KINSTON — Kinston held Pleasant Home to only 10 points in the first half, and went on to beat the Eagles 57-28 in area action on Tuesday night.

The Eagles couldn’t handle Kinston’s strong inside game and defense on the boards in the loss.

“We’ve been beat worse,” PHS coach Jerry Davis said.

As the Bulldogs took away Pleasant Home’s inside game on defense, the Eagles switched to their perimeter game, where they made only two tres.

“You’ve got to make shots,” Davis said. “You’ve got to shoot the basketball to some certain extent, and we didn’t make anything.

“They overpowered us on the inside at the start of the ball game, and they got the upper hand,” he said. “There wasn’t a whole lot we could do about it. They didn’t do anything we haven’t seen. They’re a good basketball team.”

Kinston outscored PHS 20-7 in the first period, and 15-3 in the second period to take a 35-10 lead at the break.

Pleasant Home falls to 11-8 overall, and 2-1 in Class 1A, Area 2. The Eagles will travel to face Geneva County this Friday night in area action.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a fresh start in the first period, taking advantage of the Eagles’ turnovers on offense.

Kinston led 15-7 at one point during the first period, and went on a 5-0 run to set the tone for the game.

Kinston’s Hunter Anderson and Jacob Free led the Bulldogs in scoring, combining for 33 points in their team’s win. Anderson led the Bulldogs with 17 points, and Free had 16 points.

Anderson was 2-of-3 from the three-point line in the first half. He made his third tres in the third quarter.

Kinston penetrated the Eagles’ zone defense in the second period, leading 33-10 late.

“We didn’t come to play,” Davis said. “You’ve got to put the ball in the hole, and that’s what it comes down to. When you’re averaging 45 points per game, it’s hard to keep good basketball teams to continuously scoring 45 points.”

In the third period, Pleasant Home only scored five points. Jeffrey Slaughter put some spark back into the Eagles’ game with a nice jumper. He led PHS with eight points.

The Bulldogs continued to pound the ball inside, making crucial lay ups and put backs.

Anderson put the game further out of reach, draining a tres when time expired to help his team take a 44-15 lead going into the final period of the contest.

Davis said it was an old-fashioned “butt” whooping.

“It’s just one of them take you out behind the barn and whip your butt (loss),” he said. “That’s about the extent of it.”