The Bulldogs left no doubt from the start they would take advantage of Van-Far’s struggles.

Nothing went right for the Eagles. Shots clanged off the rim or were blocked by the taller Mexico defenders. Turnovers became fast break opportunities for the home side.

By the time Van-Far’s Preston Burnett converted one of two from the line midway through the second quarter, six Bulldogs were on the board and Mexico had run up a telescopic 30-1 lead on their way to a 77-23 drubbing in the final game of Saturday’s Gary Filbert Classic at the MHS Sports Complex.

“We just had a big height advantage,” said Mexico’s Daeye Miller. “You come off the pick, it was open every time.”

Miller proved unstoppable. He scored 16 points on the night, including a personal 6-0 run early in the second quarter. And when not scoring, he was setting up his teammates – making a flying steal at mid court then feeding the ball to Raef Yager streaking to the basket, for example.

He even won the tip off.

Things went awry for the Indians early on. Jordan Mitchell got a hand on a Van-Far pass. Drew Blevins ended up with the ball and laid it home. A second bit of thievery by Mitchell put him on the line, hitting one. Then Miller and Isaiah Reams took over.

In a flash it was 14-0.

“It would have been different if we hit some shots,” said Van-Far’s Nikos Connaway, who scored 30 in the team’s previous outing. “It would have gotten us into the flow.”

Mexico head coach Darren Pappas noted that they were aware of the Indians freshman and his propensity for finding the net, so the Bulldogs keyed on him in the game’s early stages.

“You can’t take a team like Van-Far lightly,” Pappas said. “We did a good job mixing things up defensively.”

After Burnett put the Indians on the board, Connaway stole the ball and drove coast to coast for two. He then hit a jumper from six feet. Damon Long and Cayden Caldwell completed an 8-1 Van-Far run that sought to make the outcome respectable.

Long came up with a loose ball and found Hunter Scrogin on a break and Van-Far had rallied for 10 points in the final four minutes of the half.

But Mexico’s offense was clicking. Yager sank a three. He found Peyton Willer open on the wing with a no look pass for three more. And Michael White hit from beyond the arc to close out the half 40-10.

“We worked hard in practice to keep up the intensity,” Mitchell said.

White notched a personal victory as the first quarter came to a close. He soared toward the rim and slammed home a dunk.

“I had to get one this game,” the Mexico junior said.

Miller – who has a dunk to his credit – rated White’s effort an 8 out of ten.

Mexico continued to romp in the second half, with nine players getting a mark in the scorebook. In addition to Miller’s 16, White with 11 and Reams with 10 hit for double digits. Blevins and Willer scored 9 each, while Yager ended up with 8. Mitchell scored 5. Dante Billups and Dante Kelley finished with 4 apiece.

Long led the way for Van-Far, scoring 9, including a three pointer in the second half. Connaway tacked on 6 and Scrogin 4. Caldwell added 2 while Burnett and Gage Gibson hit one each from the line.

Long admitted the first 12 minutes of the game were frustrating for the Indians. But recovering against a larger Mexico team showed some character.

“This definitely builds our confidence up,” he said.