The Cumberland Valley Christian Blazers built a big early lead but then had to weather several Faith rallies to defeat the Falcons 61-55 Friday in a Mason Dixon Christian Conference boys basketball game.

The Blazers (7-8, 3-5 MDCC) constructed double-digit leads in every quarter, but Faith answered with runs of its own, cutting the lead to three in the third quarter and four in the fourth. Each time, though, the Blazers responded and sent their Homecoming Night crowd home happy.

Nollin Egolf followed his 45-point effort at New Life earlier in the week with a 33-point performance against Faith. He added three assists, five steals and a pair of blocked shots.

Also, Reece Hunsberger scored 10 points and pulled eight rebounds, and Aaron Minnier scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds. Thomas Garvin added seven points, and Ryan Crawford nailed a 3-pointer after Faith had cut the margin to three.

“Coming into this game, we knew this was going to be a different Faith team than when we first played them in December,” said Blazers coach Austin Sanders, referring to the Blazers’ 71-46 at Faith earlier in the season. “Faith did a good job of just sticking around and not letting us push the lead like we wanted to. We let up defensively in the second half, and this game was a little closer than I would have liked, but I’m proud of our guys for pulling out the win.”

In Tuesday’s 82-74 loss at New Life, Egolf’s 45 points marked a career high. He also contributed seven assists and seven rebounds.

Minnier put together his second consecutive double-double with 12 rebounds and 10 points. Hunsberger scored 11 points, Crawford five and Garvin three. Josh Rudy added six rebounds for the Blazers, who trailed by 58-43 entering the final period but made it close with a 31-point quarter.