New Franklin senior Ryan Hundley made five straight 3-pointers to open Friday night’s Homecoming game with a 15-10 lead over Jamestown. He made two more in the second quarter and sank another two in the second half to leave the court in the fourth quarter with a game-high 29 points in the Bulldogs’ Homecoming win over the Eagles 76-50.

Both teams opened the game hot from 3-point range. Three of Jamestown’s first four baskets came from the arc. But New Franklin won the battle, with Hundley sinking five straight to take the lead for good midway through the opening period.

“That helps. We did a really good job of moving the ball. Rylan knows how to find his spot, and obviously, he was shooting it really well tonight,” said New Franklin coach Jim Schlotzhauer. “He’s been playing really well. He does really good job of finding those spots, and I think our guys are smart enough to find him whenever he’s open.”

Schlotzhauer credited his team’s ball movement against the Eagles’ 1-2-2- zone, which he said opens up 3-point opportunities. Hundley hit seven triples in the first half, and junior Caden Schlotzhauer added a three in the first. The Bulldogs sank eight 3-point shots in the first half compared to seven shots from inside the arc, along with 4-for-4 shooting from the foul line. In all, New Franklin connected 15 times from 3-point distance all game.

“We didn’t turn the ball over very much, and we really spread the ball around. You get a lot of good shots when you do that,” Coach Schlotzhauer said.

The Bulldogs went up 24-12 after eight minutes and led 44-20 at halftime en route to the lopsided Homecoming win.

“It was a good night to play well, that’s for sure,” Coach Schlotzhauer said. “It’s a fun night anyway. But to play well [on Homecoming] makes it more special.”

Behind Hundley’s 29-point game-leading performance, another hot shooter, Jonah Bishop, scored 12 points off the bench with four triples in the second half. Starting junior Caden Schlotzhauer added nine points.

Jamestown senior Tyler Wilson led the Eagles with 24 points, half of which came against the Bulldogs’ bench with a running clock in the fourth quarter. Junior Hudson Clay added eight points.

New Franklin will endeavor to play for its second straight tournament title this week in Sturgeon after winning its own tournament crown in early January. The Bulldogs drew the top seed and quickly dispatched eighth-seeded Community 64-25 on Monday night. They move on to face fourth-seeded South Callaway in the semifinals tonight (Wednesday) for a chance to play in the championship on Saturday night.

South Callaway handily defeated fifth-seeded New Bloomfield 57-36 in Monday night’s tournament opener.