YOUNGSVILLE — The warmest place in Warren County on a chilly Tuesday evening may just have been the Youngsville Eagles’ offensive end of the court.

The Eagles’ Rylan Benton and David Manning hit the team’s first five attempts of the season — all 3-pointers — allowing the hosts to build a quick 15-0 lead during a season-opening 57-40 victory over Titusville at Youngsville High School.

The Rockets were forced to call a timeout with 4:49 remaining in the opening quarter, but by that point they were already down 15. Things stabilized from there, but Braydon Baker hit the team’s sixth 3-pointer moments before the end of a 21-10 first quarter.

Playing in front of a large group of Warren basketball players that made the trip to support the Eagles, Youngsville’s lead swelled to as many as 24 midway through the second quarter before Titusville ended the half on a 12-0 run to make it 36-24 at intermission.

Benton finished the opening 16 minutes with 14 points while Manning added 12 and Ethan Beers another 7.

Titusville continued to chip away at the Youngsville lead in the third quarter, working what had been a 24-point deficit to just seven with 4:31 left in the third.

Benton responded with a bucket, and a three-point play from Baker pushed the lead back to double figures for the Eagles and it would remain there the rest of the way.

During much of the second half, the Rockets chose to shadow Benton wherever he went on the court — even if he stayed near the opponent’s basket on the opposite end of the action. The added space allowed Youngsville to play keepaway for large parts of the fourth quarter with the Eagles running nearly two minutes of clock in a single possession at one point.

With 3:49 to play, the visitors got back within 12 at 50-38 before the Eagles clicked off seven straight points — two from Baker and five from Rodney Rowland — to put the game out of reach.

First-year head coach Jesse Benton was pleased with how his team came out of the gate and hopes this game goes one step further in instilling the team’s belief in its ability.

“These guys just need to believe that they have the talent they do,” said Benton. “Too many times last year they’d get down on themselves in tough spots. Tonight, we set up plays to maximize our opportunities and the boys played with confidence and belief in themselves. It’s a great start to the year.”

Benton finished with 18 points to lead the Eagles. Baker added 13 points, and Manning scored all 12 of his points in the first eight-plus minutes of the contest.

Titusville was a 37-27 winner in the junior varsity game. Hudson Haight led all scorers with 14 points in defeat.

The Eagles return to action Friday when they travel to compete in the Forest Area Tip-off Tournament.

TITUSVILLE (40): Kerr 3 1-2 7, Fratus 6 4-6 20, Schmidt 2 0-0 4, Sexton 1 2-4 5, Covell 0 0-2 0, Cullper 1 0-0 2, Mehlenbacher 1 0-0 2, Totals: 14 7-14 40

YOUNGSVILLE (57): Benton 7 1-1 18, Manning 4 0-0 12, Baker 5 1-1 13, Beers 4 1-1 9, Rowland 2 1-2 5, Moore 0 0-0 0, Pikna 0 0-0 0, Totals: 22 4-5 57

Titusville 10 14 11 5 — 40

Youngsville 21 15 9 12 — 57

3-pointers: Fratus 4, Sexton, Benton 3, Manning 4, Baker 2.

Jayvees: Titusville 37, Youngsville 27