EDENTON – Hertford County continues to win.

Bears’ skipper Charles Simmons keeps seeing ways they can improve.

Despite being pleased with the varsity boys’ 71-42 win over Edenton Friday, the HCHS coach wanted to see more from his team.

“We didn’t come out and play aggressively in the first half,” Simmons said. “In the second half, we did a good job pushing the ball in transition and giving Edenton just one shot.

“We did a better job defensively in the second half,” he added. “It’s always good to get a conference win on the road.”

While the Bears did pull away in the second half, they found themselves facing a 13-11 deficit late in the first quarter.

That was erased when HCHS rolled off eight unanswered to close out the period. Lamar Monger and Marcus Burnell each had four of the points during the run.

Edenton’s Scott Hall started the second quarter with a hoop, but Burnell and Monger responded with back-to-back baskets to surge back ahead 23-15.

The Aces got back-to-back hoops from Andre Sturges and Traquan Moore to get within four, but the Bears scored eight of the next 10 points to push their lead to double figures (31-21).

Antonio Vaughan led the surge with six of the points.

After Edenton closed back to within 31-25 on a Dorian Holley bucket, Hertford County scored the final six points of the first half to take a 37-25 advantage into the locker room. Burnell had four of those six points while Jamal Jones added the other two.

The Bears sprang to life in the third quarter, opening the period on a 8-0 spurt, thanks to a Burnell hoop and back-to-back three-pointers from Vaughan, to quickly take a 45-25 lead.

Edenton got within 17 (47-30), but the Bears closed the third quarter with consecutive scores from Burnell, Deshawn Outlaw and Michael Stephenson to lead 53-30 heading into the final quarter.

The Aces attempted a comeback and trimmed their deficit to 17 (55-38), but Hertford County went on a 14-2 tear to put the game away.

Burnell and Monger led the Bears’ offensive efforts with 18 points each while Monger chipped in 17. Darnell Spears led Edenton with 17 points.

The win boosted the Bears to 17-2 overall and a perfect 9-0 inside the Northeastern Coastal Conference. They host Pasquotank County High School tonight (Tuesday).

HCHS (71): Marcus Burnell n 18, Antonio Vaughan n 18, Lamar Monger n 17, Deshawn Outlaw n 4, Jamal Jones n 4, Parris Moore n 4, Michael Stephenson n 2, Ivan Coulton n 2, Kysean Chamblee n 2

Edenton (42): Darnell Spears n 17, Traquan Moore n 9, Scott Hall n 8, Dorian Holley n 4, Andre Sturges n 2, Timaine Moore – 2