The New Castle High boys basketball team continued its strong start.

The Red Hurricane stormed past Perry Traditional Academy, 67-49, Saturday in the championship game of its own tournament.

“I certainly didn’t expect that kind of victory,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said. “The final score is not indicative of the type of game it was. It was a grind for most of the game. We played really sound defensively and extraordinarily hard.”

New Castle (2-0) held a 15-14 lead after the first and went up 28-25 at halftime. The ’Canes got some separation in the third as they posted a 46-36 advantage. The hosts held on for the 18-point victory.

“We just made some shots. We just kept grinding and hanging in there,” Blundo said. “We weren’t real efficient offensively early on and then we started making some shots.”

New Castle forced the Commodores (1-1) into 26 turnovers.

“I think Perry got a little frustrated,” Blundo said. “Perry is a really good basketball team. That’s a great win for us on our home floor.”

The ’Canes’ Corey Eggleston bucketed a game-high 37 points to earn MVP honors. He added four steals, four rebounds and three assists. Shawn Anderson, who was named to the all-tournament team, added 11 points. Brandon Domenick had four points and seven assists and was named to the all-tournament team. Malik Hooker had eight points and eight rebounds. Anthony Richards added seven points and six assists.

The ’Canes visit Hampton tomorrow for a nonsection battle. The Talbots are coached by former Westminster College standout Joe Lafko.

“As good as Perry is, Hampton will be a greater test for us,” Blundo said. “They’ll present us with some things we haven’t seen yet.”