AHOSKIE – Boys action of the Lt. Nick Brantley Scholarship Tournament saw the Eagles of Bethel Christian Academy race past the Raiders of Pungo Academy by a 73-50 score here Monday night.

Pungo got off to an early 16-9 lead midway through the first quarter on the strength of some outside shooting as the Raiders hit on three three-point goals, one each by Joseph Braddy, Christian Ange and Dillon Woolard.

However, the Eagles clawed back and outscored the Raiders 10-2 over the remainder of the period to trail by 18-17.

The second quarter saw the Eagles begin to pull away as the inside game of Daniel Feher and Shane Tripp wore down the Raiders with Tripp scoring the final six points the quarter.

At halftime the Eagles held a 36-28 lead.

The third quarter opened with the teams swapping three-pointers. Bethel’s Kyle Freeman hit the first, matched by Pungo’s Christian Ange, followed by one from Tripp.

A couple of baskets by Feher gave the Eagles a 46-32 lead midway through the quarter with the score at the end of the quarter seeing the Eagles holding a 51-40 lead.

The fourth period was all Eagles as they outscored the Raiders 22-10 over the final eight minutes.

Shane Tripp led all scorers with 26 points on the night.

The Eagles went on to defeat Ridgecroft School in the semifinals of the tournament and advanced to Friday’s finale against Lawrence Academy.

Pungo: Chris Armstrong-16, Joseph Braddy-14, Dillon Woolard-10, Christian Ange-6, David Talley-2, Colby Latham-2

Bethel: Shane Tripp-26, David Feher-16, Kyle Freeman-11, David Simmons-9, Marky Palmer-6, Kevin Johnson-5.

(By Willie McLawhorn, Sports Writer)