TERRA CEIA – Ridgecroft School jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.

The varsity Rams held a 13-2 advantage after one quarter and cruised to a 64-41 victory here Tuesday in the opening round of the Tarheel Independent Conference tournament.

“We played well,” Ridgecroft Head Coach Brandon Hodges said. “It was a fast-paced game, which we like, and that resulted in a lot of easy baskets. The guys did a great job on both ends of the floor.

“These kids are playing good basketball right now and are peaking at the right time of the year,” he added.

Austin Britton paced the Rams with 25 points while Landon Larabee added seven. Nathan Pearce and Michael Byrum chipped in six points each. Bobby Edwards and Jordan Harrell each contributed five.

Rounding out the scoring for Ridgecroft were Ryan Beggs (4), Kinchen Taylor (4) and Max Boone (2).

Christian Ange led the Raiders with 20.

Ridgecroft jumped out to the early lead and held a 35-21 halftime lead. That advantage was up to 53-27 after three quarters.

Ridgecroft, the number three seed in the tourney, met second-seeded Hobgood Academy last night (Friday) in the TIC semifinal. The winner advanced to tonight’s championship game at 6:30 p.m. against Lawrence Academy. The game was scheduled to be held at Terra Ceia Christian School.