Central Christian and Restoration looked almost even for a full half before the Warriors pulled away in the final two period for a 61-41 win.

Wesley Bell led the second-half surge — and all scorers — with 29 points.

“Wesley Bell stepped up for us,” said Central Christian coach Carl Rawls. “We’ve been waiting on him to step up like we knew he could.”

Bryant Rawls was the star of a 15-4 run that extended the Warriors’ 3-point lead to 14 at 44-30. He contributed seven of the run’s points.

“I think we played a great game,” said Carl Rawls. “We did what we had to do. I told the guys we’ve got to come out ready to play, and we did that.”

Bell came on strong in the fourth quarter to put the game way. He hit almost every shot he took, scoring 15 points in a 17-2 run that pushed the lead to 59-38 with less than a minute to play.

While it seemed Bell couldn’t miss, the Bulldogs couldn’t score. They committed numerous turnovers that led to transition baskets — the Warriors’ bread and butter.

“They took it to us,” said Restoration coach Robert Pritchett. “We’ve got a young team, but I feel like they wanted it more than us. They took it to us.”

Central Christian jumped out to a 10-point lead on a Bell layup at the 2:17 mark of the first quarter.

Restoration kept the deficit manageable, then used a 7-0 run capped by a James Thomas layup to take a brief lead at 21-20 in the second quarter.

A Rawls 3-point play closed out the half to give the Warriors a 27-23 lead.

Rawls finished with 13, and Keevan Woods added nine points.

Detraio Wharton led the Bulldogs with 14 points, and Thomas contributed 13.