BELLAIRE – Martins Ferry used a three-prong scoring attack to turn back a spirited Bellaire effort by a 73-65 count at The House of Champions Tuesday night.

Anthony Booth (20), Elijah Smith (20) and Gavin Little (18) combined for 58 points in helping the Purple Riders improve to 2-1 on the campaign. Coach Derek Edwards’s charges return to action Friday, hosting Barnesville.

Bellaire fell to 1-4 despite playing its best game of the campaign.

The Big Reds, minus two starters sidelined with injuries, trailed the Purple by just four points with less than 30 seconds remaining. All four of the Bellaire losses have come against quality opponents.

“It wasn’t our best effort but it is still a win on the road,” Edwards noted. “Give Bellaire credit. They played well.”

Ferry held a seemingly comfortable 56-43 lead entering the fourth quarter. Bellaire, however, had no intentions of going quietly.

The Big Reds methodically cut into the deficit.

Hard-working junior Alex Padgett made matters quite interesting as he goaled with 30.4 seconds remaining, drawing Coach J.R. Battista’s squad to within 69-63. Seven ticks later, Padgett netted two free throws for a four-point issue.

The Purple Riders, however, stalled Bellaire’s comeback courtesy of a free throw by Little with 16.5 seconds left.

The visitors opened some breathing room thanks to a pair of Booth free throws with 14 seconds showing, boosting the Purple advantage to 72-65. After a Bellaire turnover, Smith closed the scoring with a charity toss with 5.4 ticks left.

The loss spoiled an impressive 29-point outburst by junior sharpshooter Jace Violet. He buried five treys on the night.

Junior Brae Schmidli turned in a solid effort with 13 points for the Reds while Padgett added 10 points to go with strong play inside.

“I thought we played pretty well in spurts. We had some guys make shots tonight and that always helps,” Battista said. “I was pleased with our effort but you don’t get medals for trying. You get them for winning.”

The two teams were deadlocked at 14-all after one quarter. Smith led the Purple with 10 points in the frame while Violet countered with seven for the hosts.

The Purple Riders moved to a 36-29 halftime advantage with Little tallying eight points in the period while Booth added six. Violet dropped in seven more for the Big Reds.

Ferry used 10 points from Booth in the third quarter to push its lead to 13, heading into the competitive fourth period.

“We are not where we want to be yet,” Edwards said. “We have a lot of work to do on the defensive end. We got a long way to go.”

Smith turned in a sparkling all-around effort for the Purple Riders. The multi-talented junior grabbed eight rebounds to go with four steals and three assists.

Bellaire, which hosts Union Local on Friday, won the reserve game, 39-30.