SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Turkeyfoot hung around for a half, but Frankfort caught fire to pull away for good.
Frankfort led 42-35 at halftime before blitzing the Rams for 19 points in five minutes, a span that included three Jeremy Phillips triples and another from Bryson McKenzie.
The Falcons finished with 26 third-quarter points, led by 30 in the final period and rode 51 combined points from Phillips and Kycin Waites to an 86-59 rout of Turkeyfoot on Tuesday.
“We are playing with more intensity on defense right now, and I think it’s making a bigger difference,” Frankfort head coach Scott Slider said. “We’ve seen it now in the last two games prior to this one, the Sissonville game and South Harrison.”
Frankfort (2-3) won its second straight after an 0-3 start. The Falcons avenged an 82-68 defeat to Turkeyfoot on the road last season.
Phillips’ scoring total was his fourth exceeding 20 points in the early going. He tallied 21 in the second half alone, burying five triples and all four of his free-throw attempts.
Phllips is approaching 1,000 points for his career, standing at 989 after Tuesday.
Frankfort made 12 3-pointers. Bryson Mckenzie, who finished with 13 points, made three triples, and Ethan Talley made a pair.
The Falcons’ offense opened up as Phillips drove and kicked, finding open teammates in the corner when Turkeyfoot over-helped defensively.
“He’s gotta show these guys that he trusts them,” Slider said of his point guard. “They already trust him, but they’ll trust him even more. That trust back and forth, it’s gonna take us where we want to go.”
Turkeyfoot led early before Frankfort got hot, making five 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes — including four in a row — for a 24-17 edge after one.
Turkeyfoot chipped away before halftime, but Waites made Frankfort’s last four buckets, all in the paint, for a 42-35 Falcon advantage at the half.
Waites’ 22 points were off the bench. The senior guard got to the rim whenever he wanted to.
Waites didn’t start after taking a shot to the ribs at Doddridge County on Saturday. He missed practice Monday, and the Falcons have a team rule that players who don’t practice don’t start.
“He was ready to play,” Slider said. “Maybe more so this game than any game this season so far.”
The dam finally broke in the fourth quarter when Frankfort scored six points in 15 seconds to lead 83-53, prompting a Falcons timeout to pull their starters with 2:30 to play.
Turkeyfoot left its star Lance Jones in the game for that stretch, though he didn’t score. He finished with 23 points, one of three Rams in double figures along with Bronson Perez (11) and Daniel Younkin (10).
Frankfort is back in action at home against Pendleton County on Saturday, Jan. 3, at 2:30 p.m.