Falcons looked very good in their previous game, which had moved their record to 4-0, they looked refreshed in Game No. 5. Blair Oaks raced out to a 13-2 lead in a little more than a minute and half, pushing the edge to 25-4 at the end of the first quarter.
The Falcons forced 11 turnovers in the period, turning them into 18 points.
"We did a a good job of creating offense from our defense," Fick said. "And after eight days off, we were ready to play. We were able to slow things down in practice and pinpoint some things we saw that we needed to work on. And we were able to get some time off, too, over the weekend, which was really good for everybody. ... I think we got our legs underneath of us and we did look fresh."
The Falcons kept the pressure on in the second quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 22-9 to take a 47-13 lead into halftime.
Not only did the Falcons have three players in double figures by halftime, but at the break, Jordan Hair led the way with 14 to outscore the Bulldogs by himself. C.J. Closser had 12 points of his own and Jason Rackers added 11.
"It speaks to how we share the basketball that over the first several games, we're averaging about 18 or 19 assists per game," Fick said. "We've got guys who enjoy making that extra pass and seeing their teammates succeed. When you have that, good things can happen."
The Falcons came out of the locker room and had their third straight quarters in the 20s, outscoring the Bulldogs 22-8 to take a 69-21 lead into the final period.
The entire fourth quarter was played with a running clock due to the mercy rule. The lead twice hit 50 - once on a pair of free throws by Thomas Verslues that made it 71-21, and then on a three-point play by Verslues that made it 76-26.
Hair ended up with a game-high 17 points, Closser had 14 and Rackers ended up with a double by scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
"I feel like we've got a very unselfish team, there's great chemistry among these guys," Fick said. "They don't really care who gets the credit, they just care about each other and they enjoy seeing each other have success. You don't always have that in a team, but our chemistry is one of our biggest attributes."
The Falcons return to action Friday when they travel to Hickman.
In Tuesday's JV game, Blair Oaks rolled to an 82-26 win.
Clayton Backes led a balanced effort for the Falcons with 17 points. Dylan Skinner added 14, Ethan Luebbering had 13 and Drew Boessen and Justin Cobb had 12 apiece.
Blair Oaks (3-0) will host Eldon today in the Blair Oaks JV Tournament.