Basketball season just got under way and the Verbena Red Devils varsity boys already have a pair of area wins to its credit.

Verbena defeated Fayetteville 57-44 at home just a week after opening the season with a victory over Billingsley.

It is all part of a furious stretch for the Red Devils (2-0, 2-0), which includes playing area opponents in each of the first three games of the season.

The Red Devils controlled the action from tip-off and never trailed in the contest.

Defensively, Verbena locked down Fayetteville and led 15-3 at the end of the first quarter. One basket was all that Fayetteville could muster after one quarter of play.

“Last year, we had a pretty good offensive team and could get up and down and score, but this year we’re going to have to play a little more ball control,” Verbena head coach Scott Doss said.

A pressure defense was implemented by Verbena and helped create turnovers and transition points at the other end.

“Our entire mindset this season is that we have to win games with defense,” Williams said. “We played really energetic.”

As a result, the hustle on the defensive end of the court frustrated Fayetteville and kept them searching for an offensive rhythm throughout the game.

“This team is all over the place,” Williams said. “The press really works for us.”

Senior Nick Williams was a disruptive force not only in press defense, but also on the glass, where he and his teammates were a consistent presence.

“We’re not real tall, but we’ve got some springs in our legs,” Doss said. “They can really jump and get up there.”

Verbena never looked back and was able to maintain its double-digit lead at the end of each quarter.

Despite a big lead, Dawson Rohrbough and Xavier Dejarnett remained aggressive and continued to penetrate the lane, and often times cashed in with either a bucket or a trip to the free throw line.

Dejarnett led the way with a game-high 24 points, including converting eight of 11 from the charity stripe.

Rohrbough finished with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Williams and fellow senior Christian Blauch scored seven and six points respectively and did the majority of their damage down low.