Elma handled the hype of a season-opener well, outpacing Aberdeen to earn a 71-49 win on Monday at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen.

The Eagles (1-0 overall) shot 50% from the floor as a team and got a big game from senior Gibson Cain, who led all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, two steals and a block.

Elma junior Cason Seaberg and sophomore Traden Carter also had solid games offensively, scoring 16 and 13 points, respectively.

The Eagles also got multiple buckets from junior AJ Holmes (8 points), junior Carter Studer (7 points), sophomore Theo Flores (7 points) and junior Grant Vessey (5 points). Elma had 15 assists as a team. The Eagles were also rewarded for attacking the boards and the basket, recording 36 rebounds as a team — with Cain and Studer leading the way with eight apiece — and hitting 17-of-26 (65%) free-throw attempts.

“Extremely excited about how well we played in game number one,” Elma head coach Matt Ferrier said. “Being overly amped up to start the season can generally make the first game ugly. Obviously, we had the first-game mistakes like everyone does. Told my kids at the half we are making more mistakes trying to be unselfish.”

A third-quarter push helped Elma extend out to a large lead and put the game out of reach for Aberdeen (0-1).

“Third quarter was unreal,” Ferrier said. “Good to see us come back out with great energy from halftime. We rocked ‘em and they didn’t handle the pressure well. … Great first game for the Eagles.”

Elma hosts North Beach at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Aberdeen’s next scheduled game is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Black Hills.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Elma’s Grady Springer (10) puts up a shot over Aberdeen’s Patrick Walsh (20) during the Eagles’ 71-49 win on Monday in Aberdeen.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Aberdeen’s Giovanni Ambrogiani (21) drives against the Elma defense in the Bobcats’ 71-49 loss on Monday in Aberdeen.