WARDSVILLE - After a lackluster first half filled with missed shots and turnovers, it didn't take a genius to figure out the Blair Oaks Falcons and Eldon Mustangs might try to shake things up in the second half.
The Falcons did just that and the change paid off, as they doubled their first-half production after intermission and rode the surge to a 65-43 victory Tuesday night.
After the first quarter ended in a tie at 12, the Falcons outscored the Mustangs 11-10 in the second quarter to take a 23-22 lead into the locker room.
The next two quarters were much better for Blair Oaks, as it scored 18 and 24 to pull away.
"We made an adjustment at halftime to pick up Eldon's guards full-court, and I think that got us some opportunities in transition," Blair Oaks coach Ryan Fick said. "It kind of jump-started our offense a bit."
While the Falcons actually forced fewer turnovers in the second half (11) than the first (12), they got more of them where they could score quickly instead of having to go the length of the court.
"We were able to turn some turnovers into quick points," Fick said.
Eldon tied the game at 27 with 6:44 left in the third quarter when Devin Lewis hit a jumper in the paint. But the Mustangs turned the ball over on their next four possessions, during which time the Falcons got two layups from Jordan Hair, a layup by Jason Rackers and a jumper by C.J. Closser to take a lead they would never relinquish.
"We got a little rushed in the second half," Eldon coach Brandon Kliethermes said. "Our guys got away from what we were trying to do, which was grind out possessions. That's what it ended up coming down to."
The Falcons pushed the lead to 10 points later in the frame and took a 41-34 lead to the fourth quarter.
Blair Oaks then started the fourth with an 11-2 run to put it away, started by a pretty three-point play by Hair followed up by eight straight points from Dylan Skinner.
"We let (Skinner) get a couple easy ones to build his confidence - he got some uncontested ones and a lot of high-school players are going to make those shots," Kliethermes said. "And hats off to him, he did."
Skinner ended up perfect for the game, hitting all five of his shots from the field and going 2-of-2 from the line for 12 points.
"Bench production was huge tonight, especially from Dylan," Fick said. "Dylan came in and worked real hard, and it started on the defensive end, where he had great energy and got out in transition. Then he knocked down some jump shots, too. We see that in flashes in practice and it's good to see it carry over into a game."
The Falcons led by as many as 23 points - that coming on three different occasions - before settling for the 22-point win.
Skinner wasn't the only Falcon to be perfect from 2-point range, as both Cody Alexander and Hair went 5-of-5 on those shots in the game. Hair ended up with a team-high 14 points to lead five Falcons in double figures, as Rackers and Closser had 11 apiece and Alexander had 10.
The Falcons' Kellen Griep tied the Mustangs' Gavin Henderson for the game high with nine rebounds.
Henderson and Lewis tied for the game high with 16 points.
Eldon ended up with 23 turnovers in the contest, giving up the ball at least five times in every quarter.
"All year we've been a little bit offensively challenged, so turnovers are even more frustrating when you know you're not going to make very many shots," Kliethermes said. "... We knew (Blair Oaks') on-ball defense is really, really good. They've got some great defenders and their coaches coach them up, so we knew that was going to be an issue. We thought if we could keep it under 12, we'd have a really good shot to win."
Eldon is now 4-16 overall and 1-2 in the Tri-County Conference.
Blair Oaks, which is 15-7 and 3-1 heading into Friday's game at Versailles, got some good news Tuesday when Owen Luebbering had five points and four rebounds in his first game back from an ankle injury.
"He ended up playing more than I anticipated because he said his ankle felt really good," Fick said. "That's good moving forward, it adds a little depth. We've been playing a couple weeks without him and depth was a little bit of an issue. We have just three regular-season games left and then it gets real."
In Tuesday's JV game, Blair Oaks rolled to a 68-40 win.
Thomas Verslues led the Falcons (17-2) with 11 points, while Ethan Luebbering, Drew Boessen, Justin Cobb and Braydan Pritchett added 10 apiece.
The Blair Oaks freshmen won 51-25. Trent Martin paced the Falcons (14-4) with 10 points.