JAY —There was a mountain of expectations when these two boys’ basketball teams squared off Friday night.

Four Spruce Mountain players scored in double figures to lead a balanced attack, and a strong defensive effort proved to be enough in a 53-36 win against Mountain Valley in the spacious Phoenix nest.

The Phoenix were able to go on a 10-3 run to open things up in the latter part of the third quarter. James Barker (10 points, 11 rebounds) hit the field goal of the second half with 3:25 to go. Jake Bessey hit a runner, Barker added another basket and Nate Shrink (13 points, eight rebounds) crashed the glass to give the Phoenix a 37-29 lead after three quarters.

“I felt we play well tonight,” Barker said. “We controlled the boards, and that’s what we needed to do. The rest will come in practice for us.”

Sean Murphy scored early in the fourth quarter for Mountain Valley, but Bessey (10 points) and Zach Bonnevie (12 points) buried back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Phoenix a 43-31 lead. The Falcons’ leading scorer Jacob Theriault (17 points) drained two treys and Milo Jodrey scored off a rebound to trail 27-26 midway through the third quarter.

“The kids came back,” said Mountain Valley coach Rick White said. “I’m proud of them for that. But then Spruce Mountain called a timeout and we turned the ball over twice. They executed and went on a run, but we were not able to respond.”

Mountain Valley used the Grinnell System, which utilized an up-tempo offense, tight defense and frequent substitutions. This style of play created havoc with opposition. This season’s up-tempo philosophy on offense is still a staple.

The Falcons drained six treys in the game, but the Phoenix had the answer through out the game.

“One of our goals was too shut down their shooters,” Spruce Mountain coach Chris Bessey said. “We were able to shut them down with our matchup zone, especially in the second quarter.”

The Falcons missed eight shots and were held scoreless until Zak Radcliffe, who was ejected in the fourth quarter for a fragment foul, drained a trey with one minute left in the first half. Nine turnovers plagued the Falcons, and Ryan Nicols had a basket waved off for an offensive foul.

 “I had told the kids that the little things will mean a lot,” said White, alluding to 26 turnovers and 31 percent shooting. “We didn’t do well, fundamentally. But we play them again next Saturday and will figure out a new game plan.”

Spruce Mountain received a strong effort by Ben Keene (six rebounds) and substitutes Tyler Gervais and Trevin Dunlop. The Phoenix enjoyed a wide margin on the free-throw line (11 of 22) compared to one of four by the Falcons.

“We only went to the line four times in the first half and that’s not good,” Bessey said. “So, during halftime we talked about driving to the basket and then we missed four bunnies. But credit Mountain Valley for coming back. They are a good team.”