AUGUSTA — It’s tough to find a more striking contrast in styles than the basketball played by the Erskine and Cony boys teams, at least as it went Thursday night before a lively holiday crowd at the Cony gym.

Cony forced 37 Erskine turnover with its frenetic brand of defense, yet came out on the short end of a 70-61 loss against a young Eagle squad that made some key free throws and baskets in the second half.

The win evens Erskine’s record at 2-2 in Class A North play while Cony falls to 2-3.

The Rams forced 26 turnovers in the first half alone as coach T.J. Maines subbed his players five at a time every two minutes or so. But the Rams shot 9 of 37 from the floor and relied too heavily on three point shots.

“You can’t do it on one end and not the other,” Maines said. “We’ve got to take fewer threes than that.”

The Eagles settled down in the second half and took better care of the ball.

They took the lead for good when junior Noah Bonsant chased a free rebound late in the third quarter to make it 48-45 and hung on down the stretch from the free throw line.

“We stopped throwing the ball away,” Bonsant said. “We used pass fakes and dribbling instead of throwing the ball out of bounds. It was definitely nerves. We weren’t prepared at all but we got used to it in the second half.”

Bonsant, the team’s 6-foot-4 center, finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. Sophomore Jack Jowett scored a team-high 16 points for the Eagles while Braden Soule added 13 and Andrew Browne 12.

“It’s always exciting here,” Erskine coach Tim Bonsant said. “We had a big crowd here tonight. We made a lot of shots, we made foul shots down the end and we defense rebounded the basketball.”

Erskine shot 23 of 35 from the foul line while the Rams went just 3 of 11. Part of that was due to their reliance on the three-point shot. They attempted 50 3s and made 15.

“We’ve got to take fewer than that,” Maines said. “Noah Bonsant changed our opinion on getting to the rim.”

The Rams led 41-12 at the end of the first quarter and 33-31 at the half behind Nate Parlin, who made four threes in the first half and finished with a team-high 15 points. The Eagles slowed the pace in the third quarter and it paid off.

“We want to play fast, they want to play hectic and frantic,” Coach Bonsant said. “T.J.’s really got these kids in believing what they’re doing.”

Cony’s defense collapsed around Bonsant in the second half opening things up for Jowett and Browne. All seven of Jowett’s hoops came on drives to the basket while Browne scored five layups and a pair of free throws.

“Once they calibrated to the speed and physicality of the game, they took it to the rim,” Coach Bonsant said. “Jack’s very strong, Brownie’s very strong and they can finish around the rim.”

The Rams cut the lead to three (59-56) when Taylor Heath (13 points) drilled a 3 from the right side but Jowett hit a layup, Cody Taylor two free throws and Bonsant a jumper in the lane to make it 65-56 with three minutes left.

The Eagles did a good job limiting Cony junior Jordan Roddy to nine points.

“He’s a very good player, so athletic,” Coach Bonsant said. “They just didn’t shoot the ball well. We all go through that.”