The 39-point win for the Cougars was vastly different from the 81-71 win they posted over North Valleys nearly a month ago.

The Cougars jumped out to an 11-2 lead and never looked back, dominating the High Desert League matchup. A layup from North Valleys Ajani Norman and a 3-pointer by Will Bell pulled the Panthers to within four, 11-7 with nearly three minutes left in the initial period. That was the high point for North Valleys.

Spanish Springs (17-7, 6-3 High Desert League) closed out the quarter by scoring nine straight points. Taelor Marchbanks, capped the spurt by hitting a pair of free throws with less than a second left in the first quarter, giving the SSHS squad a 20-7 lead.

The Cougars were hot to start the second period as well. They knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the quarter during a 20-0 run that spanned the first two quarters. Thomas Perkins hit two triples early in the second quarter and Bryan Wilson hit one with 5:57 left in the half, forging Spanish Springs ahead 31-7.

“They kicked our a-- in every facet of the game,” North Valleys coach Joe Genung said. “They forced us into turnovers and they scored in transition.”

North Valleys' Bell hit a trey to stop the bleeding but it didn't help his squad much. The visiting Panthers only scored five points in the second quarter. After the score by Bell, Spanish Springs went on a 14-2 outburst, taking a commanding 45-12 edge into intermission. Spanish Springs put up 25 points in the second quarter.

“Our defense was good,” Spanish Springs coach Kyle Penney said. “It's all mental for us. It's hard work. We try and find ourselves and get our kids to be aggressive.”

Marchbanks and Dan Lide, two of the top players for the Cougars, combined for just six points in the first half. Perkins stepped up for 18 in the first 16 minutes, shooting lights out with four three-point baskets. Marchbanks scored 31 the first time the squads met.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much improvement in the third quarter for North Valleys fans. While the Cougars' offense cooled down just a touch, the Panthers were unable to step it up, and only managed seven points. North Valleys faced a 63-19 deficit heading into the final period.

“What Kyle (Penney) said after the last game was true (in this game as well),” Genung said. “Offensively, they could run whatever they wanted against us.”

A layup by James Gaither pushed the Panthers over the 20-point mark, but still left them behind, 67-21. They struck up 10 unanswered points, but it was far from enough against the tough Cougars squad.

Gaither did lead his NVHS squad with 11.

“It's a win,” Penney said. “No one is going to care how much you won by. It's a win. We have to get to a point where we're playing our best basketball and I think we took a step toward that tonight.”

Perkins had a game-high of 24 points for Spanish Springs. Bryan Wilson and Tyler Emrick put in 12 each toward the Cougars' winning cause.

“He's (Perkins) a little overdue,” Penney said. “He had a good game. We haven't had the kind of point production we've wanted out of him the last few games. We need that from him consistently.”

Spanish Springs travels to Elko Thursday for a 7 p.m. league affair.