The Fort Dale boys fought through sickness to pull out a tough 46-34 over Pike Liberal Arts on Tuesday night.

Starting guard Shanks Simmons was dealing with a stomach virus and came out of the game early.

“This was a hard-fought area win,” said head coach William Johnson.

Fort Dale was holding on to a 10-9 lead as the first quarter wound down, but Wesley Burkett hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to extend the lead.

“Wesley hit some big shots for us off the bench,” Johnson said.

In the second quarter, the Eagles started getting more points in the paint with Dustin Till and Kendall Gibson putting points on the board.

Despite a strong second quarter, the Eagles held a slim 24-22 lead at the half.

After the intermission, Fort Dale broke the game open.

They continued to score from the paint, but Burkett also hit two three-pointers in the quarter.

When the buzzer sounded to start the fourth quarter, Fort Dale had jumped to a 35-26 lead.

The Patriots made a comeback attempt, but the Eagles held them off to retain an eight-point win.

Scoring was spread around, with Burkett being the leading scorer with 12 points.

Till also added seven points.

“Everyone’s got to contribute, and we did that,” Johnson said. “This was a good win over a top 10 team.”