Rodkeithrick Hurry poured in 14 and Glentravious Olds added another 13 as the Ellwood Christian Eagles knocked off Wilcox Academy 55-37 to begin their season in perfect fashion.

For head coach Carl Rawls, the start of the game was not nearly as memorable as he would like it to have been.

“We got off to an extremely slow start,” Rawls said. “We were down to 11-4, playing well, but couldn’t get going.”

Rawls said he slowed things down on the defensive side of the court, moving to a 2-3 zone, which created a number of turnovers and gave the Eagles easy baskets on the other end.

After trailing 11-4 early one to the Wildcats, Ellwood raced back to finish the first quarter with a 16-11 lead. In the second quarter, the Eagles’ defense put the clamps down, holding Wilcox Academy to just three points the entire quarter.

“We really stress defense. That’s what wins games,” Rawls said. “I was extremely pleased with how we came out in the second quarter and held them to just three points.”

Ellwood’s Michael Moore added another eight points from the field, but recorded double-digit rebounds, bringing in 10 on the night.

For Wilcox Academy, Richmond Gunter led the way with 12 points while Hudson McGraw added nine.

Ellwood will play host to Autauga Academy Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., while Wilcox will host their first home game of the season next Tuesday when they take on Tuscaloosa Academy.