The McIntosh Chiefs are quickly becoming the sleeper team to look out for in Region 2-AAAA.

McIntosh took advantage of its huge size advantage and depth to win its third consecutive game Friday, 62-31 over region rival Starr’s Mill in front of a jam-packed crowd at the Panther Pit in Fayetteville.

The Lady Chiefs won their second straight game, completing a season sweep of the Lady Panthers in the early game with a 42-25 victory.

McIntosh controlled the tempo from start to finish in the boys game. It played a up-tempo offense, establishing itself inside early, and scored its first 10 points in the paint.

The Chiefs’ effectiveness inside opened up their outside game, particularly for shooting guard Cameron Rich, who ended the quarter with a 3-pointer just before the buzzer and drained back-to-back 3-pointers to begin the second quarter.

The Chiefs led by double digits from the end of the first quarter until the game came concluded. McIntosh led by as many as 31 points in the fourth quarter.

“When we played against them earlier this year [a Starr’s Mill 52-51 victory], they really slowed the game down,” McIntosh coach Jason Eisele said. “We talked about getting on top early and getting them to play our type of game, up-tempo basketball”

McIntosh shined offensively, hitting shots from all over the court, but it was its smothering 2-3 zone defense that played the biggest role in its victory.

Center Robert Chubb and long-armed forwards Patrick Michel and Jeremy Lampkin were defensive forces for the Chiefs, using their significant size advantage to alter shots and limit Starr’s Mill to only one shot almost every time down the court. Rich and his backcourt mate Jake Tanis also were pesky in the Chiefs’ zone.

A sign of McIntosh’s defensive dominance — Starr’s Mill didn’t break the 20-point mark until late in the third quarter. Conversely, McIntosh scored 20 points in the first quarter alone.

“Defensively, we were able to shut them down,” Eisele said. “When we can control the boards like we did tonight, I like our chances. Our big guys did a good job of contesting shots.”

McIntosh’s impressive depth also was a factor; every McIntosh player saw playing time, and 11 of 13 scored.

Rich scored a team-high 11 points, Michel added nine and Chubb and Dean Benson both scored seven for McIntosh (11-6, 7-6 region).

Justin Smith scored 12 points to lead Starr’s Mill (5-15, 4-8 region).

The girls came was close until late in the second quarter, when McIntosh began to pull away, taking a double-digit lead(21-11) on two free throws from Erin Justice.

McIntosh (8-9, 5-8 region) continued to lead by double digits for almost the entire third quarter and the entire fourth quarter. Three free throws by Morgan McCrory handed McIntosh its largest lead of the game, 40-23, with 1:07 to go.

The Lady Chiefs’ defense was the primary reason it was able to cruise past Starr’s Mill; the Lady Panthers were limited to under 20 points until Alexis Shaffer nailed a 3-pointer with 3:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.

And Starr’s Mill (8-8, 4-8 region) failed to score more than seven points in each of the four quarters.

Starr’s Mill’s Marissa Ring led all scorers with 16 points. She was 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

Justice scored 10 points, McCrory had seven and Olivia Tucker added six for the Lady Chiefs.

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