VINEMONT — Daniel Wakefield couldn’t find any words for his Hanceville boys basketball team during halftime of Tuesday’s county clash at Vinemont.

And, perhaps for the first time, that was a good thing.

The Bulldogs (6-4) played an exceptional first half, led by as many as 41 points and raced away with an 82-43 win against the Eagles in a performance Wakefield called “nearly perfect.”

“I didn’t have anything to tell them after that,” the longtime coach said. “Shooting the ball, good defense, points off turnovers, not turning it over. Everything went our way tonight. I didn’t expect a score like this.”

Hanceville tickled the twine early and often in a 29-point first quarter — six 3-pointers helped the cause — to build an essentially insurmountable lead in the first eight minutes of play.

That wasn’t even the best part for the Purple and Gold, either.

Though Wakefield likes to see his guards get going, he couldn’t help but be pleased with the way his post players showed up in the paint. R.J. Evans (14 points), Luke Duffie (seven) and Jordan Peoples (seven) all did solid work on the blocks.

“Obviously, we need to shoot well,” he said. “But if we can score inside like we did tonight, we’ll be a pretty strong team offensively. I’m really happy with the way that’s going right now.”

Xavier Malcom (21 points), Isaac Weissend (14) and Jose Orozco (eight) combined to net eight 3-pointers.

The Red and White were led in scoring by Garrett Boland with 12 points. Corbin Barnett roped in 11 points, while Hunter Clehorn collected nine.

Despite the lopsided contest, Wakefield has no doubt Vinemont will return to its usual stubborn self in short order.

“We’ve played many games up here to where those guys will play you harder than anyone in the county,” he said. “They’re a lot better than tonight. They didn’t have their best game and maybe we even played a little bit over our heads. But that said, there’s not much to complain about tonight.”

Hanceville will host Fairview on Thursday, while Vinemont will welcome in West End.

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Varsity Girls

Hanceville 57, Vinemont 16

Have a night, Taylor Hollingsworth.

The Bulldog senior recorded 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals for a triple-double in the runaway victory over the Eagles on Tuesday night.

Hanceville (6-3) held a comfortable 31-4 lead at halftime.

“Our defense is getting better, and we’re doing a way better job of controlling the boards,” Purple and Gold coach Christina Watson said. “We still have lots of area for improvement, but we’re moving in the right direction.”

Malia Howell and Karmen Johnson each tossed in seven-point contributions for the Bulldogs, who’ll look to notch their third straight win against Fairview on Thursday.

Sarah Smith and Andrea Diemert both had four points for Vinemont.