To say Bryan Maxie was very unhappy after the Eastern View boys basketball team dropped a 74-59 decision at Battlefield District rival Chancellor on Jan. 8 would be an understatement.

“We let ourselves down,” Maxie said of the defeat. “We’re a much better team than we showed that night, and we owe it to each other to go out and prove that every night.”

In the two weeks since that setback, Maxie and the Cyclones have done everything in their power to prove it was an anomaly. They went on the road and handed defending district and Region 4B champion Courtland its only loss on Jan. 11 and have swept a pair of contests with perennial district contender James Monroe within the past week.

Eastern View continued its roll Thursday night, as Maxie led three double-figure scorers with 18 points in a 69-56 nondistrict victory at crosstown rival Culpeper.

The Cyclones have now won five games in a row to improve their record to 7-1.

“We’ve come to realize that we have to take it one game at a time, one opponent at a time,” said Maxie, who’s averaged 17 points during Eastern View’s last three outings. “That’s the only way to improve—focus on what’s right in front of us in that moment.”

Maxie was in the moment throughout Thursday’s matchup. He divided his scoring output equally among both halves and buoyed the Cyclones to a 35-25 halftime lead by connecting on three of his four 3-pointers before intermission.

“You just let him shoot, especially when he’s feeling it,” Eastern View head coach Patrick Thornhill said of the senior guard. “He was feeling it tonight, especially early on.”

Maxie’s backcourt mate, classmate D’Aze Hunter, scored eight of his 14 points in the second quarter. Five of those came during a 12-0 Cyclones run in the middle of the period that erased a 14-13 Blue Devils advantage.

“Being a senior, you come into this game knowing this is the last time you’ll ever get to face [Culpeper],” Hunter said. “So that adds even more motivation to go out and beat them.”

Eastern View never led by fewer than eight points after that stretch, and its lead swelled to as much as 20 on a 17-footer from just inside the top of the key by junior center Corey Long (13 points, 10 rebounds) midway through the fourth quarter.

“We really feel like we should be undefeated right now,” Maxie said. “But that Chancellor game was a turning point for us. It was a real wake-up call.”

Culpeper (2-3) put four players in double figures, with senior guard Chase Smith scoring 14 points to lead the way. Junior center Quentin Butler registered a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds, while senior swingman Jaiden Penn and sophomore point guard Nathan Amos finished with 11 points each.

Blue Devils head coach James Thompson pointed to two key factors in his team’s disappointing performance: foul trouble and an inability to sustain anything at either end of the floor.

“JoJo [Crenshaw] got three fouls early in the first half, so that took him out of the game both physically and then, I felt, mentally as well,” Thompson said. “Overall though, we just came out flat and stayed that way for most of the night.”

Both squads return to district play Friday night. Eastern View will travel to King George, while Culpeper will host Class 4 Northwestern District foe Liberty-Bealeton.

Eastern View (7-1): Amaree Robinson 3, Rickey Butler 6, Bryan Maxie 18, D’Aze Hunter 14, Corey Long 13, Dom Sasso 6, Terry Jackson 0, D’Myo Hunter 1, T.J. Coles 2, Taharka Siaca Bey 6, Jamil Abed 0. Totals: 27 9-15 69.

Culpeper (2-3): Jaiden Penn 11, Nathan Amos 11, JoJo Crenshaw 5, Chase Smith 14, Collin McClanahan 3, Quentin Butler 12. Totals: 22 7-13 56.

3-pointers: Eastern View 6 (Maxie 4, D’Aze Hunter 2). Culpeper 5 (Penn 3, Amos, Smith).