MOSS BLUFF — Sam Houston struggled with turnovers and controlling the pace of the game early, but the Broncos eventually sorted things out and turned a close game into a double-digit win Tuesday to beat Washington-Marion 54-42.

The Broncos fell behind 9-6 in the first quarter but tied the game by halftime, then outscored the Charging Indians 19-6 in the third quarter.

“We had a lot of early turnovers,” Sam Houston first-year head coach Jayce Hebert said. “They (Washington-Marion) sped us up a lot.

“Our game plan was to slow it down and play under control. We didn’t do that to start, but we settled in in the second quarter. Once we settled in, we started to find the open guys, got good looks and started to play our game. We started to get easy baskets around the rim.”

Landon Duhon’s 3-pointer just over a minute into the second half put the Charging Indians (2-4) up 21-18, but Sam Houston’s (3-3) Blaine Davey scored on a layup and drew the foul with 5:49 left in the third quarter. He made the free throw to tie the game again, and Max Quarles’ jumper put the Broncos on top a minute later.

Sam Houston closed out the third quarter with a 12-1 run to take its first double-digit lead and extended that run to 22-4 as they hit five of their first six shots to open the fourth quarter.

“We were due for that,” Hebert said. “We had been missing a lot of shots in our previous games.

“We hadn’t shot the ball well at all. We actually shot 19 percent from the floor in our last game in Pineville on Friday. So I think the boys were due for that. We are a team that shoots the ball extremely well. I think that is going to give them a lot of confidence moving forward. It’s something we definitely need.”

Sam Houston held Washington-Marion to 9 of 10 shooting during the big run that lasted more than five minutes.

“My biggest thing when I took over this year was getting them to buy in on the defensive end, and they have done that,” Hebert said “Ultimately, that has been who we are.

“We have held some great teams to under 38 points and lower. One we lost on a buzzer-beater to Anacoco, and we put ourselves in a position to beat Lake Charles College Prep by a point. It all came from our defense. Everybody has stepped up and really played well. Max Quarles has been the core part of our defense, especially off the ball because he does a great job getting to help early and taking charges. I think he had two charges, and I think that put him at four or five for the season.”

Hebert hopes the Broncos can cut down on turnovers to prevent any more slow starts.

“Offensively, one of our game keys coming in was protect the ball and play with control,” Hebert said. “If we do that, we are skilled enough with the ball in our hands to turn it over.

“We just have to settle down and not get flustered so early in the game. Protecting the ball is a big thing that we have to focus on moving forward.”

Sam Houston had five players with at least eight points led by 11 apiece from Kyren Talbert and Davey. Carson Thibodeaux finished with 10 points.

Braylion Williams led Washington-Marion with nine points.