Larry Brown Jr.’s leaping ability has never been in question.

But Thursday night’s above-the-rim antics against St. Pauls may have put the Red Springs senior alone at the top of rarified air.

The Red Devils continued their dominant run as front runners of the Three Rivers Conference, dismantling the Bulldogs, 69-48, to set up tonight’s key battle with Fairmont.

Brown Jr. paced Red Springs (12-8, 6-1) with 23 points and eight rebounds as Glenn Patterson Sr.’s bunch inched one step closer to a coveted high seed in the postseason.

“Tonight was one of the most important games of the season,” Brown Jr. said. “Our goal is to play at home in the playoffs. We shooting for that No. 1 seed.”

Brown Jr.’s scoring tally included five dunks, a high-flying act that featured a one-handed stuff that earned a foul early in the fourth quarter. The three-point play supplied the Red Devils with their largest lead of the contest at 53-27.

“We want to keep playing at a high level,” Patterson Sr. said. “With our speed and quickness, rebounding is still something we need to work on. The best thing about tonight was we had a chance to rest some starters. Our idea coming in was to rest as many players as possible in preparation for Fairmont.”

Winners of 10 of their last 12, the Red Devils chief focus has been defense. A feisty 2-3 zone forced 25 Bulldogs’ turnovers that ended with numerous easy baskets in transition. Red Springs jumped ahead 29-10 one minute into the second quarter after three consecutive 3-pointers deflated St. Pauls’ defense and forced coach David Shaw to use a timeout.

Glenn Patterson Jr. tallied seven assists and four steals for Red Springs after picking up seven swipes in a previous win over St. Pauls on Dec. 11. He took 10 shots from the floor and finished with eight points.

St. Pauls never found consistency offensively Thursday, failing to capitalize on 17 forced turnovers. Antonio Henderson led the Bulldogs with 10 points, scoring eight in the final frame.

Brown Jr. was the only player in double figures for Red Springs, but the Red Devils did connect on 16-of-22 attempts from the charity stripe, a phase of the game that has been a constant headache throughout this season.

Girls’ action

Benefiting from a star senior’s final road game against a bitter rival, the St. Pauls girls basketball team beat Red Springs 45-40 Thursday night.

Jazmin Ray scored a game-high 19 points, including 13 in the second half after the Bulldogs trailed by as many as six. Her four free throws in the final 2:48 helped St. Pauls maintain a two-possession lead.

“Anything goes when we play Red Springs,” St. Pauls coach Mike Ratley said. “It came down to a senior wanting to win one of her last ballgames. Jazmin stepped us for us.”

Shariyah Alexander added 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for St. Pauls, scoring six important points underneath the basket in the final quarter after Red Springs had problems handling the ball on back-to-back possessions. Two players scored in double figures for the Red Devils with Sylvonia Booker and Tashira Patterson each scoring 10 points, respectively.

“Our team has played with a fight and claw attitude all season,” Ratley said. “I bet we have had five games that have been decided in the fourth quarter.”