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LEWISTOWN - The Lewistown boys basketball team had little trouble against Bald Eagle Area in the opening round of the Panther Club Holiday Classic Tuesday night.

Despite some poor perimeter shooting early on, the Panthers took control of the game in the second quarter to come away with a 70-48 victory over the Eagles.

"We wanted to dictate the tempo with Bald Eagle and a lot of times early in the season when you want to be up-tempo, and you want to get up the court, kids will take ill-advised shots," said Lewistown coach Aaron Gingrich. "And it just so happened our shots came from the perimeter against their 2-3 zone.

"The bottom line was we did enough to win."

The Panthers started the game with a 6-0 run, but turnovers and missed shots allowed the Eagles to get back in it and trim Lewistown's lead to 15-11 after one quarter.

The Panthers proved to be rude hosts by taking control of the game with a 23-12 run in the second to take a 38-23 lead into the half.

Nick Pupo scored eight of his 10 points in the quarter while Doug Randall and A.J. Scheffel contributed eight points apiece. Scheffel led Lewistown on the night with 14 points. Randall was tough on the glass, finishing with 12 boards.

"In tournaments you play it a little differently. We got some guys into the game and we worked on a lot of things and I think that showed tonight," said Gingrich. "We had a few too many turnovers and a few too many defenses lapses.

"Bald Eagle plays hard, there's no question about it. But I thought we got a little too sloppy both on the offensive and defensive ends of the court."

The Eagles refused to give up, playing the Panthers even in the third quarter, thanks to six points from guard Brock Bathurst. Bald Eagle Area started the fourth with a 7-3 run to trim the deficit to 53-42 with just over six minutes to go.

"For us, giving up 48 points is too much and that happens because we had too many defensive breakdowns and that is unacceptable," said Gingrich. "It's only our fifth game and we are a work in progress. We had the Christmas holiday and now we're trying to get back in it. Hopefully, we'll play better tomorrow."

Lewistown put an end to Bald Eagle Area's hopes with a 17-6 run to end the game. Dan Wheeler scored six of his 11 points in the frame.

The Eagles were led by Stevie Eisenhuth with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Bathurst also scored in double digits with 10.

"I like the fact that the kids didn't give up, but we made too many mental mistakes tonight," said Eagles coach Brian Stover. "Give Lewistown credit. They are a solid, well-coached team and they forced us into turnovers and bad shots."

Lewistown, now 4-1 on the season, will meet Octorara in the championship tonight at 7:30. The Braves (5-1) reached the finals with a 52-44 victory over Kittanning.

"We saw a little bit of the first game. Octorara is an athletic team that likes to get up the floor. They have a big kid in the middle, so we'll have our hands full," said Gingrich.