TULARE – Aberdeen Christian set the tone with its defense, then cranked up the offense in win over Hitchcock-Tulare Monday night.

The Knights allowed just two points in the first six and half minutes to start the game and collected a 66-38 non-conference boys’ basketball win.

“I thought our defense really got us going,” said Christian coach Matt Rohrbach. “Dylan (Hofer) and Luke (Kaiser) were really active early on.”

The Knights then got a burst of energy from reserve Raymond Rodriguez-Martinez, who missed a couple of games recently.

“It was awesome to have Raymond back with the team,” Rohrbach said. “His energy is contagious.”

Christian bolted out to 10-0 lead, soon built a double-digit advantage, and then pulled away in the second half en route to the victory.

Brooks Jett had another big game, finishing with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. He had plenty of help during the contest as Christian received at least eight points from five different players.

Hofer finished with 11 points, Kaiser and Ethan Biel each contributed 10, and Martinez had eight.

“It’s always fun when we can get different lineups into the game and keep the energy high,” Rohrbach said.

Briggs LaBrie came off the bench to lead the Patriots with 10 points. Patrick Maynard and Aiden Frankenstein each contributed seven.

Christian, 13-4 on the season, has a quick turnaround, hosting Langford Area tonight at the Christian School Gym. The Lions have an explosive scorer in Kassen Keough, who will draw the defensive attention of the Knights.

“They have the Keough boy,” Rohrbach said. “Need to make him a priority and continue to play winning-the-possession basketball.”

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (13-4): Jett Johnson 1 0-0 3, Brooks Jett 8 2-2 18, Luke Kaiser 5 0-0 10, Dylan Hofer 5 0-0 11, Raymond Rodriguez-Martinez 4 0-0 8, Grady Jett 3 0-0 6, Ethan Biel 4 0-0 10. Totals 30-62 2-2 66.

HITCHCOCK-TULARE (5-12): Logan LaBrie 2 0-0 4, Patrick Maynard 3 1-1 7, Preston Wipf 2 1-2 5, Devin Enander 1 0-2 2, Aiden Frankenstein 3 1-2 7, Briggs LaBrie 4 0-1 10, Deegan Moes 1 0-0 3. Totals 16-50 3-8 38.

Aberdeen Christian 15 27 43 66

Hitchcock-Tulare 6 17 21 38

3-point field goals – Johnson, Hofer, Biel 2; B. LaBrie 2, Moes. Total fouls – Aberdeen Christian 8; Hitchcock-Tulare 1. Rebounds – Aberdeen Christian 39 (B. Jett 12); Hitchcock-Tulare 35 (Maynard 8). Turnovers – Aberdeen Christian 13; Hitchcock-Tulare 24. Blocked shots – Aberdeen Christian 5 (B. Jett 4); Hitchcock-Tulare 1. Steals – Aberdeen Christian 15 (Martinez 5).