CARY — Ultimately, basketball boils down to which team makes the most baskets. It’s fairly simple really. And Friday night at Cary High School, Apex simply out-shot the Imps en route to a 75-57 victory over its chief rival.

“Our shooting was the best I’ve ever seen it,” Cougars coach David Neal said. “This year on the road we’ve had atrocious shooting in the first half. So for us to come out and shoot 9-for-13 from the 3-point line in the first half was big. That put us in good position to win and we were able to hold them off the rest of the game.”

Point guard Connor Belicic came out of the gate red hot, knocking down his first five attempts from behind the arc to help give Apex a 22-12 after the first quarter. Belicic finished with a game-high 22 points.

“Connor played great,” Neal said. “His shooting is awesome like that every day in practice. We’ve just been waiting for him to do it like this in a game.”

Belicic said he put in some extra time this week in the gym after practice working specifically on his outside shot, and added he expected to have a good night on the road against the Imps.

“Yesterday I stayed late and shot 150 to 200 shots,” he said. “Plus I always shoot well in (Cary’s) gym. I shot the ball well here last year. I guess I just have a lot of confidence when I come to Cary.”

The Cougars (7-7, 2-3) led 39-27 at the break, but midway through the third quarter the Imps put together a mini-run and pulled to within nine at 43-34. Apex quickly regrouped, though, and closed the quarter on a 12-2 run behind some stellar inside play — led by center Weston Murphy, who scored 19 to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds.

Neal was especially impressed with Murphy’s work on the boards.

“I challenged him to be more aggressive and go after more offensive rebounds,” Neal said. “He hadn’t had that many this season, but he made a conscious effort in this game to crash the glass.”

The Cougars kept pace in the fourth quarter and cruised to the win – never allowing the Imps to make any significant headway. Cary continued to apply full-court pressure — as it had the entire game — but Apex had no trouble breaking it.

“We handled their press well all night,” Belicic said. “Our guards played well and when we got it to the big guys they did their job. We did a good job of making the extra pass.”

Apex will now face Fuquay-Varina on Tuesday, and Lee Countyon Friday. Cary's difficult season continues, as the Imps (1-13, 1-4) will take on Panther Creek on Tuesday and Fuquay on Friday.