Quick start, tough 'D' carry BC past Whips

Burlington Central's boys basketball team finally got to play a home game, and the Rockets wasted no time taking advantage of their home court.

After taking a 14-0 lead, the Rockets coasted past Hampshire, 64-45, in the Big Northern East opener for both teams Friday night on Rocket Hill.

Hampshire turned the ball over on its first 5 possessions as Central (5-1, 1-0) grabbed a 7-0 lead.

The Rockets built the lead to 19-3 in the first quarter and led 47-20 at halftime while shooting 67 percent.

Mike McCurdy scored 15 of his 18 points in that first half. McCurdy also dished out 7 assists.

Jason Wagner added 13 points, and Mark McCurdy scored 11.

T.J. Burzak led Hampshire with 11.

"Our defense led to a lot of our offense," said Mike McCurdy. "We got steals and transition, and then we just hit our shots."

"We always tell the kids, 'The better defense you play, miraculously, the more shots you're going to make,'" said Central coach Chris Payne.

"I think that was the key to it tonight: they really got after it defensively. We got some runouts early, got some easy baskets, and then everything just kind of flowed after that."

After halftime, Hampshire (2-5, 0-1) made some offensive adjustments and turned up the defensive pressure. The Whip-Purs outscored the Rockets 25-17 after intermission, getting as close as 17 points on two occasions.

Justin Bieber added 10 points for Hampshire. Mike Kozenczak and Ryan Burke came off the bench to score 9 and 8 points, respectively.

"They're real quick," said Hampshire coach Bob Barnett of the Rockets. "We went over this. They deny the passing lanes; they're going to get up in you, and for some reason we picked up our dribble out front."

Sean Larkin grabbed 7 rebounds for the Rockets, who out-rebounded Hampshire 14-6 in the first half.

The Rockets' defense held Hampshire to 40 percent shooting and forced 20 turnovers for the game.