VANDALIA - The first quarter proved to be the difference for the South Callaway Bulldogs as they outscored the Van-Far Indians 20-13 during that span in Tuesday night's 53-46 season-opening triumph.
The two teams then played to a 33-33 standoff over the final three quarters.
Sophomore forward Kaden Helsel put up a game-high 20 points and also pulled down 10 rebounds to spark South Callaway. Sophomore guard Dylan Lepper also supplied 10 points as the only other player to reach double figures for the Bulldogs.
"Overall, our effort was good," South Callaway head coach Tony Brandt said. "We did a great job of valuing the ball and only committed eight turnovers. Our execution on the offensive end needs to improve and our ability to close games down the stretch from the (free-throw) line will be a focal point in the next few practices.
"We are young and inexperienced, so this was a good game to get some much-needed confidence."
Josh Hodde paced Van-Far with 16 points.
The Bulldogs dropped a narrow 43-42 loss to the Indians in the junior varsity game. Sophomore forward Austin Meyer produced a team-high 13 points.
South Callaway plays Salisbury at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Norm Stewart Classic at Columbia College.