Big Walnut hung around early, but couldn’t keep up once Westerville South got rolling en route to an 88-41 setback in the second round of the Division I Central District boys basketball tournament Tuesday in Westerville.

The Golden Eagles (4-19) trailed 23-14 after the first quarter before the defending state champion Wildcats (19-5) used a 16-3 second-quarter surge to take control. Sixth-seeded South outscored 44th-seeded Big Walnut 23-10 in the third quarter and 26-14 in the fourth to smooth out the scoring summary.

Henry von Hollen and Ben Saxe led the Eagles with 10 points apiece. Nathan Montgomery followed with seven points while Carson Becker closed with six in the setback.

The Wildcats were led by the duo of Kaleb Wesson and Antoine Smith, who combined for 46 points. Wesson had a game-high 24 while Smith poured in 22.

Cameron Caldwell also finished in double figures for South, closing with 10 points.

Next up, the Wildcats will take on the winner of Friday’s game between 14th-seeded Hilliard Davidson and 27th-seeded Central Crossing in a district semifinal next Wednesday at a site to be determined.