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POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — So much for a grand entrance.

Visiting Winfield stormed out to an early lead and never looked back Tuesday night as the Generals welcomed Point Pleasant to the Class AAA ranks with a 64-44 non-conference boys basketball victory in Mason County.

The Generals (1-0) never trailed in the contest and led 4-0 just 1:37 into regulation, but the host Big Blacks (0-1) rallied back with consecutive baskets — capped by a Wade Martin dunk at the 5:12 mark — for a four-all contest.

PPHS, however, never came closer the rest of the way as Winfield closed the opening period with a 13-7 surge to take a 17-11 edge after eight minutes of play.

Point Pleasant opened the second canto with a 3-0 run to pull within 17-14 at the 6:23 mark, but WHS answered with a 6-2 spurt to re-establish a three-possession lead at 23-16 with 3:42 left in the half. The hosts retaliated with four straight points to again cut the deficit down to three (23-20) with 1:57 remaining, but Winfield closed the quarter out on a 9-1 charge to take its biggest lead of the first half into the break at 32-21.

The Generals twice led by as many as 15 points in the third canto and ultimately took a 46-34 edge into the finale, then closed regulation with an 18-10 run to wrap up the 20-point decision — the biggest lead of the entire contest.

Winfield — which committed 20 turnovers in the contest — also managed to ruin the head coaching debut of Josh Williams, who took over the reins this summer after the resignation of Richie Blain. The Big Blacks committed just 12 turnovers in the setback, which included three miscues apiece in each of the four quarters of play.

The major setback for PPHS Tuesday night came at the free throw line, as the hosts netted just 12-of-25 attempts (48 percent) overall in the contest — including an 8-of-15 effort in the first half. WHS finished the night 15-of-23 at the charity stripe for 65 percent.

Martin led the Big Blacks with 13 points, with 11 of those coming in the first half and zero coming in the fourth period. Dillon McCarty and Alex Somerville followed with nine markers apiece, while Evan Potter chipped in four points for the hosts.

Garrett Norris was next with three points, while Caleb Riffle, Marquez Griffin and Andrew Williamson rounded out the scoring with two markers each.

Chris Turner led a balanced Winfield attack with 16 points, followed by Toby Show and Brock Pence with 10 markers each. Bear Bellamy was next with eight points, while Zach Fisher and Garrett Grafton added seven markers apiece.