LASKER – Five Ridgecroft players scored in double digits as the Rams defeated Northeast Academy 71-52 here Friday night.

The Rams took an early lead and never looked back as they dominated both sides of the court.

&uot;They outplayed us defensively and offensively,&uot; said Eagles head coach John Brown.

&uot;They played with more patience and got better looks at the basket.&uot;

Northeast took an early lead after a deuce from center Brian McLean and John Pope’s trey.

It was short-lived as the Rams went on a 19-point scoring run, including two shots from beyond the arc by Michael Edwards, to take a 19-5 lead.

Buddy Duke sank two foul shots to end the Rams streak and converted a three-point play to cut the Ridgecroft lead to nine (19-10) at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was a battle of three’s as the teams combined for five three-pointers.

Ryan Davis’s trey followed by a Dustin Deloatch bucket brought the Eagles within four (19-15).

Davis answered Chris Hill’s layup with another triple, cutting the lead to three (21-18).

Drew Jones then connected for the Ridgecroft three-pointer but this time Pope buried the shot from beyond the arc.

Edwards scored his third trey of the night to keep the Rams ahead 27-21.

Matt Byrum, who had an outstanding evening on both ends of the floor, scored two buckets in the paint to extend the Ridgecroft lead to 10 at the half (31-21).

McLean drew two fouls early and was forced to the bench during the second with foul trouble.

The Rams took advantage, attacking the inside as they pounded away on the Northeast defenders.

Ridgecroft outscored the Eagles 23-14 in the third quarter, including two Chris Hill treys, as the Rams took a 54-35 lead.

Northeast was unable to cut the lead by more than 15 points in the final quarter as the Rams took a decisive 71-52 victory.

Pope led the Eagles with 12 points followed by Duke and McLean with 11.

Byrum led the way for Ridgecroft with 15 points.

Hill added 14 and Edwards 13 in the victory.

The Rams committed only eight turnovers with the Eagles turning the ball over seven times.

The difference was in shooting percentage with the Rams connecting on 28-of-51 shots (54%) while the Eagles shot 28% from the floor (18-of-64).

In Junior Varsity action Hunter Deloatch scored at the buzzer to give the Eagles a 27-25 victory.

With just seconds remaining on the clock, Arch Harrell sank the back end of two fouls shots to tie the score.

Harrell led the Eagles with 13 points while Harrell added seven.

Josh Morris was the leading scorer for the Rams with six followed by Gavin Mizelle with five points.

Ridgecroft (71): Matt Byrum – 15, Chris Hill – 14, Micheal Edwards – 13, Drew Jones – 10, Bryan Britton – 10, J. Alexander – 4, W. Joyner – 3, W. Alexander – 2

Northeast (52) John Pope – 12, Brian McLean – 11, Buddy Duke – 11, R. Davis – 9, D. Deloatch – 5, C. Vaughan – 3, D. Pinnix – 1