Warren Arceneaux

After struggling to take care of the ball early in the season, the Hamilton Christian Warriors found themselves on the right side of the turnover battle Tuesday night in a 62-58 nondistrict win over St. Louis.

The Warriors (5-3) made a 10-0 run to close the third quarter, taking their first lead at 47-44 on a 3-pointer — off a turnover — by Elijah Belton.

Hamilton put the game away with a 7-0 spurt midway through the fourth quarter to stretch its lead to 59-49. A late St. Louis rally pulled the Saints within 61-58 with 23 seconds left, but a free throw by Belton sealed the win for Hamilton.

Warriors head coach Dexter Washington said he was happy to see his team fight for a win.

“I’m trying to re-establish the Warrior culture,” he said. “I haven’t been pushing them. Tonight I got a little wacky. We had dug a hole for ourselves and had to figure out a way to get out of it. One thing I am proud of is our kids kept fighting.”

St. Louis controlled the first half behind the frontcourt scoring of Terry Sherman, Karlin Hardy and Nick Ughovwa, who combined for 28 points in the half as the Saints built a 34-26 lead.

Washington said Hamilton center Malachi Evans kept his team in the game early.

“He was a big difference in the game,” Washington said. “He scored from places he doesn’t normally score from and became a factor in the paint on defense with his blocked shots.

“Collectively, the guard play was a lot better taking care of the basketball. Our offense struggled early. Malachi carried us in the period. Mason showed up good for us and Tyler Joseph gave us a great effort off the bench.”

Hamilton had six players score between seven and 13 points.

“We went nine deep and we made some plays at the end of the game where you could see their confidence shifting,” Washington said. “I saw a team fight to take the lead and fight to keep the lead. I think our team started to trust each other tonight. We started getting away from the individual stuff. I’m proud of them tonight.”

Hardy finished with a game-high 23 points. Sherman finished with 16 and Ughovwa had 13.The Warriors’ Elijah Belton, who scored 12 points, has his shot challenged by a pair of St. Louis defenders Tuesday night at Hamilton Christian.

Rick Hickman / American Press