Byron blasts past Burlington Central

The key to Byron's 92-46 boys basketball win at Burlington Central Friday night wasn't too hard to figure out.

The Tigers shot 57 percent to 24 percent for the Rockets.

Byron's passing and ballhandling set up good shots while the Tigers' defense kept the Rockets off balance all night. That, and the Rockets couldn't find the bottom of the basket.

"We couldn't hit the water if we were falling out of a boat," said Rockets' coach Brett Porto.

Hunter Hill scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the first half for Byron. He added 5 assists and 4 rebounds.

Eleven different players scored for Central, but no one hit double figures. Ray Hunnicutt led the way with 8 points and 7 rebounds, and Sam Klein added 7 points and 9 boards, but the Rockets (1-3) could never establish anything on the offensive end.

Defensively, Byron's game plan worked to perfection.

"We always try to protect the paint, and we talked about forcing them to take contested jump shots, and making them one and done," said Byron coach Tom Schmidt.

The Rockets were just 16 of 68 from the field overall and 2 of 24 from 3-point range.

At least it's still early.

"I'd rather have it now than late in the year," said Klein. "I don't want it anytime, actually, but I'd rather get it over with now."

Byron led just 13-10 midway through the first quarter, but outscored the Rockets 21-6 over the next 6-plus minutes, taking a 34-16 lead. The Tigers led 43-25 at halftime and continued to pull away throughout the second half.

Justin Nason added 15 points, Logan Crull had 12 and Gavyn Nelson 11 for the Tigers (5-1).

Jared Moxness added 6 points and Luke Fleming 5 for the Rockets.