An early lead and domination in the third quarter powered Atmore Christian School’s basketball squad to a 45-26 win over West Florida Baptist Academy Monday night at home.

The Rams starters included: Christian Scott, Myles Maher, Ethan Heller, Malik Jones and Kyle Kearsey. Kearsey filled in admirably for regular starter William Swartzendruber.

The team jumped out to a 5-0 lead at the start of the game, although things got a little shaky when West Florida came back to take a brief 15-10 lead.

Not panicking, the Rams came back to re-take the lead at 16-15, before winding up with a 21-17 lead by halftime.

ACS dominated the third quarter and by the end of the quarter, they had a commanding 31-19 lead.

The finishing score was capped by Christian Scott. Standing at the line for a one-and-one foul shot opportunity, head coach Tim Battles had Scott’s teammates set up on the defensive end of the court to avoid allowing the opposition an easy basket. Scott missed the shot but grabbed his own rebound and put the ball in the basket for two easy points.

Scott finished the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Myles Maher also had a strong game with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Ethan Heller chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds.

Both teams were a little shorthanded, with each missing a starting player.

“We’re missing a starter, so we had to have some guys play extended minutes when they’re not used to playing extended minutes,” Battles said. “We’re still learning.”

Battles was pleased with his team’s performance overall, especially the play of Christian Scott, who hustled after loose balls, rebounds, and was aggressive on defense.

“That’s something we’ve been working on with being aggressive,” Battles said. “He did better and better on the night.”