DOBSON — The Surry Central boys basketball team brushed off the first-game jitters and rallied in the second half for a 56-41 non-conference victory over visiting Forbush Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

The Golden Eagles clamped down defensively after the break, limiting the Falcons to 14 points and holding them to single digits in the third and fourth quarters.

“The one thing I told our guys I was really impressed with is there were many times (Forbush) wanted to take that perimeter shot, but we were close enough and they couldn’t take it,” Surry Central coach Ken Eiswald said.

Forbush jumped to a 27-23 halftime lead, as the Golden Eagles had a hard time finding the hoop in the early going.

“You come out the first game and you’re all jacked up and you miss a shot and then ... I thought we were just playing too hard on the offensive end to make things happen,” Eiswald said. “I told the guys at halftime I don’t think we can possibly shoot any worse than we did and we’re only down four points. If we just go out and relax and start playing and kind of believing in the shot, it will start going down. You can only miss so many.”

The Falcons had something to do with the home team’s cold start. Forbush broke out a 1-3-1 zone to begin the game, forcing the Golden Eagles to shoot from the outside or collapsing in the lane to stop drives.

“Those zone games are either you’re real hot and you just light it up or you’re real ugly,” Eiswald said. “They did a good job of making us look real ugly.”

Austin McLamb provided an inside force for Surry Central in the second half and he finished the game with 17 points. Guard Ethan Wilmoth added 15. Forbush was led by Cody Eller (13) and Avery Bavitt (12).

Golden girls

fall short

The Surry Central girls also put together a second-half comeback, but couldn’t get close enough in a 43-36 loss to Forbush.

The Golden Eagles outscored the Falcons 29-24 in the second half, but a slow start doomed the home team. Surry Central only put seven points on the board by halftime, including a two-point second quarter.

“We have quite a bit to work on, but I was really impressed with their fight not to give up,” Surry Central coach Mandy Holt said. “There were times I’m not sure we could throw it in the ocean.”

Twice in the fourth quarter the Golden Eagles whittled the Falcons’ lead to six points, but never got closer than that. Emily Marshall had nine points in defeat.

“We just could not make up that margin,” Holt said. “We ran out of time.”

Despite the loss, Holt saw a number of positives. Chief among them was her squad’s never-say-die attitude. The Golden Eagles dove on the floor, hustled from end to end and played tight defense until the end.

“I’m really excited with the effort,” she said. “It was a team effort and that’s what excites me the most. Just to have that effort there makes me want to keep having them to work with. We’re going to be OK. I think we’re ready to keep working, keep fighting, keep improving.”

Contact Ed Phillipps at ephillipps@mtairynews.com or 719-1921.