There was nothing that was going to stand in the way of the Flagstaff boys basketball team getting a win over Winslow at home Wednesday.

Starting off with an explosion of 23 points, punctuated by a huge dunk by junior Trevor Johnson, the Eagles (4-3) held the Bulldogs (6-4) to six in the first quarter and just kept their foot on the gas through the end of the game.

Flagstaff had moved up to the No. 24 spot in the AIA DII power points rankings and are sure to continue its climb once the rankings are updated this morning.

Flagstaff played its second-straight game where it got off to a big lead, and that allowed head coach James Kirk to rest some players and go to his bench to get other guys some experience.

"It's great because everyone needs to get in and get some experience; we never know what we're going to need," Kirk said.

Freshman Brett Morrow got the start Wednesday as Tyler McCoy was not available to play, and Kirk said though Morrow and his other freshmen are comfortable playing off the bench, all the minutes they can play are nothing but good time spent.

"The young guys are doing some good things," Kirk said. "Brett had a chance to come in and experience a start and now he's been through that and all the minutes will help. Kaleb Sandoval is doing a great job and we're all learning."

Morrow finished with six points and a team-best 10 rebounds. Senior guard Bailey Stephens led the Eagle with 17 and Johnson scored 13 in limited playing time.

Flagstaff took advantage of 19 trips to the free-throw line by sinking 11 shots while its defense played a clean game, sending Winslow to the line just eight times.

"We were trying to keep our heads and it never really matters with Winslow," Kirk said. "Whether they're down or whatever they're always going to scrap. I would have liked to see our guys work harder boxing out. We had the size advantage but with Winslow that doesn't do any good."

Flagstaff will host Kingman at 7 p.m. Friday and plays the first of two games against Coconino next Tuesday, but Kirk said the team is taking things one game at a time.

"We have to match up with Kingman's physical style of play and still play our game without getting caught up in what they're doing," he said.

NPA 63, ASH FORK 40

The Spartans got 18 points from Braxton Hibbert in a big win over DIV rival Ash Fork Tuesday night.

Head coach Jess Ramirez said after a slow start -- NPA led 13-6 after the first quarter -- his Spartans picked up the pace.

NPA scored 20 and 18 in the second and third quarters, respectively, and outlasted Ash Fork for the victory.

"We ended up with eight steals and our pressure defense really won the game for us," Ramirez said.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Eagles girls jumped out to a very quick 14-7 lead over Winslow in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs switched its defense from man to zone and Flagstaff's shooters went cold in a 49-40 loss.

Winslow (8-0) is the No. 2 team in Division III while the Eagles dropped to 3-3 and sat at No. 24 in DII as of press time.

Flagstaff had trouble dealing with the Bulldogs zone, but only because the Eagles shooters couldn't make even open baskets.

"Unfortunately for us at times it felt and looked like (there was a lid on the basket)," head coach Tyrone Johnson said. "We look to improve our shooting so when we get open looks we can knock them down at a higher percentage rate.

"We knew they would play a tight man and knew that would be to our advantage with our quick dribblers but when they went to the zone we got stagnant," Johnson added. "We didn't penetrate or do anything to make them go back to man-to-man. When you don't do anything from outside the zone is the perfect defense."

Savannah Bix led the Eagles with 16 points, something that Johnson said she should be able to do every game.

"Those are the types of performance that needs to be regular," he said. "I'm hoping that's not an inspired performance, and it's always good to see her perform well." Both Kyndell Kelly and Semaj Blanton scored seven for the Eagles.

Flagstaff played 11 players and Johnson replaced his starters with 3:05 in the game as the Eagles trailed by 12.

"I think we have a deep bench and we don't always get to dig down as deep as you like. The bench came in and performed and I like to see that.

Flagstaff plays at Kingman Friday.

Bill Harris can be reached at bharris@azdailysun.com or 556-2251.