The Mt. Eden boys basketball team rode solid performances from its top two players to win its home opener Tuesday over Washington High School of Fremont 69-44.

The Monarchs (4-0) blew the game open in the third quarter as they used a 15-2 run to extend their halftime lead from five to 13 and headed into the fourth quarter comfortably leading 52-33.

Senior guard Noel Briones led the game-changing run in the third by scoring 14 of his game-high 24 points during the period.

At one point in time the senior had gone on an 11-2 run by himself in the third.

“He’s kind of our catalyst that was kind of the difference, they’re a good team,” Mt. Eden head coach Aaron O’Brien explained.

Do-it-all wing, senior Stevinair Young, had a solid all-around game as he came away with 19 points to go along with his game-high nine rebounds, all while adding five assists.

Young was able to penetrate on many occasions which in turn would get him to the foul line where he made 7-10.

While Briones was able to explode in the third, Young helped pace the Monarchs in the first half where he had 12 of his 19 points.

Briones scored from all over as he was able to score from behind the arc, where he made three, and was also able to use his sturdy frame to get into his sweet spots as he shot 6-11 from the field and looked comfortable most of the night.

Mt. Eden shot 52 percent from the field and was able to force the Huskies into 17 turnovers due to their full-court pressure defense.

“Our players are not young but they play young,” O’Brien said. “They go too fast, it’s a work in progress.

The Huskies (3-4) struggled all night to find a rhythm offensively.

Washington shot just 37 percent from the field and failed to connect on all three of its attempts from behind the arc.

Senior guard Matt Isola led the Huskies with 12 points and was the only Washington player to reach double figures in scoring.

During the third period the Huskies were only able to produce eight points and was 3-13 during the run that saw the game change course.

The Huskies were forced into many off balanced mid-range shots and struggled to adapt to the pressure all game.

Leading scorer Caleb Baskett, who was coming off three consecutive games of 20 plus points, struggled to get anything going offensively as the Monarchs made a concerted effort to shut out the Huskies star guard.

“They tried to take our guy [Baskett] out the game,” Washington head coach Mike Tripp said. “He is the gas that gets us going.”

Baskett was only able to produce five points and was constantly menaced on the offensive end by the length and quickness brought by Mt. Eden and often times looked frustrated on the court.

“They came out ready to play in the second half and we didn’t,” Tripp bluntly exclaimed.