The Saranac Lake boys basketball team continued its red-hot start to the season, topping the Moriah Vikings 66-45 at home on Wednesday to earn the team’s seventh victory this season.

The senior trio of Cedar Crist, Mik Denkeberger and Zack McCarthy combined for 59 points to lead the Red Storm, which was coming off a 10-day break, having last played in late December. The squad is now 7-1 overall — the program’s best start to a season since 2021.

Saranac Lake ranks 16th in the state for Class B boys basketball, according to the latest New York State Sports Writers Association poll. The team’s only defeat came in a 56-55 overtime road loss to another state-ranked team, the Madrid-Waddington Yellow Jackets, on Dec. 27.

Denkenberger scored 22 points on Wednesday and knocked down a couple of 3-pointers to prevent the Vikings from ever really coming back. McCarthy added 20 points, and Crist had 17. Saranac Lake’s head coach Daryl Crist was proud of how his team played.

Saranac Lake’s Cedar Crist, right, shoots over Moriah’s Quincy Swan (4) during Wednesday’s game. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

“(We were) obviously led by our seniors, which is one of our strengths,” he said. “I thought we played hard, played the way that we want to play. Defensively, the first two quarters, we were very good. Kind of let it get away on the defensive end in the third quarter. But overall, we want to play with tempo, we want to play fast, we want to share the ball and I think we did that very well tonight.”

The Red Storm raced to a 16-9 lead after one quarter, before taking control in the second to lead 38-18 at the intermission. Moriah brought the score to within 11 points in the third quarter, behind Austin Mandy’s 10 points; however, Saranac Lake quickly regained control in the fourth to remain unbeaten in league play.

Mandy paced the Vikings with 14 points, while Wyatt Whitman also reached double figures with 12 as Moriah dropped to 3-5 overall.

For Saranac Lake, the defending Section VII, Class B champions, Wednesday’s victory marked the program’s first over the Vikings since December 2011, snapping a 20-game skid. But for Coach Crist, this milestone is just another step toward hitting their season goals.

“One of them is to win the league, and (to do that) we’ve got to take out Moriah, who’s been there for what seems like forever,” he said.

Saranac Lake’s Noah Hastings dribbles the ball down the court during Wednesday’s home game against Moriah. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Saranac Lake will host the Northeastern Clinton Cougars at 7 p.m. today in a rematch of last season’s sectional title game. The Cougars are currently 0-9 overall.

Following that contest, the Red Storm will have back-to-back road games, first against AuSable Valley at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, before facing Ticonderoga at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Coach Crist said he’s hoping some of his players can be healthy, with a bunch of league games coming up.

“We’re working on that,” he said. “Then (we want to) just continue to grow as a team and keep pushing our limits for what this team wants to accomplish.”

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Saranac Lake 66, Moriah 45

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Vikings 9 9 17 10 — 45

Red Storm 16 22 13 15 — 66

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Individual stats

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Saranac Lake (66): Zack McCarthy 10-0-20; Cedar Crist 8-1-17; Mik Denkenberger 9-1-22; Connor Gillis 1-0-3; Levi Lambert 1-0-2; Noah Hastings 0-0-0; Elias Willett 0-0-0; Maddox Hamelin 1-0-2; Josh Kunath 0-0-0; Owen Hybicki 0-0-0. TOTALS: 30-2-66.

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Moriah (45): Austin Mandy 6-0-14; Joe Kazlo 2-1-5; Quincy Swan 2-1-5; Kohin Sargent 3-0-6; Wyatt Whitman 4-2-12; Dillon Uvyn 0-0-0; Bo McGinness 0-0-0; Landen Brassard 1-1-3. TOTALS: 18-5-45.

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3-point goals: Saranac Lake (4): Mik Denkenberger 3; Connor Gillis. Moriah (4): Austin Mandy 2; Wyatt Whitman 2.