DUBLIN — Scotland County pulled away from a close game at halftime and knocked off the host Knights in the second round of the Woodmen Life Christmas Tournament, 74-60.

The loss drops West Bladen to 3-7 and moves the Knights into the tournament’s third-place game at 6 p.m. Friday against South Brunswick.

The Scots opened the game with an 11-4 run, but West Bladen answered with its own 10-3 burst behind a three-pointer from Scott Bowen, along with a bucket and two free throws from Jonathan Robinson to knot the game at 14-14 going into the second stanza.

Scotland opened the quarter with a 9-2 run, but West Bladen fought back with a 8-0 burst — highlighted by another three-pointer from Bowen and a three-pointer from Jimmy Williams — that gave the Knights a 24-23 edge. The Scots, however, closed the half with an 8-4 run to take a 31-28 advantage into halftime.

West Bladen cut the deficit to 31-30 to open the second half on a bucket from Tyre Boykin, but it would be the closest the Knights would get. Scotland County went on a 10-2 burst for a 41-32 advantage and the two teams traded points the rest of the third quarter to give the Scots a 49-40 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The lead ballooned to 53-40, but West Bladen went on a 6-2 run to cut the gap to 55-46 midway through the period.

A Gerardo Reyes three-pointer for West was sandwiched between three-pointers from Scotland to put the Scots up 61-49. That lead grew to 65-50 before Bowen drained his third three-pointer, but Scotland County easily sealed the win to move into the championship game.

Bowen and Williams led West Bladen with 15 points each, while Robinson contributed eight points and 10 boards.