In a battle of cross-town rivals, the Escambia Academy Cougars came away with a 57-40 victory over the Atmore Christian School Rams at Escambia Academy in Canoe on Monday.

The Cougars (3-0, 0-0) controlled the entire game as they pulled ahead in the first quarter over the Rams (3-4, 1-0) and never looked back.

In the first quarter, the Cougars dominated at both ends of the court as they jumped out to a 14-2 lead.

The Academy continued to pull away from ACS in the second period with 14 more points giving them a 28-8 lead heading into halftime.

Following halftime, the Rams made some offensive strides as they were able to score 14 points, but the Cougars again extended their lead as they scored 16 points to go into the fourth quarter leading 44-22.

In the final period, the Rams finally outscored the Cougars 18-13, but the offensive outburst was too late as the Cougars prevailed 57-44.

Leading the Cougars in the victory were Darren McGhee and Jaylen Henry. McGhee paced the Cougars with 18 points, while Henry finished with 10.

The Rams were led by Thomas Moore who posted 12 points in the win and was supported by Casey Freeman’s 10.

Also scoring points for EA were Brett Helton with nine, Brandon Goddard with eight, Jordan Sasser with four points, Robert Whatley and Bryant Lambert with two points each.

Logan Boatwright had seven points for the Rams, while McDonald added nine.

The Cougars next game will be Friday Dec. 2 at Central Christian School in Robertsdale. Games begin at 5 p.m.

Atmore Christian School will play Thursday at East Hill Christian School in Pensacola, Fla. Games begin at 4:30 p.m.