YOUNGSVILLE — A hotly contested county clash went the way of the home team on Friday as Youngsville pulled away from Sheffield for a 61-46 boys basketball victory at Youngsville High School.

From the start, the game was close as neither team would hold more than a six-point edge until late in the third quarter. The Eagles held a 14-9 lead thanks to 7 early points from Rylan Benton, but Sheffield’s Colby Barr hit a buzzer-beater to end the first that got the Wolverines back within three.

Sheffield came out swinging in the second quarter, getting 5 points from Nakes Holsey as part of a 9-0 run that put the Wolverines up by six. Youngsville’s first bucket of the second didn’t come until the midway point of the quarter when Ethan Beers completed a drive to the hoop to break the cold spell.

The Beers’ bucket ignited Youngsville’s offense as the Eagles completed a 10-3 run over the final three minutes of the first half to take a 26-24 lead into the locker room.

The teams traded body blows early in the third quarter and the Eagles lead stood at just three entering the final minute of the third. That’s when David Manning and Benton hit back-to-back shots and Benton calmly canned a 3-pointer just before the final buzzer to give the Eagles their biggest lead at 44-34.

Sheffield’s Leshawn William made the first bucket of the final quarter before Benton scored with 7:06 to play and the Eagles’ lead never fell under double digits the rest of the way. Manning’s third 3-pointer of the night with 2:43 left was the knockout punch, sending the Eagles to a 3-0 start.

“We started out cold and I just didn’t feel we were mentally in the game,” said Youngsville coach Jesse Benton. “We gave up the ball with some bad passes and our shots just weren’t falling. I was happy with the way we regrouped at halftime and started playing our game. That really helped us take control in the second half.”

Rylan Benton paced the Youngsville effort with 21 points with Manning adding 16 points and Braydon Baker 12 points. Sheffield finished with its own trio in double figures with William scoring 15 points, Barr 12 and Holsey 11.

Youngsville’s Hudson Haight scored 15 points and teammate Uriah Gallegos added a dozen of his own during the Eagles’ 43-32 junior varsity win. Aamond Bowman scored 15 points and Chase Fetzeck added 8 more for the Wolverines.

Several of Youngsville’s 1,000-point scorers were honored during halftime of Friday’s game, including Paul Yucha, Andy Skerda, Shane Pence, Kennedy Cratty and the late Gage Hendrickson.

The Eagles next enter a long road trip, beginning Monday in North Clarion. The next scheduled home game isn’t until Jan. 14 against Union City. Sheffield is back in action Wednesday when it stays in the county, hosting Eisenhower.

SHEFFIELD (46)

Jack Chapman 0 1-2 1, James Chapman 0 0-0 0, Holsey 4 2-2 11, Barr 6 0-0 12, Fetzeck 0 0-0 0, Brown 2 2-2 7, Kyler 0 0-2 0, Bowman 0 0-0 0, William 7 1-1 15. Totals 19 6-9 46.

YOUNGSVILLE (61)

Benton 9 0-0 21, Beers 1 1-4 3, Baker 5 0-0 12, Manning 6 1-3 16, Moore 2 3-4 7, Rowland 1 0-2 2, Pikna 0 0-0 0, Hammerbeck 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 5-13 61.

Sheffield 11 13 10 12 — 46

Youngsville 14 12 18 17 — 61

3-point goals–Holsey, Brown, Manning 3, Baker 2, Benton 3

Jayvees: Youngsville 43, Sheffield 32.