ELIZABETHTOWN — Clinton used balanced and consistent scoring on Thursday to hand East Bladen an 81-61 Four County Conference loss.

The Eagles dropped to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

The Dark Horses put a cloud over the Eagles Nest right from the start, racing out to a 25-14 advantage after the opening 8 minutes of play.

The scoreboard didn’t light up quite as quickly in the second stanza, but Clinton still managed to win the quarter, 14-11, and extended the lead to 39-25 by halftime.

Any hopes East Bladen had of climbing back into the game were all but erased early in the second half, as the Dark Horses outscored the Eagles by a 20-14 margin in the third quarter and took a 59-39 lead into the fourth frame.

The scoreboard lit up 44 points in the fourth quarter — 22 by each team — as Clinton coasted to the 20-point victory.

“We missed way too many layups, and the free throws were terrible,” East Bladen coach Ken Cross said. “You can’t win like that.”

A pair of Eagles led East Bladen in double figures, each with 10 points — J.R. Robinson and Dayvon Powell. Sincere Smith scored nine and Adonis Avery scored eight with two three-pointers.