Alex Eisen/MDN Velva forward Adam Schepp (23) rises up for a mid-range hook shot in the lane Saturday afternoon against New Town in the first game of the Dale Brown Classic held at the MSU Dome.

The opening game of the Dale Brown Classic boys basketball holiday tournament on Saturday at the Minot State Dome took a drastic turn after the first four minutes.

The Velva Aggies (3-2) erased an early deficit and never looked back for a 54-35 win over the New Town Eagles (2-2).

“Saturday morning after Christmas break, so I wasn’t sure how we were going to start,” Velva head coach Isaac Sondrol said. “But, we settled in and did a nice job.”

New Town jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead.

With 6-foot-3 junior forward Adam Schepp providing the spark, Velva stormed back with 11 straight points to hold an 11-7 lead after the opening quarter.

Schepp shot 7-for-12 from the floor (2-for-2 on 3-pointers) for a game-high 16 points.

“We were spreading the ball and playing our game,” Schepp said. “We slowed it down and were shooting the ball.”

The Aggies’ 2-3 zone defense locked down the Eagles to 16 points in the first half. Combine that with the wherewithal to run the floor after grabbing the defensive rebounds, and Velva had opened a double-digit gap before halftime.

“New Town can score,” Sondrol said. “But that’s the best we have moved all year. We have been trying to find a rhythm like that defensively. We got a lot of young kids playing with only a couple guys that have played varsity last season. So, they have to adjust to that speed. Adjust to where you can gamble and where you can’t.”

Hunter Suckut, a junior guard, capped the first half with a 3-pointer and a fastbreak layup to give the Aggies a 31-16 advantage. Those were Suckut’s only 5 points of the game.

Halfway through the third quarter, junior guard Gage Florence drove his way to the rim for an acrobatic double-clutch layup, which pushed the Aggies’ lead out to 35-18.

Velva then endured another dry spell on offense, but still managed to hold a 15-point lead going into the fourth quarter, 37-22.

The Aggies’ impenetrable zone defense continued to keep the Eagles in check. New Town finished with a season-low 35 points.

“We have been playing that (2-3 zone defense) since like fourth grade,” Schepp said. “So, I feel like we have that figured out pretty well. We moved around and let them shoot the ball from way out.”

Kaden Chadwick also had a strong game inside for the Aggies. He recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“A lot of teams nowadays are predicated on guard offenses and shooting the ball really well,” Sondrol said. “We do a little bit of that, but we also have our posts with Chadwick and Schepp. If you can get 30 points from down in the paint every night, then life is going to be good. We are kind of different. We work inside-out.”

Tristen Williams led the Eagles with 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting. New Town shot 27.5% for the contest (3-for-24 on 3-pointers).

Velva finished with a 45.1 shooting percentage.

“We have to keep talking and making the easy bunnies,” Schepp said. “I missed a lot today, we all miss a lot.”

The Aggies return to Velva to host Harvey/Wells County on Jan. 3. New Town will also host Ray on the same day. Tipoff for both games at 7:30 p.m.

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.