When their offense is clicking like it did for three quarters Monday, they Cardinals are hard to beat.

Sophomore Roan Kelly had a career-high 24 points, including seven 3-pointers, junior Carson Conley also had 24 points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocked shots, and freshman Drew Hind chipped in 19 points as Randolph beat Frewsburg 83-46 to take over sole possession of first place in the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Central Division.

“We hit nine 3s in the first half. … I have six out of eight guys who can really shoot the ball. That’s been hard to get figured out because they’re getting less shots,” Coach Hind said. “With everybody getting less shots, we have to get better shots. If you keep playing good defense, the shots are going to fall.”

Coming off a close nonleague victory over Allegany-Limestone on Saturday, the Cardinals (8-1, 4-0) were looking to avoid a letdown with state-ranked Salamanca looming this coming Saturday.

Frewsburg’s Zack Carr (5) looks to score inside while being defended by Randolph’s Drew Hind and Jaiden Huntington (30) during Monday’s CCAA Central Division game in Frewsburg. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Right off the bat, it was apparent that wouldn’t be an issue.

Hind scored his team’s first 8 points of the game and later added a three-point play while Kelly added his first two 3-pointers of the night as Randolph led 23-10 after eight minutes.

“We talked after the Allegany-Limestone win, that’s a great win for confidence,” Coach Hind said. ” … Drew comes out and starts out on fire. Roan comes off the bench and drills two in a row. To get a guy off the bench hit seven 3s for you … he’s been finding his way right now because coming off the bench isn’t always easy.”

The Cardinals continued their hot start with a 16-2 run to open the second quarter that included 3-pointers from junior Jaiden Huntington and Kelly. Conley, Kelly and Hind hit back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers late in the second quarter as Randolph took a 50-18 lead into halftime.

“It’s extremely hard because you try to take away Gabe and you double-down from the outside which leaves up shooters. If you go out to get the shooters, then Gabe hurts you down low,” Frewsburg head coach Rob Collver said. “They are a tough team. They are a really tough team. … If they are hitting, it’s almost impossible to stop them.”

Over the first two quarters, the Cardinals shot 19 of 34 (55.9%) from the field, including 9 of 18 (50%) from 3-point range. They also scored 15 points off eight first-half turnovers by the Bears (4-6, 3-1).

“These guys beat Maple Grove by 10 or 12. This is a first- vs. second-place game,” Coach Hind said. ” … That game Saturday against Allegany-Limestone could’ve gone two ways. I was so happy with the effort they brought to practice Sunday. … They were hungry and ready.”

Conley scored 8 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, during a 22-point third quarter as Randolph put the game away.

“As soon as they started knocking down shots and we saw that lead climb and climb we started scoreboard watching, and we started getting down on ourselves a little bit,” Collver said. “It doesn’t matter how many pep talks you give them in timeouts and halftime, they have to have that mental strength to get over that hurdle.”

Zach Winters led Frewsburg with 20 points.

“Hamburg, Dunkirk, Southwestern twice, all those nonleague games prepared us,” Collver said. “There is nothing like having a rival league opponent come in and having them stick it to you right off the get-go.”

Now the Cardinals will take today off before three days of preparation for Salamanca, which beat Southwestern 65-44 in a CCAA Division 1 West contest Monday night. The Warriors will host Randolph at 6 p.m. Saturday as the teams team up to Beat Cystic Fibrosis. Tip-off time was moved up to accommdate the Buffalo Bills-New England Patriots NFL playoff game that same night.

“Salamanca and us are just two really good, even teams. It’s going to be a great game,” Coach Hind said. “If you play that game 10 times, it’s going to be a good game every time. We’re excited about it.”

NOTES: Gavin Smith had 8 points and Zack Carr had four assists for Frewsburg. … Hind had seven assists and three steals for Randolph. … The Bears finished 18 of 58 (31%) from the field, including 0 of 16 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 16 times. … The Cardinals finished 32 of 68 (47.1%) from the field, including 15 of 41 (36.6%) from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 13 times. … In the jayvee game, Tristen Farnham had 21 points, Gavin Stearns had 12 and Cooper Freeman had 11 as Randolph remained undefeated (9-0) with a 68-31 victory. Chase Haglund led Frewsburg with 10 points.

RANDOLPH (83)

ONelson 0 1 1, Kelly 8 1 24, Hind 7 1 19, Loomis 0 0 0, GNelson 3 0 6, Conley 10 1 24, McCoy 3 0 6, Huntington 1 0 3, Schrader 0 0 0. Totals 32 4 83.

FREWSBURG (46)

Wiltsie 0 0 0, Carr 1 2 4, Smith 4 0 8, Spencer 0 0 0, Murray 2 2 6, Sears 1 0 2, LeBaron 1 3 5, Bragg 0 1 1, Winters 9 2 20, Barbatosta 0 0 0. Totals 18 10 46.

3-point goals–Kelly 7, Hind 4, Conley 3, Huntington.

Randolph 23 27 22 9 — 83

Frewsburg 10 8 13 15 — 46

Jayvee: Randolph won 68-31.