ST. MARYS — You can’t keep Caden Beldin down.

One game after being held to a season-low four points in Cameron County’s District 9 Class A championship loss to Elk County Catholic, the junior forward turned in his most complete performance of the year.

Beldin cruised to a double-double with 25 points and 15 rebounds — both game-high totals — as Cameron County led wire to wire in a 61-38 dismantling of District 6 runner-up Williamsburg in the first round of the PIAA Class A state playoffs.

The win gives Cameron County (21-5) its first state playoff win since 2015.

“It feels great,” Cameron County head coach Mark Guido said. “I’m just happy for the kids. What an exciting time in their lives, and it doesn’t get better than that. Memories are made, and I’m really happy for them.”

Added Beldin of his performance, “This is huge for me. It’s definitely a confidence booster, and I needed this game. It’s going to help moving forward.”

The Red Raiders got off to a hot start, particularly from deep range. Cameron County hit four of its night’s six 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 23-10 lead after eight minutes. Four different Red Raiders scored during the span.

“It was huge emotionally,” Guido said of the quick start. “It was good for our confidence and good for momentum. It was fantastic. You don’t want to lose a game and then come in and get down. It just affects the way you play.”

The positive sentiments were put to a test in the second after Williamsburg (15-9) used a 10-2 run that lasted 2 minutes, 46 seconds to cut the Red Raider lead to 27-21 with 4:14 left in the half.

But just as the adversity began to hit, Beldin began to take over. Cameron County finished the half on an 8-0 run, keyed by a 3-pointer from Hayden Brown and a pair of second-chance buckets by Beldin, including an and-1.

Second-chance scoring — and rebounding as a whole — factored largely into the Red Raiders’ win and into Beldin’s successes. Cameron County out-rebounded the Blue Pirates 41-24, including by a margin of 13 after halftime.

“Our assistant coach Marcus Brown has told me all year long that I have a good first step, so I need to quit dancing with the ball and settling for outside shots and just start attacking the rim,” Beldin said. “That’s what I did tonight. The inside game was open for me, so I went at it all night long.”

It certainly paid its dividends. Out of the break, Beldin scored nine of the Red Raiders’ 14 third-quarter points, including a pair of buckets that came after multiple offensive rebounds.

“I was just happy everybody got to see what I see in practice. (Caden) is relentless,” Guido said. “He jumps and jumps and jumps, and he might foul somebody, but he’s always working hard. And that’s who we are — we work hard.”

Beldin’s dominant third quarter helped Cameron County put the game away once and for all, as it took a commanding 49-27 lead into the fourth quarter. From there, the Red Raiders led by as many as 25 points before cruising to the eventual 61-38 win.

In addition to Beldin’s huge night, seven Red Raiders scored in all. Dylan Guisto posted nine points, while Gavin Morton and Jon Good each added eight and Hayden Brown scored seven and also pulled down eight boards.

“We have guys that can score, it’s just their confidence level,” Guido said. “We have good shooters. Dylan (Guisto) is a good shooter, Jon Good’s a good shooter, Gavin Morton can put the ball in the hole. We have guys that can score… When they get their confidence going, they’re solid.”

Cameron County’s leading scorer entering the game, Dino Brown (17.8 ppg), was held to just two points, but contributed seven rebounds, four assists and four steals to keep his team running.

The Red Raiders were firing on all defensive cylinders, too. Guido wanted his team to limit Williamsburg’s fast-break opportunities and 3-point shooting, and that’s just how things played out.

The Blue Pirates shot just 1-for-16 from deep, and scored just a handful of transition points.

“(Guarding the perimeter) and getting back on defense were our huge priorities,” Guido said. “We figured if (Williamsburg) is going to dribble in and try to score, we’ll have helpside defense that’s going to be there, and we have some size that can dissuade or change some shots. It was the gameplan, and it worked.”

Cameron County now moves on to the second round, where it faces District 7’s Bishop Canevin on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. Canevin blasted District 10’s Commodore Perry 87-35 in its first-round matchup.

A win would give the Red Raiders a second-round victory for just the second time in school history. The last time Cameron County reached this point (2015), it was topped by Kennedy Catholic, 53-29.

For now, though, the Red Raiders are going to enjoy their win.

“We’ve had a really good year… We’ve been playing really well,” Beldin said. “To still be playing basketball and not be one of the teams going home just yet means a lot to us.”

AT ST. MARYS

Williamsburg (38)

Lambert Palmer 6 3-6 15, Shane Brantner 5 2-2 12, Dowey 0 2-2 2, Hileman 1 2-2 4, Kagarise 1 2-2 5. Totals: 13 11-14 38

Cameron County (61)

Caden Beldin 11 3-5 25, D. Brown 0 2-2 2, Guisto 3 2-3 9, Allison 1 0-0 2, Morton 3 0-0 8, Good 3 0-0 8, H. Brown 3 0-0 7. Totals: 24 7-10 61

Williamsburg 10 21 27 38

Cameron Co. 23 35 49 61

Three-point goals: Williamsburg 1 (Kagarise), Cameron Co. 6 (Guisto 1, Morton 2, Good 2, H. Brown 1); Total fouls: Williamsburg 13, Cameron Co. 10; fouled out: none.