Staff photo / Preston Byers Valley Christian’s Deion Miller, right, and Lowellville’s Jaden Coon watch Miller’s shot during Friday’s game in Youngstown.

YOUNGSTOWN — Valley Christian got off to about as poor of a start it could Friday vs. Lowellville, but the Eagles recovered, surged ahead and, after a late rally by the Rockets, did just enough down the stretch to hold on and beat Lowellville 65-56 on senior night.

“It was a battle,” Eagles head coach Dolph Carroll said. “Lowellville’s a really good team. They’re scrappy, they play hard, they play a great zone. I thought our kids were very resilient in getting down the way we did, being able to battle back and keep our composure and not lose our minds. I thought they did a tremendous job.”

The Rockets dominated the opening minutes of the game. Four different players chipped in points as part of an 11-0 start that forced the Eagles on their back foot and burn an early timeout. Although VC kept the deficit from growing any larger, primarily as a result of five points by Deion Miller, Lowellville remained ahead by 11 at the end of the first quarter.

The second period proved to be key for the Eagles, who resorted to a full-court press defense. Harassing the Rocket ball handlers eventually paid dividends, as, after back-and-forth action to begin the quarter, the Eagles forced a few turnovers and scored six straight points in a span of 28 seconds to pull within five and ignite the home crowd.

A few minutes later, VC again strung together baskets as part of a quick, 7-0 run to tie the game at 30 with less than a minute remaining in the half. Lowellville, which was outscored 25-15 in the quarter, still took a one-point lead into the locker room after a 3-point play in the final 30 seconds.

“Honestly, I think that first quarter gave us too much confidence,” Lowellville head coach Tony Matisi said. “We just went through the motions. We didn’t put anything together after that first quarter.”

The Eagles were far from done pressuring the Rockets’ offense, too.

VC scored the first six points of the second half and held Lowellville scoreless for more than three-and-a-half minutes. The frenetic defense led to plenty of takeaways and obvious discomfort for the Rockets, who scored just eight points in the period. Drew Modelski had scored all of the Rockets’ points before a last-second fast-break bucket for Carter Hvisdak, which made it a 47-41 game in favor of VC going into the fourth.

As well as they had played in the middle quarters, the Eagles looked more similar to their opening-period selves trying to close Friday’s game.

After stretching its lead out to 12 midway through the fourth, VC watched its advantage be cut down to three in less than two minutes, thanks to a trio of triples by Ricky Willrich and Jaden Coon.

Relying on its own full-court press, Lowellville successfully sped the Eagles up and earned second chances by attacking the offensive glass.

The comeback, however, would go no further for the Rockets, who committed a costly turnover down five with a minute remaining and then airballed a three the next time down the floor, effectively ending the game.

“It’s a game of runs. You know they’re going to make another run, so you just got to weather the storm, keeping doing what you’re doing and not freak out,” Carroll said. “At this point in time of the year, who knows what’s going to happen? But your kids should be disciplined enough to understand the time and situation. I thought our kids handled it very well.”

Modelski had 23 points on the night, the most of any player, and Miller scored a team-high for VC. Eagles freshman Marvel Hammonds added 15, eight of which came in the fourth quarter, and Willrich contributed 12 for the Rockets.