ORRVILLE — Size mattered in the Dallas County rivalry and season opener Friday night for Selma and Keith.

The Saints front line tandem of Wendell Lewis and Jamie King made their presence known as they pulled down 14 and 10 rebounds and blocked nine and four shots, respectively, and led Selma to a 54-43 win.

“If you were to grade us tonight, I’d give us a C+,” said Selma coach Woodie Jackson, who is in his first year at the school. “We played OK in spots, but we still got a lot of work to do.”

Both teams committed several first-quarter turnovers and missed easy baskets. The score was knotted at 9 after the first eight minutes of play, though the Bears led until the final minute of the quarter.

The Saints got their offense going in the second quarter as they outscored the Bears 17-5. A 3-pointer by DeAngelo Norris put Selma on top midway through the quarter, and the Saints never trailed again.

Selma worked the inside in the third quarter and pulled away to a 15-point advantage.

But Keith never let the game get away. The Bears dropped in just one field goal in the second quarter and didn’t get another one until the 1:19 mark of the third quarter.

The Bears saved the fourth quarter for their biggest offensive output of the game. They outscored Selma 19-9 the first six minutes of the period. A Rodney Ellis layup with less than two minutes left in the game cut the Bears’ deficit to just 5 points. Keith never scored the rest of the contest.

“We set out to win this game,” said Tommy Tisdale, who is coaching in his first season with the boys. “My guys stayed in the game.”

Justin Ravizee led all scorers with 18 points for Selma. Lewis finished with 13 points.

Gerald Matthews chipped in 14 points for Keith. Ronnie Rosemond added nine, and Ellis dropped in eight off the bench.