BERLIN CENTER — It took the Springfield boys basketball team a while to get going this season, but now it has kicked things into full gear.

Friday night at Western Reserve, the Tigers blasted the Blue Devils 94-52 to improve to 13-6 overall and 10-3 in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference.

The Tigers began the season 3-3 following a late start due to the football team making it all the way to a state championship game. But since then, the Tigers have gone 10-3, including a current seven-game winning streak.

“These guys, they work so hard,” Tigers coach Steve Franch said. “They came in after football and that great run they had and they were just tired. They played some physical teams.

“Basketball is very skill-based. You have to pass, dribble and shoot. It took us about a month to really get our legs and get a feel for the ball. Since then, I think we have played great.”

Senior guard Evan Ohlin admitted as much.

“We started a little slow because of football, but that’s going to happen,” Ohlin said. “As the season has gone on, we have started to get the chemistry back. We’re playing really well right now.”

The Tigers led throughout the contest, rolling to a 25-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, courtesy of an Adam Wharry basket at the buzzer. They then went on a 21-6 run to lead 46-18 at the 2:16 mark of the second. The Tigers held a commanding 52-25 advantage at halftime and stretched the lead to 41 points, 78-37, at the end of the third period before both teams substituted heavily in the final eight minutes.

“Just keep winning games,” French saidof the Tigers’ focus. “Guys are preparing really well. They’re very business-like coming into every game. We still have some good games left. We have Mineral Ridge, who played us tough. We also have Girard and LaBrae, so we end with three really good teams.

“All of these games are really important for us because these are some of the same teams we’re going to see in tournaments,” Ohlin said. “So if we can simulate that, it will help us in the tournaments.”

The Blue Devils, who fell to 7-13 overall and 4-9 in the MVAC, struggled shooting all night. They made less than 40 percent of their field-goal attempts during the first half. They were also without starter Ryan Gordon, due to sickness.

“We had our backs against the wall,” Blue Devils coach Pat Daltorio remarked. “You have to put this one behind you and come back ready to work because there are opportunities to make a run yet. Moving forward with the tournament, we’re in a district where maybe three, four, five up to maybe 12 teams are jockeying. Nobody knows where they’re going to end up. ”

The Tigers have a week off. They will play at Mineral Ridge next Friday. The Blue Devils will try to bounce back Tuesday when they play host to Salem.