WINGATE — Monroe High’s boys used a big run in the second quarter to put away Weddington, 86-65, in the first round of the CMC Union Holiday Classic on Monday.

The Warriors (3-5) trailed just 19-15 after one quarter, but Monroe (9-0) exploded for 30 points in the second to take a 49-31 lead into halftime.

Isaac Blakeney led the way for the Redhawks with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

“He has to do that every night,” said Monroe coach Johnny Sowell of the 6-6 senior. “It’s not a surprise to us. He has got to continue to do that in this tournament.”

The Redhawks were unstoppable on the offensive end, shooting 56.1 percent from the floor for the night.

The Warriors tried double-teaming Blakeney, but the Redhawks’ balance was too much.

All five of Monroe’s starters scored in double figures.

Weddington tried to fight back by using the three ball, and hit 13 of the 37 attempts from beyond the arc.

Sophomore point guard Bennett Rutherford hit five of those threes and finished with a game-high 21 points.

Monroe and Weddington each turned the ball over just 13 times, but it was the Redhawks who made the most of their opportunities — creating 24 fast-break points while Weddington was only able to score just two in transition.

Monroe’s Quontez Threatt, a 5-10, 140-pound senior guard, showed off his athleticism with a slam dunk on the fastbreak, followed later by a blocked shot off the backboard on a WHS break.

A 20-0 run in the second quarter gave the Redhawks enough of a lead to keep the deep-shooting Warriors at bay for the night.

“We’ve got to stay focused,” Sowell said. “The last couple of years we haven’t been focused. We’re just now beginning to get our legs back. We talked about it today in our shootaround that we have to let everybody know that we’re the number one seed. We have to show them all that we’re the number one seed and that means to come out and play team ball and team defense.”

Up next for the Redhawks is a semifinal matchup with fifth-seeded Anson tonight at 8:30

“We have to play team defense,” said Sowell of facing the Bearcats. “That’s going to be number one. Number two, we have to continue to make shots and we have to continue to run our halfcourt offense. In the fourth quarter we were able to do that and that’s what I wanted to see. To win this tournament, you have to be able to push the ball and you have to be able to be under control and run your set offense.”