MARIETTA - The Hillgrove boys showed that basketball can be a game of runs.

The Hawks went on small spurts to open each quarter against Harrison in Saturday's nightcap of the Atlanta High School Hoop Festival. Those series of runs helped Hillgrove extend its lead over the Hoyas before it won, 58-41, at the Cobb Civic Center.

Auburn signee Heath Houston scored 17 points, most of which came during the first couple of minutes of each quarter, to lead Hillgrove (10-1). Dominic Early came on strong in the second half to finish with 16, while Mike Lawrence chipped in with 11.

"I thought we played really well in spurts, and then there would be times when we had turnovers and took bad shots before we picked it up again," Hillgrove coach Ed Morris said. "We have to be better on our half-court offense, but I thought that we ran the floor well (Saturday night)."

Of all the runs Hillgrove manufactured against Harrison (3-5), the Hawks' 9-0 spurt to begin the second quarter set the tempo for the rest of the game. The Hoyas had the momentum at the end of the first quarter after they scored six unanswered points to get within three at 12-9.

Hillgrove's second-quarter run started with a pair of free throws by Lawrence before a thunderous dunk by Houston jolted electricity into the team. Lawrence followed with a layup and hit the front end of a pair of free throws to swell the Hillgrove lead to 19-9.

The Hoyas failed to cut into the lead and trailed, 27-18, at the half before the Hawks opened the second half with a 7-0 run to better secure their advantage. That run was also highlighted by another slam by Houston before a jumper by Early opened the Hillgrove lead to 34-18.

After Harrison battled to trim the Hawks' lead late in the third quarter, Hillgrove opened the fourth with five unanswered points to seal the victory. A dunk by Early capped the run, putting Hillgrove ahead, 48-31, as Harrison failed to get within 13 points the rest of the way.

Ryan Blumenthal scored 10 points to lead the Hoyas, who did have their moments. They were at their best at the end of the first quarter, when they started forcing more turnovers. Those turnovers propelled a late 6-0 first-quarter run as putbacks by Marshall Guilmette and Subby Adetujoye put Harrison within three.

Harrison staged one last gasp midway through the fourth quarter when back-to-back 3-pointers by Watson and Jeremy Presley trimmed the Hillgrove lead to 50-37.