The Central Middle School (CMS) boys basketball team has achieved an early winning record after starting its 2016-17 season with a loss.

The Bobcats defeated Lunenburg 48-21 Monday, enjoying a definite size advantage and featuring more experience on their roster compared to a younger Lunenburg squad.

CMS was led by Ryetwan Callaham with 10 points, while Brenden Francisco and Chris Redd had eight points apiece.

The Bobcats were set to play Buckingham Thursday, but the game was postponed due to electrical problems at CMS.

The day prior, the Bobcats took on Cumberland in a game that was close all night long. CMS held the lead throughout the game until the last two minutes, when Cumberland made a run to claim a 28-27 advantage with just five seconds to go in the contest.

CMS had possession of the ball and inbounded. The ball was passed to Noah Walker with roughly three seconds to go in the game. Walker put up a shot from 27 feet that found nothing but net. By the time the ball came out of the net, time had expired and CMS had won a thriller, 30-28.

The scoring was pretty even for the Bobcats, as no one reached double figures. Walker was the hero, but Airyon Broadnax and Chris Redd led the Bobcats with six points each.

On Dec. 5, CMS lost its first game of the season 36-31 to Pocahontas. The Bobcats fell behind early and tried to play catch-up all night long. They hit a three-pointer and a couple more baskets near the end of the night, but the game was not as close as the score indicated. Every time CMS made a run, Pocahontas would pull away again.

The Bobcats hit only three foul shots all night, while Pocahontas hit eight. Callaham led CMS with 14 points and Broadnax scored seven.

The players on the 2016-17 CMS boys basketball team include Justen Staten, Ty Walton, Drew Dowdy, Brenden Francisco, Ryetwan Callaham, Marcus Dailey, Bryson Scott, Tamaris Duncan, Noah Walker, Russell Thompson, Peter Jones, Airyon Broadnax, Chris Redd and Neal Wilmouth.

The Bobcats will take on Prince Edward Wednesday night to finish up the first half of their season before the holiday break.