MARTINS FERRY — Derek Edwards normally tilts his practices more to the defensive side.

But after watching his Martins Ferry boys’ basketball team struggle offensively in home losses against Wheeling Park and Shadyside last weekend, the Purple Riders head coach placed more of an emphasis on scoring during Monday’s workout.

The increased focus paid dividends as Tuesday night Martins Ferry looked sharp, putting up nearly 25 points more than its average in racing past River, 75-61, inside Tolbert Gymnasium.

Jaizen Miles went for 20 points as the Purple Riders evened their mark at 8-8 after overcoming 11 3-pointers from the Pilots (5-10), who were coming off a thrilling last-second home triumph against Barnesville last Friday night.

“I definitely think we took a step in the right direction offensively,” Edwards said. “But not issues have been resolved, so we have to keep working.”

Dasyn Hores and Logan Smith each added 18 points for Martins Ferry, which broke the game open with a 14-0 run that concluded the first half and stretched into the opening moments of the second.

“They were able to speed us up,” Pilots head coach Mark Romick said, citing the Purple Riders’ successful press.

“We had 11 possessions in a row where we turned the ball over. You don’t get shots, you can’t score. Plus, some of those were easy runouts for layups.”

River enjoyed early success behind a strong first quarter from Stone Thompson. Thompson, who poured in a game-high 28 points, drained three of his seven trifectas, during the period as the Pilots went up 18-14.

River maintained its lead deep into the second before Martins Ferry started surging behind Miles, who had eight points in the quarter and teamed with Ruben Hilson (10 points) to help the Purple Riders score the period’s final nine points.

“The press got us going,” Edwards said. “Sometimes, we have to do that. We don’t necessarily want to. That got us a few easy layups. Now, (River) got some shots off it, but when you press you’re taking a chance. So, I think the plus-minus was more in our favor.”

The run was gamechanging as it opened up the game for the Purple Riders and took River out of what’d been working for it early.

Smith, who missed a large chunk of the first half with two fouls, returned strong in the third, scoring nine points as Martins Ferry built a 14-point lead courtesy of his 3-point play with 26.9 ticks left in the quarter.

Smith had another 3-point play two-plus minutes into the final quarter, this one giving Martins Ferry its largest lead of the night — 58-40.

“We did a nice job against the press early,” Romick said. “Eventually, it wore us down.”

Davian Ray also scored nine points for the Purple Riders, who showcased their strength inside as the game wore on.

“And our guard movement allowed (our post players) to take over,” Edwards said. “That’s what we were really focusing on. They did a great job.”

Martins Ferry plays another home game Friday, this time against Buckeye Local.

River, which also got 12 points from freshman Ty Long, visits Shadyside.