ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — The Central Christian boys basketball team continued the momentum that the girls brought earlier in the evening and ran up and down the court en route to an impressive and convincing 76-19 win over the visiting Aletheia Christian Academy Lions Friday night.

After a tough, suffocating full court press defense for most of the first half the Saints proved Friday night that they can also play good offense and defense when they set up in half court play.

“I thought we played really well. From the start I thought our energy was probably the biggest difference. We came out without a lot of energy and we never stopped,” Saints head coach Dan Crotts said. “I was just really happy with our effort.”

After the Saints seized control in the second quarter they were able to slow the ball down and score some big baskets from inside the paint.

“I thought today we looked inside more than we have ever done. We have always been a good penetrating team but tonight we looked inside to our big guys,” Crotts said. “Our big guys did a good job getting rebounds. I thought we controlled the glass on both sides of the court and that gave us second and third chances.”

In the convincing win Friday night, Crotts was able to empty his bench and not only give them minutes but quality minutes as well.

“It’s always a good thing. It shows me in big times, who I can count on,” Crotts said. “The more they play the better they play and they see more minutes when there is injuries or foul trouble. So it’s always good to play guys that don’t play a lot.”

On the night 10 out of the 12 Saints players on the roster got on the scoreboard including senior Tim Shelton and Bucky Enfinger who seemed to match either point for point the entire evening.

Shelton finished with a game high 17 points while Enfinger finished with 16. Sophomore Howard Hadley was the other Saint who finished in double figures with 13.

The Saints erased all doubt early in the game Friday night by outscoring the Lions 22-4 in the opening quarter. Thanks in large part to a fast paced transitional offense that was set up by a suffocating full court press that rarely saw the Lions reach mid court.

With the game getting out of hand coach Crotts decided to hold off the dogs which prompted them to set up their half-court offense.

By the end of the first half the Saints had complete control of the game, leading 50-13.

The second half continued the story as the Saints outscored the Lions 24-6 thanks in large part to quality minutes by an active bench.

The Saints (9-3, 3-1) will play at East Hill Christian at 6:30 Tuesday night.

GIRLS: Central Christian 61, Aletheia Christian 31:  The Central Christian School Saints used their run and gun up tempo offense to perfection Friday night as they overwhelmed the visiting Lady Lions of Aletheia Christian Academy on their way to a 61-31 win.

With the Lions only playing six girls Friday night, the Saints were able to benefit from their up tempo offense by putting the pressure on the Lions early and often en route to a big conference win.

“I didn’t know they had just six girls but that’s our game plan, to try and out run the other team and to get them tired by the fourth quarter,” Saints head coach Michael Turner said. “Any time we get a conference win, it’s a good win for us.”

Not only were they able to put their transitional offense to work Friday night, but they also made some big outside shots to put an end to some mini runs by the lions.

“The last two games we have been able to hit some outside shots. We are an up and down team but the last two games we have hit some outside shots and that opens up the middle,” Turner said. “We attacked the middle tonight and that’s really good to see because we have become a one dimensional offense, when we can put the ball inside and score some buckets, that’s good for us.”

Bench depth was also a big factor against a team that only had one bench player, not only on Friday night but for the rest of the season as well.

“I have always liked doing that because it just makes girls a little more experienced,” Turner said. “Come crunch time I may have to put them in a game that matters and they will have that experience. It builds the program to put a freshman in and to let her play some of the minutes.”

One of those freshmen that stepped up big for the Saints Friday was guard Haley Henson who continued her good play by being the second highest scorer with 15 points, finishing behind junior guard McKenna Fountain who scored a team-high 18 points.

Sophomore Hannah Davidson also contributed by scoring nine points for the Saints.

The up-tempo Saints started off strong going on a 15-2 run to start the game after Fountain got off to a good start scoring her first few buckets early.

The Saints closed out the opening quarter leading 21-9. Things didn’t change much in the second quarter. A suffocating defense and some key outside shooting led to a 32-15 lead at the break.

With baskets by fountain and Henson the Saints continued good shots in the third quarter that led to a 12-0 run that lasted until the early stages of the fourth quarter.

With time running out in the game the Saints went on another run that would extend to 13-0 to put the game out of reach and gave them another key conference win and confidence with five games left in the regular season.

“We just need to stay focused. I feel like we are the best team in our conference it’s just can we go out and play like we are the best team,” Turner said.

The Saints will play at East Hill Christian at 5 p.m. Tuesday.