YOUNGSVILLE — Youngsville had to earn this one.

Facing intense foul trouble, the Eagles grew up in real time Friday, earning a massive region victory during a 49-39 win over the Maplewood Tigers at Youngsville High School.

Senior Nathan Lucks and sophomore Cash Moore both went to the bench with four fouls midway through the third quarter and the Eagles got valuable minutes from their bench as they held on for arguably their biggest victory of the season.

“It’s a great region win,” said Youngsville coach Lonny Moore. “We had some foul trouble and had kids step up in a big way. I’m extremely proud of this team and what they accomplished tonight.”

Moore said he was particularly pleased with freshman Josh Pikna who had to spell both (Cash) Moore and Lucks in both the first and second halves.

The Eagles got off to a fast start, leading 14-9 after the first quarter and appeared to be pulling away when the lead grew to a dozen in the second stanza. A steal and score as well as a three-pointer from Rylan Benton capped a 7-0 Youngsville run to start the quarter and the Eagles led 21-9.

Maplewood closed the half on an 8-0 run and the lead had shrunk to just four at intermission.

Out of the locker room, Youngsville quickly put together a 9-2 run that extended the lead to 30-19 with 4:54 left in the third quarter. That was when both Lucks and Moore picked up their fourth fouls of the game within mere seconds of each other.

The duo would spend the next eight minutes on the bench, but the offense of Benton and Ethan Beers as well as the valuable minutes of Braydon Baker, Pikna and Rodney Rowland helped Youngsville maintain a lead that stood at 38-31 when Lucks and Moore reentered the game.

The Eagles and Tigers traded buckets for the next three minutes of action before a dagger three-pointer from Beers pushed the lead to 45-36 with 2:16 to play and gave Youngsville the cushion it needed to finish off the win.

Benton had a game-high 15 points for the winners and Beers finished with 14 points. Moore and Lucks each had eight points and Baker finished with four.

Maplewood won the junior varsity game, 22-18. Baker and Ollie Boozer led the Eagles with six points apiece.

Youngsville returns to action on Wednesday when it plays Sheffield in the opening round of the Sheffield Holiday Tournament.

MAPLEWOOD (39)

Jordan 5 2-4 12, McCarl 2 0-0 5, Kolle 1 0-0 2, Beauchat 2 0-2 4, Woge 2 2-2 8, Kier 4 0-0 8. Totals: 16 4-8 39.

YOUNGSVILLE (49)

Nathan Lucks 3 2-4 8, Rylan Benton 6 2-2 15, Ethan Beers 5 2-4 14, Cash Moore 4 0-0 8, Braydon Baker 2 0-0 4, Rodney Rowland 0 0-0 0, Josh Pikna 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 6-10 49.

Maplewood 9 8 12 10 – 39

Youngsville 14 7 15 13 – 49

3-pointers: M- McCarl, Woge 2; Y- Benton, Beers 2

Junior varsity game

MAPLEWOOD (22): Kolle 4 0-0 8, Jordan 1 1-1 3, Kier 4 0-0 8, Snyder 1 0-0 2, Burke 0 1-1 1. Totals: 10 2-2 2.

YOUNGSVILLE (18): Braydon Baker 2 0-0 6, Ollie Boozer 2 1-2 6, Hudson Haight 2 0-0 4, Rodney Rowland 0 1-2 1, Josh Pikna 0 1-2 1, Chris Edwards 0 0-0 0, Austin Connor 0 0-0 0. Totals: 6 3-6 18.

Maplewood 7 10 4 1 — 22

Youngsville 8 3 1 6 — 18

3-pointers: M-None; Y- Baker 2, Boozer.