DORA — DORA — Even Mike Dean was somewhat surprised.

The Cullman High boys basketball coach thought his team would play well in its season opener — but this?

Despite playing with a short roster because of the football team’s postseason run, Cullman opened with a 68-28 romp over Haleyville Saturday afternoon in the Coaches Versus Cancer event at Dora.

Yes, 68 points in a season opener.

Not too shabby for a debut, especially since the Bearcats (1-0) combined it with a defensive gem that included 17 steals.

“I have to admit, I was a little bit surprised … pleasantly surprised,” Dean said. “We played well, especially considering this was our first game out. Our press was pretty good in the first half and we were able to get a lot of turnovers.

“It was a pretty good start, one we’ll take.”

A strong performance from behind the 3-point arc was the offensive spark Cullman needed. The Bearcats finished the game with nine 3s, getting three from Jordan Price and two from Grayson Smith.

Price led all scorers with 16 points and Smith added 14.

Cullman jumped on the Lions early, racing out to a 16-0 lead. Haleyville ended the Bearcats’ run with a 3-pointer, but it was too little, too late.

The damage was already done.

Cullman never trailed in the game thanks to a strong defensive effort led by Andrew Christenberry. The senior forward scored nine points while pulling down 10 rebounds and forcing several turnovers.

“Andrew rebounded particularly well. He also had several steals,” Dean said. “They (Haleyville) had 17 turnovers in the first half, and most of them were off steals. I was really pleased with how we played defense today.”

Having a large lead in the second half gave Dean an opportunity to empty his bench and give backup players some extra minutes.

Cullman had eight players score. Casey Brown finished with seven points despite playing in foul trouble most of the game, while Andrew Horn tossed in six. Clayton Shabel scored three, while Jacob Knight and Preston Herring added two points each.

Cullman travels to Vinemont Tuesday night.