Eudora High senior Mitchell Ballock (24) puts a move on Baldwin defenders Tanner Jackson (33) and Jeremy Williams (1) on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016 at Eudora.

Eudora ? A player as talented as Eudora’s Mitchell Ballock can demand a lot of attention from opposing defenses, which can sometimes lead to bigger games for his teammates.

That was certainly the case in Monday’s 65-38 victory over Baldwin as a pair of players, sophomores Rock Jerome and Jayden Pierce, joined Ballock in double figures at Eudora High School.

“Watching film over the years and seeing what his presence has created for Eudora, things are just a lot easier for them,” Baldwin coach Paul Musselman said. “Just because of the attention you have to dedicate towards him.”

Ballock faced several different defensive sets and had a number of defenders take their turn at guarding the senior Creighton commit. He still finished with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting. He hit three of his eight attempts from beyond the arc.

But not far behind him was Pierce, who recorded 16 points on nine shots. He was 4-of-7 from the free throw line. Jerome added 10 on the same number of attempts from the floor.

“When you have a guy like Mitchell, who can create like that, it helps a ton,” Pierce said. “He can handle the ball so well. He’s really athletic and he can just do everything.”

The early part of the season has been a growing process for EHS, due to the number of players getting their first meaningful minutes of varsity action, including Pierce himself.

Pierce admitted that players such as Ballock and senior David Hornberger have helped him get accustomed to the current level. And Monday was their advice coming into fruition.

“They have been good role models for me,” Pierce said. “They tell me when I’m doing something wrong on the court. I probably need to work on my defense and finishing.”

Pierce knocked down all three shots he took in the first quarter as the Cardinals jumped out to a 17-9 lead. Ballock then took over, scoring eight points on as many attempts from the floor to push the lead to 30-20 at the intermission.

Baldwin threw a number of defenders at Ballock in the second half, such as Elliot Stiefel, Jayce Dighans and Luke Laskowski. But no matter how well they defended him, Ballock was still able to find a number of open players such as Pierce.

Pierce added four in the third quarter and five more in the fourth. Sophomore Caleb Zimmerman was open near the basket a few times as well and notched six points, all in the second half, as the Cardinals cruised to another victory.

“We lost track of other people in ways we couldn’t,” Musselman said.

Both teams will return to action after the break.

BALDWIN (38)

Luke Laskowski 2-7 0-0 5, Elliot Stiefel 1-3 0-0 3, Kyle Norris 1-5 0-0 2, Jayce Dighans 4-11 1-2 11, Tanner Jackman 1-3 2-2 5, Jeremy Williams 1-3 0-2 2, Andrew Braun 1-3 0-2 2, Hunter Ramirez 1-4 0-0 3, Henry Letner 0-2 1-2 1, Aden Huggins 1-3 1-1 3, Josh Craig 0-1 0-0. Totals: 13-48 6-11.

EUDORA (65)

David Hornberger 1-6 1-2 3, Rock Jerome 4-9 2-4 10, Mitchell Ballock 7-16 0-0 17, Ryan Verbanic 1-5 0-0 3, Hayden Brown 2-10 0-0 4, Jayden Pierce 6-9 4-7 16, Noah Katzenmeier 2-4 0-0 4, Caleb Zimmerman 3-4 0-0 6, Steven Najera 0-2 0-0 0, Nathan Gomez 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 27-66 7-13.

Baldwin 9 11 7 11 — 38

Eudora 17 13 17 18 — 65

Three-point goals: Baldwin 6-19 (Laskowski, Stiefel, Dighans 2, Jackman, Ramirez); Eudora 4-17 (Ballock 3, Verbanic). Turnovers: Baldwin 13, Eudora 2. Fouled out: Hornberger.