The North Moore boys’ basketball team opened its 2012-13 campaign traveling to 2-A North Stanly Monday, hoping to get familiar with the host Comets, who will be joining the Yadkin Valley Conference next year.

After trailing 14-9 at the end of the first quarter, the Mustangs unleashed a torrid defense, creating more than 20 turnovers and holding North Stanly to three and four points in the second and third periods, respectively. Trailing 39-21 going into the final period, the Comets tried to mount a fourth-quarter comeback, but came up short as the Mustangs held on for a 50-42 victory.

“We weren’t really sure what kind of team they had, so we started off a little slow trying to figure them out,” said North Moore coach Grant Smith. “After the first quarter, we decided to step up our defensive intensity, and we were able to create a lot of turnovers. We had good hustle from everybody, but we didn’t shoot the ball well, especially from the foul line.

“Adam (Bullard) played a good game for us at point guard. He played well on both ends of the court. As a first game, it’s always great to win. It’s not a conference game, but we’ll take it.”

The Mustangs’ defense created 23 Comet turnovers with 18 coming on steals, as Bullard and sophomore Matthew Spivey came up with five steals each. Junior Malik Chisholm pulled down seven rebounds, and senior Landon Auman had five boards.

With North Moore junior Quashan Davis knocking down a three-pointer to start the game, plus adding a couple of traditional buckets, the first quarter was back-and-forth until North Stanly went on a 7-0 run for a 14-9 advantage.

While the Mustangs were picking the Comets’ pockets and also rattling the home team into several unforced turnovers, North Moore outscored North Stanly 13-3 during the second period, giving the Mustangs a 22-17 lead at the break. The Comets’ only bucket came with six seconds left in the half on a basket by Eli Green. Davis finished the first half with 16 points for the Mustangs.

The third quarter was a replay of the second period with North Moore coming up with steals and racing to a 39-21 lead at the end of the frame. Auman and Herron had four points each for the Mustangs.

The two teams swapped buckets over the first two minutes of the fourth quarter with North Moore holding a 43-25 advantage with 6:11 left in the contest. Then the pace picked up, especially for the Comets as they started to turn the table on North Moore, coming up with turnovers for points.

North Stanly doubled its point output by scoring 21 points during the quarter. The closest the Comets were able to get to North Moore was 48-42 with 24.2 seconds left. Spivey sealed the Mustang victory, hitting a pair of free throws for the final eight-point victory.

Both teams shot poorly from the foul line with North Moore connecting on 4-of-12 while North Stanly was 10-of-24 from the stripe. Davis led the Mustang scoring with 16 points, including three treys, all the points coming in the first half. Davis was followed by Auman with eight points. Green was the Comets’ top scorer with 16 points and Dylan Blalock added 13 points.

The Mustangs host cross-county rival Union Pines Nov. 27. The girls’ game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. followed by the boys’ contest.

North Moore 9 13 17 11— 50.

North Stanly 14 3 4 21 — 42.

North Moore: Davis 6 1-2 16; Auman 4 0-2 8; Spivey 2 3-4 8) Bullard 3 0-3 6; Herron 3 0-0 6; Chisholm 2 0-2 4; Britt 1 0-0 2. Totals - 21 4-12 50.

North Stanly: Green 7 2-6 16; Blalock 5 2-4 13; Stephen Misenheimer 1 3-4 5; Kasey Cauble 1 1-4 3; Tyler Burris 0 2-4 2; T’zaddi Sylvester 0 0-2 0. Totals 14 10-14 42.

Three-point goals: NM 4 (Davis 3, Spivey); NS 2 (Green 1; Blalock 1).