Using a strong second half, Greenwich’s boys basketball team registered a hard-fought 50-46 road win over Stamford on Thursday night, improving its record to 8-3.

The Cardinals, who also raised their record to 5-1 in the FCIAC, were paced by senior guard James Pilc’s game-high 19 points and a 10-point performance by senior forward Chason Barber.

“It was a really good win,” Greenwich coach Todd Trimmer said. “Our kids don’t even understand what a good win it is, to go to Stamford High and come out with a win. I think Greenwich has beaten Stamford High three times in the last 25 years.”

Greenwich entered halftime facing a seven-point deficit.

“The second quarter, it got up-tempo, Stamford forced the pace by being a little more aggressive defensively,” Trimmer said. “They knocked down a couple of 3s and created turnovers.”

Pilc propelled the Cards’ comeback, scoring 13 of his 19 points in the second half. Twelve of those 13 second-half points came during the third quarter.

“We kind of challenged the boys on defense and challenged them to take control of the rebounding in the second half,” Trimmer said.

The Cardinals began the second half with an 11-2 lead and were in front for the majority of the second half. Stamford, however, rallied to take a 44-43 lead late in the fourth quarter. Visiting Greenwich took the lead for good at when Pilc made a shot and Barber threw down a dunk in transition off a sideline out of bounds play.

Junior guard Logan Galletta added eight points and 11 assists, junior guard Dean Brown scored seven points and junior forward Dom DeLuca and sophomore guard Aiden Karson totaled two points apiece for the victors.

Joseph Salvatore scored a team-best 15 points for the Black Knights, which also received 13 points from Lukas Sotell and seven from Ejai Presley.

Pilc is averaging close to 20 points per game so far this season.

“James – he’s the most underrated kid in the league by far,” Trimmere said. “In the second half they went into a deny one on him and they were trying not to let him get the ball. We moved James around so he could come off screens and get the ball more often. He’s been so clutch in the second half and so clutch when we need someone to put the ball in the basket.”

Greenwich faces a significant week, as it faces Darien, Fairfield Warde and Ridgefield next week, all teams like the Cardinals, vying for a good seed in the FCIAC Tournament.