WARDSVILLE - It was tough to tell which stat was more impressive: The fact the Blair Oaks Falcons led Battle by as many as 27 points Monday night, or that they held the Spartans' Daviante Ostrander to just three points.
Whichever one you choose, both led to the Falcons capturing a victory.
The Falcons used some flawless first-half offensive execution to spark them to that big lead and they eventually cruised to a 66-48 win at home.
Blair Oaks head coach Ryan Fick said he was pleased by holding Ostrander, who averages nearly 15 points per game, to a single 3-pointer on 1-of-9 shooting.
"He's obviously at the top of the list on the scouting report," Fick said. "He's a very dynamic player, a three-year starter for them and we've played them at other times where he's gone off.
"I thought C.J. (Closser) did a great job with him, keeping him uncomfortable."
The Falcons, meanwhile, were very comfortable on offense. Blair Oaks torched the nets for 65-percent shooting in the first half, making 17-of-26 from the field. Throw out the Falcons' 3-of-10 on 3-pointers, and they made 14-of-16 on 2s (88 percent).
"They were pretty aggressive defensively, so we took advantage and got some back-cuts to the basket and finished," Fick said. "We always talk to the kids about making them guard us at the rim first and play inside-out. To actually see it executed, it makes you happy as a coach. When you preach things and then kids execute it, it backs up what you're teaching."
The main beneficiary in the first half was post player Jason Rackers, who was perfect from the field. He hit all three of his shots in the first quarter, which ended with Blair Oaks leading 17-7, then tacked on another 3-of-3 effort in the second to send the Falcons into the locker room ahead 38-16.
The halftime adjustments didn't take long to make themselves known in the third quarter. With Battle intent on stopping Rackers, Blair Oaks had to come up with a counterattack. Enter Jordan Hair, who scored all 12 of his points in the contest during that frame.
The senior was 2-of-2 on 2s, 2-of-2 on 3s and 2-of-3 from the line in the period, as his free throws with 5:41 left in the quarter gave the Falcons their biggest lead at 45-18.
"After a big half by Jason, they started to double him, especially on our high-low," Fick said. "So Jordan got to the basket a couple times and also hit a couple jump shots that opened things up. That allowed Jason to score some more down the stretch."
The Spartans started to cut into the lead a bit after that thanks to going 5-of-7 from 3-point range, including 3-of-3 by Malik Johnson. His last came with :01 left in the third, cutting the Blair Oaks lead to 53-35.
The Spartans (4-14) hit another 3 to start the final quarter to make it 53-38, getting as close as they would the rest of the game.
Rackers ended with a double-double, tying Johnson for the game high with 20 points and leading all players with 10 rebounds.
The Falcons also got a nice game from Kellen Griep, who had six points and eight rebounds. He's seen his minutes increase recently as post player Owen Luebbering has slowed by ankle sprain suffered in the St. James Tournament.
The Falcons (13-6) return to action today at Warsaw.
In the JV game, Battle posted a 65-44 win. Braydan Pritchett had 13 points to lead the Falcons (12-2) and Nolan Hair had 10.