KARNS CITY — Most basketball teams rely on their starters for production.

That wasn't the case for Karns City on Thursday night.

The Gremlins used a 34-0 advantage in bench scoring to earn a 59-35 victory over West Forest and snap a five-game losing skid.

Karns City received at least one field goal from 10 different Gremlins during the win, led by Tucker Preston with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a 3-for-4 performance from behind the arc.

With the game knotted at 8 midway through the first quarter, Karns City coach Chris Bellis brought in five players off the bench and instantly saw results.

The combination of Tyler Kepple, Nathan Weckerly, Dan Filges, Logan Moroney and Andrew Johnston went on a 13-1 run to end the frame, giving the Gremlins a 21-9 cushion heading into the second quarter.

“That was an all-underclassman unit,” said Bellis. “I was happy with the way they came in and played hard and converted on their opportunities.”

Many of the opportunities were thanks to a pesky defensive effort, which gave the Indians (4-4) trouble for much of the game.

Karns City (2-5) forced 25 turnovers — including 21 steals — en route to the win.

“Turnovers hurt us from the first quarter on to the whole game,” said West Forest coach Dustin Donato. “Story of the season, really.”

Johnston and Brandyn Bowser paced the swarming Karns City defense with five steals apiece.

“We were pretty aggressive,” said Bellis. “We allowed our defense to create some opportunities on offense.”

West Forest regrouped and played the Gremlins evenly in the second quarter. The Indians were still within reach at halftime, trailing 29-17.

Once the third quarter started, Karns City put it out of reach in a hurry.

The Gremlins began the second half on a 9-0 run — including seven consecutive points from Preston — and quickly buried the Indians.

Karns City outscored West Forest by a 20-3 margin in the third quarter, taking a commanding 48-20 lead into the final frame.

The Indians were without leading scorer and rebounder Drew Sneeringer due to a back injury, along with two other players in the regular rotation because of illness and family vacation.

The lack of numbers seemed to catch up with West Forest in the second half.

“It's tough, especially when we got in foul trouble early,” said Donato, who was encouraged by his team's effort. “We lost, but in the fourth quarter, they still played hard. They didn't give up.”

Karns City had plenty of options, as 15 Gremlins saw playing time. The fresh legs helped Karns City outrebound the Indians by a 45-24 margin.

Bellis enjoys having a variety of capable players, but he's hoping to see some emerge as go-to guys on the team.

“It's nice to have that kind of depth, but to be honest, we'd like to have a few people stand out a little bit more,” Bellis explained. “Right now, we're pretty even across the board. We need a few guys to step up and take the leadership role.”

Aside from Preston, Kepple was the only other Gremlin in double figures with 11 points. Kyle Barger added seven points for Karns City, while Sheldon McFarland paced the Indians with 16.

WEST FOREST 35Jonathon Marshall 2-6 3-4 7, Josh Kirkwood 0-3 1-2 1, Shaylor Bemis 2-5 3-6 7, Logan McFarland 2-6 0-2 4, Sheldon McFarland 6-18 2-4 16, Blake Mealy 0-0 0-0 0, Russell Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Garrett Bereksazi 0-0 0-0.

Totals: 12-39 9-18 35.

KARNS CITY 59Brandyn Bowser 2-8 0-3 4, Ethan Williams 0-3 0-0 0, Tucker Preston 6-9 3-6 18, Brady Ellenberger 0-2 0-0 0, Tom Stoughton 1-3 1-6 3, Nathan Weckerly 1-3 1-2 3, Dan Filges 1-6 2-4 4, Logan Moroney 1-4 0-0 2, Andrew Johnston 1-6 1-1 3 3, Tyler Kepple 4-9 0-0 11, Justin Hutchison 1-6 2-2 4, Kyle Barger 3-5 1-2 7, David Olszak 0-2 0-0 0, David Markle 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Murray 0-2 0-0 0.

Totals: 21-69 11-26 59.

West Forest 9 8 3 15—35Karns City 21 8 19 11—593-point goals: West Forest 2 (S. McFarland 2); Karns City 6 (Preston 3, Kepple 3).

Wednesday: Karns City at Summit Academy