Parkersburg Christian’s Wyatt Meadows shoots during a high school basketball game against Teays Valley Christian on Friday night. (Photo: Jay W. Bennett)

PARKERSBURG – Alex Starcher’s dunks early in the first quarter were a sign of things to come as the Lions cruised to a 77-31 win over visiting Teays Valley Christian here Friday night.

Trailing 19-9 after the opening quarter, Knights head coach Bimbo Meadows played his first game, while Lions head coach Steve Shockey lost the opening game at home in double overtime against rival Calvary Baptist.

While Starcher led all point-producing teams with 15 points, his teammates Marc Desper (14), Isaiah Turner (10) and Kahsi Morgan (10) also reached double-digit points.

“This is a very talented team that will win a lot of games and send some to the next level.” Coach Meadows received nine points from Wyatt Meadows and seven points each from Joe Johnson and Ashton Peeples, while Alex Fluharty scored four points and broke the game high with 14 rebounds.

“I told the kids before the game that we would decide based on the effort we put in, not what the scoreboard said, and for the most part I thought the effort was there, but we need to work on execution. They have a very talented team.”

Parkersburg Christian’s Jordan Speece (14) blocks a shot from Teays Valley Christian’s Jayden Castillo (4) during Friday’s game. (Photo: Jay W. Bennett)

After Starcher’s flush to make it 6-0, the home team tied it at five apiece at 10-5, thanks to a floater on the court by Meadows, a double by Johnson and free throws by Meadows.

But Steve Shockey’s team finished the quarter with a 9-4 lead, which limited Desper’s quartet to a 3-second stretch.

The Lions opened the second quarter with a 10-1 lead thanks to three shots from Starcher and a pair of goals from Eli Pendleton, who combined Fluharty and teammate Ben Lewis with a game-high three steals.

Parkersburg Christian, which hosted Ignite Christian on Tuesday night, went into halftime trailing 42-15.

The Knights failed to make any breakthrough in the third quarter, with the home team missing 10 of 11 from the field, including all eight tries from downtown, forcing the Lions into seven turnovers.

Johnson finally got PC on the board with a layup at 3:53 of the third quarter, but the Lions had already built a commanding 52-17 advantage.

Desper’s triple, Turner’s two doubles and Jayden Castillo’s basket allowed the guest team to close the series 9-0.

“It was a fun game” said coach Shockey, who received seven caroms each from Turner and Jones, who shot 41.7% (30 of 72) compared to the Knights’ 24% (12 of 50). “It was a good return match for our friends. We gained their trust and brought in many young players.

“We had a lot of freshmen coming in tonight and gaining varsity experience and I’m hopeful that will carry us forward throughout the season. We go 10 deep and like to put pressure. “I would have liked to have seen more shots fall, but I was also really happy with our defense tonight.”

Teays Valley Christian needs some time off before Parkersburg Christian invades for next Monday’s game at 4 p.m.

Contact Jay Bennett at [email protected]