Burlington dumps North Boone

POPLAR GROVE -At Thursday's practice, Burlington Central freshman Ray Hunnicutt was unsure about his new position.

By the third quarter of the Rockets' game at North Boone on Friday night, Hunnicutt made the Vikings very uncomfortable with his positioning.

Hunnicutt scored 9 of his 11 points in the third period and led the Rockets with 7 rebounds, 6 offensive, as Central rolled North Boone 53-49 in Big Northern Conference East action.

"it felt pretty good," Hunnicutt said of playing the high post, his new position. "It's different, but it's kind of fun."

The fun translated into some much needed momentum for the Rockets (7-6, 2-1) during the third period. After leading 16-7 after the first quarter, North Boone (6-8, 1-2) brought the game to within 28-25 on the opening possession of the third quarter.

Hunnicutt answered back on the next drive with his first bucket of the game. He finished the third period 3 of 4 from the field. He finished the game going 5 of 6 from the free-throw line as well.

"Ray played one of his better games tonight," Central coach Chris Payne said. "I think he can do some good things (in the high post). He got some big offensive rebounds in the second half."

Central, which hosts Hampshire tonight, also stiffened its defensive efforts in the second half. North Boone point guard Tyler Bielski scored 8 of his game-high 20 points in the second quarter, which allowed the Vikings to hang with Central. He was held to just 0-of-2 in the third quarter as Central outscored North Boone 19-12 to take a 47-35 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

Payne credited point guard Matt McCurdy (5 points, 6 assists, 2 steals) as a key component of slowing down the Vikings.

"Matt was really solid with the ball," Payne said. "The point guard is the one who takes control. I think he did a good job with that."

Central opened the game up leading 18-8 thanks largely to four 3-pointers by Mark Mastio in the first quarter. Mastio led the Rockets with 18 points off of six 3-pointers, a personal best in both regards for the senior guard.

Mastio finished the game going 6 of 12 from beyond the arc, ending a recent shooting slump. He was 4 of 6 in the first quarter.

"In practice, I haven't been doing well shooting," Mastio said. "As soon as you get in a rhythm, there is nothing to get you out of it."

North Boone also got a double-double from center Ethan Wirth (10 points, 10 rebounds) and 10 points from Kyle Garman.