The Watauga High boys' basketball team had its foot on the throat of St. Stephens when intermission arrived on Tuesday night.
The Pioneers made sure to never lift it off after the break.
Damian Edwards scored 16 points, Casey Quinn added 15 and visiting Watauga grabbed its third win in the Northwestern 3A-4A with an 81-68 victory over the Indians.
By winning, Watauga (10-4, 3-1) stayed within a half-game of second-place Hibriten and 1½ games back of league-leading Hickory. St. Stephens (12-5, 3-3) is in fourth place.
The Pioneers and Indians displayed similar touches from the field, with the Pioneers shooting 47.5 percent to the Indians' 43.5.
But a careless night with the ball doomed St. Stephens' hopes of rallying from a 38-29 halftime hole.
The Indians had 20 turnovers to Watauga's 12, and and the Pioneers took advantage of their opportunities and converted the St. Stephens miscues into 24 points.
"We're a team that likes to create offense off our defense, and if you're shooting a lot of layups it helps your field goal percentage," said Pioneers head coach Rob Sanders. "The guys like to ride on momentum, and once they get their defense going and make some shots, they play with so much confidence.
"We're very fortunate to go on the road and steal one." Ricky Miller's 16 points off the bench led the Indians, who led 14-11 at the close of the first quarter when Matt Garner stepped across the mid-court line and launched a shot into the net.
That heave was St. Stephens' final highlight, as Watauga ended the first half on a 9-0 run capped when Quinn banked in his own half-court toss.
The Pioneers came out of the half with an 8-2 spurt, extending their lead to 47-31 on a Will Koppenhaver jumper in the lane, and Watauga led 60-46 heading into the final quarter.
St. Stephens then put together an 11-4 surge to start the fourth quarter, pulling to within 64-57 on a Miller follow with just under five minutes remaining.
The Indians got no closer thanks to some solid free-throw shooting by the Pioneers.
Watauga made 11 of 14 free throws and took its largest lead with 2 minutes, 13 seconds left on two by Edwards.
Brandon Calhoun and Josh Coffey added 10 points each for the Pioneers.
Quae McCathern and Harrison Bowne scored 11 and 10, respectively, for the Indians, who are 2-4 since starting 10-1.
ST. STEPHENS 56, WATAUGA 41
Kaitlyn Clontz scored 18 points, Emily Wiseman added 16 and St. Stephens moved to 10-7 overall and 4-2 in league play by winning.
Four days after stunning Hickory and snapping the Red Tornadoes' 69-game conference victory streak, Watauga (5-9, 2-2) struggled to a 32-percent effort from the field, including just a 6-for-27 after the half.
The Pioneers' poor shooting allowed the Indians to stretch a 29-24 halftime lead to 39-31 entering the fourth quarter.
St. Stephens, winning for the sixth time in seven games, attempted only three shots from the floor in the final quarter. The Indians put the game away at the free throw line, hitting 15 of 20.
Katherine Mayhew's 15 points led the Pioneers.
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