BANDON — Cascade Christian is the defending Sunset Conference boys basketball champion and the top-ranked team in the Class 3A coaches poll.

The Challengers took their first big step toward a repeat title by easily beating No. 10 Bandon on the road Tuesday, topping the Tigers 67-45.

“We knew this was going to be the toughest place to play,” said Cascade Christian coach Brian Morse. “(We wanted to) set the tone for the league championship.”

The Challengers charged out of the gate with a big first quarter.

After the teams traded early baskets, Cascade Christian scored 12 straight points, including 3-pointers by Jarrod Hess and Ben Joffer. Scott Morse added a two-handed dunk on a back-door cut and finished the quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Challengers a 19-4 advantage.

Rather than fold, though, Bandon battled back.

The Tigers used a 14-4 run in the second quarter to pull within 26-20 on a three-point play by Connor Jackson.

But the final minute of the first half was disastrous for Bandon. Hess hit another 3-pointer, Dustin Huntley scored and Morse had a three-point play in the final seconds to give Cascade Christian a 34-20 advantage at the break.

“That’s where we lost it,” Bandon coach Matt Angove said of the end of the first half.

Jackson opened the second half with another 3-pointer, but then Cascade Christian scored nine straight points to effectively put the game out of reach. Bandon never made another serious threat.

The Challengers were efficient on offense, shooting just over 50 percent from the floor, including going 6-for-12 from 3-point range.

“We ran the offense really well,” Scott Morse said, adding that the Challengers were even more pleased with their defense.

“On the perimeter, we had really good defense,” he said.

Morse had a major role in that, guarding Bandon’s most explosive scorer, Max DeVillers, who missed his first six shots and finished with just six points.

“My thought was if he can’t touch the ball, he can’t score,” Morse said of DeVillers.

With DeVillers struggling to get good shots — he did have four assists — Jackson picked up the scoring load for the Tigers, with 21 points. But Bandon needed much more against the explosive attack of Cascade Christian.

Morse capped his 30-point night with another big dunk, while Hess added 12 points and Joffer scored nine.

Brian Morse was relieved to see that output from his team after Cascade Christian shot just 26 points while losing to Portland Christian in a tournament over the weekend.

“On Saturday, we didn’t play well,” the coach said.

The Challengers responded well to the challenge of playing at Bandon.

Angove hopes his team responds well to an early loss in league play.

“I told the players, ‘We’re not going to lose any ground in league,’” he said. “There’s not anybody else who’s going to beat them.

“The question is, how do we respond when we go on the road to Rogue River.”

The Chieftains are 2-0 in league play with convincing wins over Reedsport and Myrtle Point, both at home, and appear to be one of the contenders for the league’s playoff spots.

Jackson said the Tigers can use Tuesday’s loss as a learning experience and inspiration for the rest of the season.

“They’re a great team — a state championship-caliber team,” he said. “It shows us what we have to look for.”

Bandon will need to be more confident with the ball on offense and more consistent, he said.

“It was a tough loss. Now we need to come back with a good game Friday.”