PICKENS — With leading scorers Jackson Conley and Will Swann forced out of action early due to foul trouble and injuries, the Daniel High School boys’ basketball team was forced to change things up on Monday night against county rival Pickens with first place in Region 2-4A on the line.

The Lions (10-7, 3-0 Region 2-4A) went five out offensively, driving and kicking as they picked the Blue Flame (7-10, 2-1) apart with their lethal three-point shooting led by guards James Epting and Emory McIntyre, allowing them to pull away for an 80-48 win.

“When Will’s out, we just have to play differently,” Daniel head coach Ben Touchberry said. “The guys knocked down shots, and it’s a testament to them. They come in early and stay late getting extra shots in the gym. It’s just due time when they start finding looks that they’re going to hit shots.”

Epting and McIntyre were at the forefront of the Lions’ three-point onslaught, hitting nine of the team’s 11 made three-pointers in the contest. McIntyre, an eighth-grade starter for the Lions, was especially impressive, scoring a career-high 22 points as he drilled five three-pointers.

“He’s an extremely hard worker,” Touchberry said of McIntyre. “Everyone knows, including me, that he is very young, but he is very talented. I think he’s got a good supporting cast around him to help mold him and show him some of the little intangible things.”

Things didn’t look good for the Lions early when Swann aggravated a lingering ankle injury in the opening minutes. That didn’t stop Daniel from building an early lead, but Pickens responded with baskets from Shepherd Smith and Brooks Dow to cut the lead to 13-8 as Conley exited the floor with two fouls for Daniel.

Consecutive three-pointers from McIntyre and a controversial tech on Pickens’ Will Stone on a held ball were enough for Daniel to build a 23-12 lead after one quarter.

The Lions kept their hot shooting going in the second quarter as freshman guard Kingsten Bibb worked his way around and through the Pickens zone to pick up five first-half assists as the lead grew to 33-16. The Blue Flame weren’t going away though, with Dow, Lane Respass and Kyler Wilson all picking up huge buckets to cut the lead to 40-29 at halftime.

The Lions seemed to catch fire to start the second half, with McIntyre and Epting continuing their barrage before a rim-shaking alley-oop finish from Conley off a pass from Epting put Daniel ahead by 30 points midway through the quarter. Pickens managed to score just four points in the period, leaving head coach Jeff Harrelson disappointed after a strong first-half finish.

“We had a little rough start, but I was proud our guys fought back and cut it to 11,” Harrelson said. “We just didn’t take advantage of when we had the advantage inside and they got hot.”

Leading 66-33, McIntyre opened the fourth quarter with his fifth and final three-pointer of the night as the Lions rolled to the win.

Daniel 80, Pickens 48

DWD 23 17 26 14 — 80

PHS 12 17 4 15 — 48

Daniel (80) — McIntyre 22, Epting 16, Johnson 10, Conley 9, Bibb 5, Bell 3, Tucker 3, Carter 2, Freeman 2, Justice 2, Keys 2, Williams 2.

Pickens (48) — Dow 14, Wilson 11, Arnold 9, Respass 7, Smith 4, Roper 2, Fuller 1