ARGYLE — A game that should have been a bit of a test for the No. 3 team in the state instead turned into just another exhibition of how dominant the Eagles can be.

Sanger cut Argyle’s lead to 11 points at the end of the third quarter, and that was the closest it was all night as the Eagles rolled to a 66-49 win to stay perfect in district play  behind Caden Dickerson’s 29 points, eight assists and four steals.

Argyle (25-2, 6-0) had a 17-point lead at the half, but an injury to Sanger’s Tyler Smith with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter delayed the game for 15 minutes and led to a 13-1 Sanger run to close the quarter. Smith was OK, but didn’t return.

“We told them in the huddle [during the delay] that it could go one of two ways,” said Argyle head coach John King. “They would either find a spark and rally around the troops, so to say, or it would be a deflater for them, and to their credit they made a run there. To our credit, we were able to take that run and still keep it from ever getting really close.”

Sanger head coach Jude Stanley said he had his own speech to his team during the delay and told them to get to within 10 points at the end of the third quarter. At the time of the injury, Argyle led 41-22.

“We wanted to cut the lead to 10, and we got there with 11, so that was enough to at least give us a chance,” Stanley said. “I was proud of the way we handled that. My kids fought hard.”

Sanger was led by Jacob Gray and Luke Johnson, who each scored 11 points.

And no team in District 9-3A has fought Argyle tougher than Sanger has, as the Eagles’ two closest district games have come against the Indians (22-7, 3-3), who lost to Argyle, 52-35, on Jan. 16 — another 17-point game.

King stayed humble when asked about to compare his team to the others in the district, but the scores have spoken for themselves as the Eagles continue to roll through their season with their only losses coming to Ardmore (Okla.) and Ponder.

“To our kids’ credit, they’re playing extremely well right now,” King said. “We tell them we don’t want a rollercoaster, we want to stay pretty consistent, and we’ve done that for the most part. There are some good teams in this district, but I think we’re pretty good, too. When we play like we’re capable of playing, we’re going to be successful on a lot of nights.”

Girls

Argyle 56, Sanger 46

For much of the second half of Tuesday night’s Argyle win, the Lady Eagles (12-14, 7-1) had one of those leads that just doesn’t instill a ton of confidence.

The margin never got to be more than 12 points and most of the time was less than 10. Sanger cut it to six points with two minutes left, but Argyle was able to hang on and stay tied atop the District 9-3A standings with Celina.

“We felt comfortable, but they would never let us pull away,” Argyle head coach Steve Schmidt said.

Whenever the Lady Indians would give a scare, Argyle’s Claire Pettibon was often there to answer, as the junior hit four 3-pointers — three in the second half — to answer most of Sanger’s threats.

She finished with a game-high 17 points, and Schmidt said he can count on his sharp-shooting junior.

“She’s pretty cool,” he said. “It makes no difference where we are, who we’re playing or what the score is. She always looks the same. We also did a good job inside, though, and that got us to the line and got them in foul trouble.”

Two of Sanger’s best scoring threats — Laura Padgett and Callie Baird — were in foul trouble for much of the second half, and its leading scorer, Breanna Dial (11 points), fouled out with under a minute to play.

Any hope Sanger had of coming back ended with 1 ? minutes to play when head coach Jack Armstrong was whistled for a technical after Argyle’s Jessica Bonfield swatted away an open-court layup from Dial that would’ve cut the lead to six points again.

The ensuing loose ball turned into a physical tie-up between Argyle’s Amy Beecher and Padgett, which drew the technical from Armstrong.

Bonfield hit one of two foul shots to push the Argyle lead to 11 points, and then Colbea Harris hit both of her free throws after Dial fouled out on the ensuing possession.

The Lady Eagles also got 10 points apiece from Beecher and Harris.

“We had our chances, and against good teams, you have to take advantage of those,” Armstrong said. “They’re a good ball club. They spread you out, and when you’re trailing you have to get out and guard them, and we didn’t match up very well against them. They’re a tough team to play from behind.”

ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com .

Boys

Argyle 66, Sanger 49

Sanger (22-7, 3-3) – Zach Starr 4, Jacob Gray 11, Coulton Branch 10, Luke Johnson 11, Josh Copeland 5, Josh Clark 6, Tyler Smith 2.

Argyle (25-2, 6-0) – Zach Pearson 3, Walter Phillips 6, Caden Dickerson 29, Carson York 10, Matt Moore 2, Michael Mead 4, Clarke Overlander 7, Doug Fryer 5.

Girls

Argyle 56, Sanger 46

Sanger (16-15, 4-4) – Tori Morphis 6, Morgan Bradley 5, Laura Padgett 7, Reagan Miller 10, Breanna Dial 11, Callie Baird 6.

Argyle (12-14, 7-1) – Amy Beecher 10, Colbea Harris 10, Claire Pettibon 17, Molly Hennesy 6, Brittany O’Brien 4, Katie Eckert 2, Sally Smith 2, Jessica Bonfield 5.