WEST ORANGE — With the football season ending earlier than in recent years, West Orange-Stark had a full complement of players available and a three-game winning streak on the line against defending 5A basketball champion Memorial.

“They got their football players back,” first-year Memorial coach Alden Lewis said. “They were feisty. They were physical, but we were able to prevail and get a win out of here.”

The Titans scored the game’s first 10 points and never trailed Tuesday in a 71-56 victory over the Mustangs.

Memorial (10-5) won with a balanced offense led by freshman guard Amaree Abram’s 16 points. Of the eight Titans who scored, three ended up in double figures, with Kenneth Lofton Jr. (nine points) and Nate Clover (eight) almost joining the short list.

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But it all started with defense, according to Abram.

“Defense wins games,” he said. “We got stops. It leads to scoring, and we executed on offense.”

West Orange-Stark (9-4) had made the state football championship round each of the past four years but was ousted the 4A Division II Region III title game by Silsbee last Friday. Still, first-year coach Bill Barstow helped the basketball Mustangs get off to a solid start this season with some of his players still donning football pads.

The Mustangs even knocked down a pair of three-point baskets in the final minute of the first quarter to pull within 20-14, but the Titans began each of the first three periods with a sizable run that made it hard for the home team to recover from.

Lewis said the Titans picked up a sense of grit from its third-place finish in the Cypress Hoops Invitational.

“Every game was a good game,” Lewis said. “It’s a good tournament to be in, and it was just great opponents for the whole weekend. We learned some valuable lessons.”

One lesson the Mustangs might have learned from Tuesday was not dunking the basketball during warm-ups. They did, and Steven Wilson made two technical free throws for the Titans to begin the game as a result, rather than a tipoff.

Jaden Conner had 12 points and Wilson finished with 11 for Memorial.

“It was a complete team effort today, and that’s what we wanted,” Lewis said. “We wanted to give guys rest when we can and get other guys involved.”

Terron Brown led the Mustangs with 26 points, and Donanerius Brown added 15.

The Titans will begin District 21-5A action next Tuesday at Barbers Hill, a team they defeated in last season’s 5A bi-district round.

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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews