A broken hand didn’t stop Pleasant Home’s Blake Herman from scoring 20 points in his team’s 57-40 win over Excel Thursday night.

Herman scored eight of his points in the first quarter alone, shooting two three-pointers and two free throws.

Pleasant Home led 16-12 after the first quarter. They added 15 points in the second quarter compared to Excel’s 11points to lead 31-23 at the break.

In the third quarter, the Eagles outscored Excel 8-4.

Pleasant Home coach Jerry Davis said the team played well Thursday night.

“I thought overall, we controlled the tempo of the ball game considering that Excel is a very athletic bunch,” he said. “I don’t know what their record is, but I just know they’re very athletic and they’ve been in most of their games. They just seem to be where they can’t pull it off in the end.”

Pleasant Home capped off its win over Excel with a 16-13 scoring comparison in the fourth quarter.

“We played a lot more in control in the second half,” Davis said. “We got a lot of shots unforced, and we made a few. When you shoot a lot of three-pointers, you start making the other team hang their heads a little bit.”

Davis said the key to Thursday night’s win was the fact his team had a good “inside” game.

“We got a little bit of an inside game going and of course we shot the ball a little bit,” he said. “That’s going to open it up and let us play in there a little bit. I thought Cory (Sims) and (Josh) Godwin did a nice job for us. They both had 10 rebounds apiece. It was a big night for them on the boards.”

Sims also led in scoring for Pleasant Home with 15 points. Kody Taylor and Colter Poole both had nine points apiece.

Pleasant Home girls 47, Excel girls 27

Kayla Woods led the Lady Eagles with 11 points in the 20-point win.

Pleasant Home led 11-5 after the first quarter, 19-15 at halftime and 32-20 after the third quarter.

“We played a pretty solid four quarters (Thursday night),” Pleasant Home coach Kelley Garner said.

Gina Davis also led in scoring with 10 points and Brentin Fuller had nine.

Complete coverage of Friday night’s game between Pleasant Home and Kinston can be found on the web at www.andalusiastarnews.com.