UNION LOCAL’S Andrew Martin goes up for a shot as Brooke’s Dalton Anderson (00) and Alex Isinghood (5) defend during Tuesday’s game in Wellsburg. Martin scored 13 points and the Jets picked up a 65-48 win.

WELLSBURG — Union Local has been one of the hottest teams in the Ohio Valley.

The Jets came into Tuesday night’s trip to the gorgeous Brooke High Wellness Center as winners of nine of their last 10, but head coach Zach Delman warned his players that they couldn’t afford to take their foot off the gas against a struggling Brooke squad, which has just one win.

Outside of a few minute stretch in the second half when Brooke actually got within seven, the message was well received.

And after the Bruins threatened, the Jets accelerated once again and went on for a 65-48 victory.

“We try to approach every game like they all have the same magnitude to them, and I thought we had a good start,” Delman said. “I thought we got outworked in the second half. It was the little things, too. The things we talk about all the time. I think we started to take things for granted. Little things can add up and have big results.”

They actually did on both ends of spectrum for the Jets. The Bruins, who scored just 14 points in the first half, forced turnovers, were active on the glass and shot the ball much better in the second half.

However, they never got any closer than seven because Luke Merritt got free behind the arc. An adept 3-point shooter, Merritt connected on six treys for the game, but his biggest two came on back-to-back possessions to thwart the Bruins spurt.

“Once our kids settled in (against their zone), and got to the spots on the floor they should have been, rather than just random spots, we hit some open shots,” Delman said.

Merritt, who finished with a game-high 18 points, ignited what became a 17-7 run to end the game.

“Luke started strong by hitting two and then we got him some looks in the fourth and he hit them,” Delman said. “Nate Meyer played well, Zach Bateman was big at the line and Andrew Martin gave us a nice spark in the first half.”

An additional little things the Jets did well against Brooke, like they’ve done all season, is knock down free throws. Union Local was 15-of-15 for the game at the stripe, including 11-of-11 in the fourth.

Fueling that was Zach Bateman, who cashed in six in the fourth. Nathan Meyer, who backed Merritt with 15, added four free throws. Martin added 13 with 11 coming in the opening half.

Brooke, meanwhile, continues to search for answers and consistency.

“Other than the St. Clairsville game, we’ve not been able to get over the hump all season,” Brooke head coach Mel Coleman said. “We don’t have the right personnel, so we have to do the best we can with who we have.”

The Bruins were led by Alex Lilly and Alex Isinghood, who evenly divided 30 points. Nick Brown finished with nine.

“At some point in time, this many games into the season, you have to get beyond playing pretty well,” Coleman said. “You have to play better to be successful. You play the game to win. I don’t play anything to lose.”

The Jets have a busy weekend ahead with a road trip to Buckeye Trail on Friday and then will take on Buckeye Local at Edison in the Buckeye 8 Crossover.