Eudora ? In the first half of their season opener, Veritas Christian’s boys basketball players played with nerves and struggled to hit shots.

But once they settled down, they couldn’t be stopped in a 64-55 victory over Calvary Baptist on Monday at the Eudora Recreational Center. The score dwindled after Veritas’ backups entered the game, but the Eagles once led by 30 midway through the fourth quarter.

The Eagles (1-0) were powered by senior Drake Napier, junior Chad Stieben, and junior Miles Dressler, who each finished with more than 10 points. Stieben led with 17.

“I think that’s going to be the story of this team,” Veritas coach Carl Huslig said. “I think we’re going to have three or four guys every night that can be double-digit scorers. We’ve got to get a point guard that runs the offense. Then I think, if that, we have four athletes on the floor that can score.”

The Eagles jumped to a 14-2 lead in the first quarter, as Calvary missed 14 of its first 15 shots. But a few quick outbursts of points by Calvary cut Veritas’ lead to 29-20 at halftime.

Midway through the third quarter, Calvary cut the score to three points before Dressler scored back-to-back buckets to start a 33-6 run for the Eagles. Stieben, Napier, junior Mark Weinhold, sophomore Weston Flory, sophomore Michael Rask, sophomore Peyton Donohoe and eighth-grader Trey Huslig also added points in the decisive run.

“First half, we were just really nervous. We got ahead of ourselves,” said Napier, who completed a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. “But second half, we really buckled down and we shut them down and did the best we could.”

When Veritas was using its big run to break the game open in the second half, the Eagles displayed strong ball movement, making the extra pass for easy layups, while also hitting the glass hard for offensive rebounds. Defensively, they forced several turnovers and hurried shots, while keeping Calvary away from offensive rebounds, which was a problem in the first half.

“I think we did some really good things,” Huslig said. “We found out we’ve got to play with toughness. When we move the ball on offense, we can be pretty good. But when we try to go one-on-four, it doesn’t work very well. But overall, very pleased for our first game.”