MILL HALL – Last season the Bellefonte boys basketball team won just three games away from home. After Friday’s season-opener against Central Mountain, the Raiders are one-third of a way toward last year’s total.

Bellefonte used a strong first quarter and got the most out of its top returning players as it downed Central Mountain, 64-51, in front of a packed crowd.

The Raiders came out of the gate fast. Bellefonte went on a 10-2 run in the game’s opening three minutes to force Central Mountain coach Tyler Bardo to burn a timeout in an attempt to calm down his team.

For most of the players who stepped on the brand-new gymnasium floor at Central Mountain, it was their first time playing in front of a sizeable crowd.

“We talked about before the game how we we’re going to control our emotions,” Bardo said following his team’s loss. “It was the first time in a long time–two years–since these guys have played in front of their peers. I think people are excited to be back in the gym. It took us a little bit to get going.”

Behind Gannon Brungard’s seven points and Nicholas Way’s six, Bellefonte had a comfortable, 17-8, advantage at the end one quarter.

“I don’t know if you could ask for anything better for the first game. Especially when we’re down three to four players,” Raiders coach Rick Hall said. “As you could see we started out great–that’s the way we want to play–but we got tired. Especially near the second quarter.”

As Bellefonte’s fatigue settled in, the Wildcats pounced on the chance to sneak back into the game. Ignited by Hayden Pardoe’s four points to begin the quarter, Central Mountain played a very competitive second quarter and won it by seven as Bellefonte led by two at the break.

The Wildcats went on to tie the game two separate instances, though never took the lead, in the third quarter. Ryan Pentz and Pardoe did all they could to keep the game within single digits as the final quarter approached.

Things looked promising for Central Mountain at the beginning of the final quarter of play. Hunter Hoy–who made his varsity debut Friday night for Central Mountain–splashed his second three of the night on the Wildcats’ first possession of the fourth.

The freshman ended with seven points off the bench.

With Central Mountain eyeing a comeback, Bellefonte’s Blair Eckley-Jones delivered with a big 3-pointer for his team.

The senior–who tallied a game-high 17 points in the win–scored 11 points in the second half to put away the Wildcats.

After Bellefonte went into the bonus, it was pretty much over as Eckley-Jones, Ty Kroell and Nicholas Way went to work.

The trio of returning Raiders kept the lead in Bellefonte’s favor and played outstanding basketball down the stretch when it mattered most.

“To me, they’re the three leaders on this team,” Hall said regarding Eckley-jones, Kroell and Way. “They got better at the end of last season. They’ve picked up their game. Our ability to take people off the dribble right now is really paying off for us.”

For Eckley-Jones–who has now reached double figures in scoring in 16 of his first 18 varsity games–this win meant a lot.

“It feels amazing, we needed this win because they’re in our district. We wanted to set the tone and start off big,” Eckley-Jones said following his big night.

As for the Wildcats, Bardo hopes his team can manage their turnovers the next time they take the court.

“You’re not going to win the game turning the ball over 28 times. We’re a time that wants to play with pace, we came away with 73 opportunities and turned it over 28 times. We shot the ball over 50% as a group which is great. That’s not a recipe for winning,” Bardo said.

According to Bardo, the combination of turnovers and crowd impact was too much for his squad. Nonetheless, he knows the season is long and has a team capable of overcoming an early-season loss.

“It’s not going to take them long to figure out how to play in front of crowds like that,” Bardo said.

BELLEFONTE (64)

Blair Eckley Jones 4 8-9 17, Ty Kroell 7 0-0 15, Nicholas Way 5 4-4 14, Gannon Brungard 5 2-2 13, Alex Ebeling 1 1-1 4, Davis Corman 0 1-1 1. Totals 22 15-16 64.

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN (51)

Hayden Pardoe 7 1-1 15, Cayde McCloskey 5 1-2 13, Hunter Hoy 2 1-2 7, Jack Hanna 3 0-1 6 Ryan Pentz 2 0-0 5, Levi Schelsinger 1 1-2 3, Ashton Probst 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 4-8 51.

Bellefonte 17 9 21 17–64

Central Mountain 8 16 17 10–51

Records: Bellefonte (1-0), Central Mountain (0-1).