AHOSKIE – It’s never a good idea to dig a hole for yourself.

If, however, you have the firepower to get out of it, it doesn’t have to be fatal.

Hertford County got behind by as much as 12 in the early going Thursday night, but rallied behind a 21-point performance from LaMarcus Bond to secure a 70-62 non-league win over Wilson Hunt.

The Warriors came out on fire, taking the lead on a Lovell Shiprun hoop early in the quarter and extending it to 13 points (24-13) late in the period after a 13-2 run.

The Bears, however, weren’t about to concede their perfect start as they put together a 6-0 run to close the quarter, which cut the lead to five (24-19). That spurt saw the Bears get two points each from Lamar Monger, Marcus Burnell and Antonio Branch.

While the Bears were back in the contest, Hunt continued to fight. They used an 8-2 run in the beginning of the second quarter to get back ahead by nine (32-23), but Hertford County responded with a 11-2 spurt to end the period.

Wayne Pryor started the spurt with a hoop which was followed by back-to-back buckets from Bond. A three-pointer by Branch cut the HCHS deficit to one where it stayed at the intermission (41-40).

After all the offensive firepower in the first half, the defenses dominated the third quarter, allowing a combined 25 points to be scored in the period.

Marcus Sauls hit back-to-back buckets to open the period and give Hunt a five-point advantage (45-40), but that would be the best spurt for the Warriors during the quarter.

Branch hit back-to-back treys to put the Bears ahead, but Hunt got a Shiprun hoop to surge back to the lead.

A free throw by Tydreke Powell deadlocked the score before the Bears closed the period on a 6-2 run highlighted by two hoops from Bond. They led 55-51 after three quarters.

Bond’s run continued in the fourth period as he hit the opening bucket before Anthony Lewis got a hoop and a free throw to get the Warriors within three (57-54).

Hertford County scored the next six points, with a hoop each coming from Bond, Branch and LaMarcus Jenkins. The result was a 63-54 Bears’ lead.

Hunt scored eight of the next 10 points to get within 65-62 with 24 seconds to play, but the Bears put their hopes on Bond, who hit 3-of-4 free throws and a bucket to secure the win.

With the win, the Bears improved to 9-0 on the season heading into the News-Herald Holiday Classic which began Monday night.

Hertford County (70): LaMarcus Bond – 21, LaMarcus Jenkins – 14, Antonio Branch – 10, T. Powell – 7, M. Burnell – 7, W. Pryor – 5, L. Monger – 4, C. Mizelle – 2

Hunt (62): Anthony Lewis – 20, Lovell Shiprun – 15, Quentin Stackhouse – 12, M. Sauls – 8, B. White – 7