West Stokes found ways to beat Mount Airy’s defense, pulling away for a 70-44 win Friday night.

The Wildcats are the only team to beat East Surry this season and is tied in the loss column in the Northwest Conference standings.

“They are playing and shooting the ball with a lot of confidence,” said Mount Airy Coach Kevin Spainhour.

The Granite Bears have focused on defense and hadn’t allowed a team to score 70 points all season until Friday.

West Stokes handled the Bears’ pressure and also rebounded very well, said Spainhour. The Wildcats stopped the Bears’ transition game and forced them into a halfcourt offense where they struggled at times, he admitted.

West Stokes led 15-10 at the end of the first quarter, but the Bears cut the lead to just 23-22 more than halfway through the second. After that, the Wildcats ran off the last 12 points to go into the break up 35-22.

The Bears took the third quarter 13-12. Spainhour noted that the Bears played the Wildcats dead even through three quarters except for that 12-point run that gave the visitors a 47-35 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

In the last period, the Wildcats poured it on for a 26-point win.

The game pitted two brothers against each other on the coaching front. Kevin Spainhour faced off against his older brother Dan, head coach of the Wildcats.

West Stokes (13-5, 9-1) had four players in double figures, led by Austin Fleming with 16. Jacob Nunn had 12, and Will Bennett and Reid Goodson had 10 each.

Tanner Joyce (14) and Taylor Bobbitt (12) led the Bears along with Austin Taylor six, Terry Adams four, Jake Turney three, Chris Anthony two, Sean Best two, and Tyler Parries one.