UNIONVILLE – It was a game that lived up to its billing.

The Community Vikings and Eagleville Eagles fought tooth-and-nail for 32 minutes to see who would continue the season undefeated. After the dust had settled, the Vikings dominated in the paint and survived 15 three-pointers by the Eagles as Community took a 73-67 victory in a basketball tilt Monday night.

"It was a tournament-type atmosphere for sure," Coach Robbie Davis of the Vikings said.

The Vikings started off hot and used eight points from Corde Lane and seven from Tyrese Eady to take a 14-7 lead with 4:22 left in the opening quarter.

Community (9-0) kept its focus on stopping Eagle scorer Ryley McClaran, but Eagleville was able to fight back with an efficient supporting cast.Caleb Brown nailed three treys while McClaran scored five points as the Eagles rebounded to take a 22-21 lead to the second quarter.

Kobe Pride scored eight points in the quarter as the Vikings were effective around the basket. The Vikings went on a 7-0 run to erase a 29-23 Eagle lead and went into halftime with a 34-33 advantage.

With the help of three treys from Nuni Davenport and seven points from McClaran, Eagleville was in command and took a 52-45 lead with 2:31 left in the third quarter when a key moment in the game occurred.

After the Eagles missed a layup, the Vikings caught fire. Lane scored seven points while Elijah Pope netted six points off the bench as Community went on an 11-0 run to a 56-52 lead.The Vikings ended the quarter with a 56-54 advantage.

The Eagles kept the pressure on as Davenport added two treys and McClaran scored five points in the fourth quarter, but Community surged ahead.Pride and Eady each had five points as the Vikings took the lead for good at 64-63 with 5:03 left.

With 2:52 remaining and the Vikings ahead 70-67, it was the Community defense that stymied the Eagle offense for the remainder of the game.

Community opened the door with misses on the front end of two one-and-ones in the final minute, but its defense was solid. The Eagles could not buy a basket, allowing the Vikings to maintain their lead and take the win.

Pride and Lane had 19 points each while Eady added 14 for the Vikings.

McClaran scored 21 points to lead three Eagles in double figures. Brown had 19 points while Davenport added 18.

The Vikings were 12-of-24 at the free throw line.

"Our defense is what we've hung our hat on for the first nine games," Davis said."Our kids really play hard on the defensive end and rebound."

"Down the stretch, we defended their shooters and rebounded and blocked a couple of shots," Davis added. "When they started pressuring us, our guards really handled the basketball well."

"We have got to figure out a way to make free throws," Davis said.

Community hosted Huntland on Wednesday evening, however results were unavailable by press time. Game coverage will be published on T-G.com/sports.

Eagleville 22 11 21 13 — 67

Community 21 13 22 17 — 73

Eagleville: Ryley McClaran 21, Caleb Brown 19, Nuni Davenport 18, Luke Parish 6, Bobby Snell, Bryson Kelley 3, Damien Stingley, Ethan Strickland.

Community: Kobe Pride 19, Corde Lane 19, Tyrese Eady 14, Alex Mitchell 7, Will Reed 4, Elijah Pope 6, Jackson Bailey 4, Evan Petrie.

3-Point goals: Eagleville (15): Davenport 6, Brown 5, McClaran 3, Kelley; Community (5): Lane, Eady, Mitchell, Pope, Reed.

Halftime score: Community 34, Eagleville 33.