MENDENHALL — Nursing a healthy but fairly small lead Tuesday, Warren Central coach Jesse Johnson talked to his team at halftime about the importance of putting away opponents.

The message apparently got through.

The Vikings used a 15-2 run midway through the third quarter to put some distance between themselves and Florence, and went on to a 65-48 victory in their opener at the Mendenhall Holiday Tournament.

Kourey Davis led Warren Central (7-6) with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Jon Hood added 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench. The second-half surge was a welcome sight for WC, which blew a 15-point lead last week in a loss to Murrah.

Carlo McDonald led Florence (6-5) with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

“We were looking for three wins down here, especially after we had the one at the Ridgeland tournament we should’ve gotten,” Johnson said.

WC went on a run late in the second quarter to take a 30-22 halftime lead, but gave most of it back in the opening minutes of the third period. Florence cut the deficit to four before the Vikings stepped on the gas again.

Louis Carson converted a pair of 3-point plays and Eric Howard drained a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to key a quick 11-0 spurt that pushed the lead back to double digits. Florence ended its drought with a couple of free throws, but still went more than three minutes without a field goal. By the time Will Tabor’s bounced three times off the rim and fell in with 1:55 left in the quarter, Warren Central led 47-32 and was well on its way to an easy victory.