And that's exactly how the Bulldogs disposed of visiting Springfield, 50-39, in Manchester on Thursday.
"Our quick start really gave us an edge," BBA senior guard Chris Antonez said. "We came out flying, played fast-paced on both ends of the floor and ran out to a solid lead."
Antonez paced the Bulldogs (12-4) with 14 points and seven steals on defense, followed by 10 points each from Ben Pierce and Joel Zoufaly.
"We played a great first half," Pierce said. "Good defense all-around from everyone, but still managed to miss a couple of quality offensive opportunities that really could have put [Springfield] away for good."
The Cosmos (8-8) were led by Brandon Boyle, who finished with 13 points and was the only Springfield player in double figures.
"BBA is a very good team," Springfield head coach Peter Peck said. "They made us pay for being lethargic and that was the difference in the game."
The Bulldogs opened the game on a 9-2 before the Cosmos hit a triple late in the first quarter to make the score 13-5 heading into the second.
"Our defense frustrated [Springfield], we had them confused and were able to take advantage offensively," BBA head coach Seth Rice said. "I still think we left a bunch of points on the table
"Additionally, we were smart with the ball tonight, Springfield thrives on getting people to turn the ball over, and we finished with only nine turnovers tonight while forcing 17 steals, which fueled our fast-break offense."
Bulldog senior forward Joel Zoufaly opened the second quarter with consecutive buckets by creating his own shot in the low post, extending the BBA lead to 19-5. The Cosmos didn't score until the 4:50 mark, as the Bulldogs cruised into the halftime break with a 27-14 lead.
The Cosmos made a run to open the second half, as TJ Wallace hit a runner and was fouled, a minute into the third quarter. The Springfield senior nailed the free throw to cut BBA's lead down to eight.
"Offensively, we did in the third what we should been doing all along in the first half," Peck said. "There wasn't any great brainstorming in the locker room at halftime, we simply moved the ball around and things started to fall for us."
Cosmo junior Billy Wheeler hit an easy lay-up on an inbounds play with two minutes remaining in the third, slicing the gap down to three.
"The third quarter was rough," Pierce said. "We got complacent but regained our composure in the fourth for a good win."
The Bulldogs stood still throughout the third and were punished for not rebounding on both ends of the floor and a lack of penetration to the basket, but BBA still held a 37-33 lead entering the fourth.
BBA's Shane Quintana drilled two jumpers in the opening moments of the fourth, and the Bulldogs regained their offensive flow down the stretch for the victory.
"It took an entire quarter, but we finally started moving again," Antonez said. "We got back to the defense we'd been playing in the first half and calmed down a bit with the ball to wait for the right shot."
The Bulldogs are back on the floor at Windsor on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
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