Belpre’s Malakai Ensor (33) goes up for a basket as Waterford’s Avery Pottmeyer (30) defends during Friday’s game. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

BELPRE — Malik Currie overcame foul trouble and Belpre played lockdown defense to cool off a red-hot Waterford team in Friday’s 54-49 victory for the Golden Eagles.

Currie, who picked up his third foul a minute into the third quarter, played smart down the stretch and finished with a game-high 24 points. His two free throws with seven seconds left sealed the deal.

“We just worked together,” Currie said. “We stayed calm. We called on each other when we needed to. We trusted each other, and we just went out there and made plays.

“Earlier in the season, I fouled out a couple times and kind of got into my head. I just learned from it. Come back in the game doing something better for my team, whether it’s a rebound, whether it’s a foul shot, whether it’s getting to the basket or making that pass, I’m just gonna keep providing for my team and not let anything hurt my mental mindset.”

The Wildcats had won five straight games and nine of their last 10 coming into Friday, but they didn’t have the shooting touch against Belpre. Waterford finished 29.6% (16 for 54) from the floor and 24.1% (7 for 29) from beyond the arc.

Waterford’s Gavin Hiener (12) attacks the basket as Belpre’s Carson Woodford (23) defends during Friday’s game. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“Our culture, we hang our hat on our defense,” said Belpre head coach Ryan Leasure. “We always say we’d rather get defensive stops than having the ball sometimes. We put a lot of trust in those kids to do what they’re supposed to do, and rotate the way they’re supposed to rotate. It looked pretty good tonight. When we play like that — we’re playing hard, we’re sprinting, we’re communicating — we’re a pretty good defensive team.”

Belpre (10-9) built a 16-9 lead by the end of the first quarter. Five straight points from Reese Lang got the Wildcats within three, 24-21, in the second, but a pair of buckets from Malakai Ensor put BHS ahead 28-21 at halftime.

Ensor scored 12 points while teammate AJ Copen netted 18, as those two and Currie accounted for all of Belpre’s points.

Copen’s 3-pointer late in the third stretched Belpre’s lead to double figures, 36-26.

“He’s one of the best shooters I’ve ever played with,” Currie said. “One of the best shooters I’ve seen in this area.”

Belpre’s Malik Currie (14) goes up for a layup during Friday’s game against Waterford. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Weston Fairchild’s three-point play followed by Gavin Hiener’s trey got the Wildcats within four, but Carson Woodford assisted Currie on a 3-pointer to make it 39-32 going into the fourth.

Waterford got within two late in the fourth when Finn Pennock’s basket was followed by a steal and transition layup from Fairchild with 1:26 remaining.

Currie answered with a drive, but Fairchild’s two foul shots cut it back to two with 51 seconds left. Haiden Tabler’s feed inside to Ensor led to a layup to make it 51-47 with 39 seconds on the clock.

Waterford didn’t score again until Lang knocked down two free throws with eight seconds left to make it a three-point game, but Currie responded at the charity stripe on the other end to give Belpre a big win.

“It was huge,” Leisure said. “We’ve been up and down. We’ve played some tough competition, so we’ve not been really consistent with getting some wins together there and getting back-to-back. Waterford is a pretty good team. They’ve been rolling, so we knew what was ahead of us. We were prepared and ready to go, and we executed. All five guys on the court were touching the ball and playing defense, so it’s a huge win for us and our confidence. It’s a good night.”

Fairchild led Waterford (11-10) with a 15-point, 15-rebound double-double. Hiener, who made four 3-pointers, added 14 points while Lang chipped in 11. Pennock contributed seven points, five assists and four steals.

“Beating any conference team means a lot, because it just feels like we’re one of the best teams in our area,” Currie said. “We’re beating guys that are right in our backyard, so it just feels good. They beat us at their place, so this is kind of a revenge game. Just a little rivalry between our two teams, and we just wanted to come out on top.”

Last year at Belpre, Currie hit a game-winning basket at the buzzer to beat the Wildcats.

“Sometimes I think about hitting another one, honestly, but then I’m like, I don’t want the game to be that close. I just want to come out here and dominate, make the right plays and just come out with the win.”