MERRY HILL – Lawrence Academy put the brakes on a two-game skid.

The Warriors put together a run midway through the third quarter and pulled away to a 62-39 Tarheel Independent Conference victory over Pungo Christian Academy during the varsity boys’ basketball game Tuesday.

“We came in at 30-26 and I challenged them to pick up the intensity,” second-year Warriors’ coach Tommy Tripp said. “From there, we played much better the rest of the way.”

The Warriors shot just 24 percent in the first half and made just two of their first nine attempts in the third quarter.

After Tripp challenged his team when they led by just four with fewer than three minutes to play, they responded with a 16-0 tear that started in the third and continue through the fourth quarter.

The Warriors went on to shoot 13-of-16 the rest of the way to dominate the final part of the contest.

Holden Ratzlaff started the spurt with his bucket that came with 2:39 to play in the third. He was followed by a bucket and two free throws from Shane Stevens, a triple by Max Walker and a hoop from Daniel Oliver to extend the advantage to 41-26.

Stevens scored again to open the fourth quarter and then buried a triple with 6:27 to play in the contest, extending the Warrior advantage to 46-26.

The Raiders got free throws from Daniel Vann and Justin Allen to get within 46-30 only to see Walker bury another three.

The game went back and forth the rest of the way with Lawrence coming away with the victory.

“We played better defense in the second half,” Tripp said. “It was good to get back on track.”

Stevens dominated the offense for the Warriors with 22 points while Oliver recorded 15 points. Ratzlaff added eight points while Walker had six and Joe Harrell chipped in five points.

Chad Oliver led the Warriors with 10 rebounds while R.J. Deppisch had six blocks and five rebounds.

Lawrence was able to take the lead early in the contest when Ratzlaff, Daniel Oliver and Stevens spurred an 11-0 run to help Lawrence lead 15-6 after the first quarter.

The two teams each hit four shots in the second quarter as Lawrence maintained a 24-15 edge at the intermission.

After Oliver scored to open the third quarter, the Raiders rolled off nine consecutive points to trim their deficit to four points, sparking the Lawrence timeout and late surge.

Lawrence (62): Shane Stevens n 22, Daniel Oliver n 15, Holden Ratzlaff n 8, Max Walker n 6, Joe Harrell n 5, R.J. Deppisch n 4, Chad Oliver n 2

Pungo (39): Daniel Vann n 15, Justin Allen n 11, Drew Bell n 8, K.J. Armstrong n 3, Chris Smith – 2