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Tyler Legacy moved into first place in District 10-6A by grinding out a 44-34 win over Rockwall on Tuesday night inside Tyler Legacy Varsity Gymnasium.

“I just liked our toughness and resiliency,” Tyler Legacy head boys basketball coach Kyle Smith said. “They’re so good half court defensively. We made some shots early, but if you’re not making shots, it’s really hard to score. But we just found a way to get it done. This group has done that this year. We’ve won games scoring in the 80s and won tonight holding a team to 34 points.

“Winning in multiple ways is important, especially when you get in the playoffs. I’m just excited to see what’s coming these next couple of weeks.”

Legacy entered the night at 6-2 in district, same as Rockwall-Heath and behind Rockwall at 6-1. After Tuesday’s result, Legacy moved to 7-2 and Rockwall fell to 6-2. Rockwall-Heath defeated Longview 60-52 on Tuesday to also move to 7-2. Legacy holds a head-to-head win over Rockwall-Heath in the lone meeting so far, but the teams will meet again Feb. 7 at Rockwall-Heath.

The Red Raiders started district play 1-2 with losses to Royse City and Rockwall and have now won six straight games since the 64-57 setback to Rockwall on Jan. 3.

“I think a lot of this is attributed to our tough schedule early,” Smith said. “We saw everything in the preseason, and we were prepared. That’s why we built a tough schedule like that. It’s really important to us to get that first seed in small school, so this was a big win for us tonight to keep that lead over Royse City. I’m just proud of these guys.”

Royse City entered Tuesday night at 4-4 in district and was playing at North Forney.

The Red Raiders jumped out to a quick 11-0 lead. After the Yellowjackets broke into the scoring column with a layup by Noah Santoro with 3:46 on the clock, Tyler Henry connected from downtown to push the Legacy advantage to 14-2. The Red Raiders led 17-8 after the first quarter.

Rockwall clawed back into the game with a 10-2 run in the second quarter. Legacy led 24-20 at the half.

After Ja’Corian Oes scored for the Red Raiders early in the third quarter, Rockwall got consecutive trioples from Aidan Nott and Santoro to tie the score at 26. The game was also tied at 28 and 30 before Oes scored in the final seconds of the third quarter to give Legacy a 32-30 lead heading into the fourth.

Legacy opened the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run, holding Rockwall without a field goal for more than six minutes to put the game away.

“We felt like when we went to their place at the beginning of January, they out toughed us,” Smith said. “They were really more physical with us, setting screens and getting through tough screens. We made that a big point of emphasis this week. We had to be the more physical team. The more physical team wins in low-scoring games like this.”

Oes led the Red Raiders (19-12) with 19 points and nine rebounds. JP Rainer scored 10 points. Jayden Jones had 7 points; Tyler Henry and Josh Hall 3 each; and Gage Nuckolls 2. Jones had eight rebounds, and Nuckolls had four rebounds and four assists.

Hudson Goellner led Rockwall (20-7) with 9 points and nine rebounds. Santoro scored 8 points. Mason Shephard and Luke Barksdale had 4 points each; Nott 3; and Corde’ Polson, Camren Edwards and Ethan Gilbert 2 apiece.