Brandon’s varsity boys basketball team could not overcome a sluggish start against visiting Saginaw Heritage Feb. 15.
The Hawks, who play in the Saginaw Valley High School Association, outscored the Blackhawks 15-2 in the opening stanza on their way to a 47-36 win.
Brandon fell to 3-14 on the season with the loss.
The Blackhawks actually outscored Heritage 34-32 after the first period, but could not overcome the early deficit in the end.
Sophomore Donald Carter led the Blackhawks with eight points, while Ryan Smith added seven. Daniel Bonham and Lance Wilson each led Heritage with 12 points apiece.
In their Feb. 11 game against visiting Linden, the Blackhawks nearly came back from a 14-point deficit to defeat the Eagles, but Linden pulled out a 43-41 win in Flint Metro League action.
With the loss, the Blackhawks fell to 3-6 in the league, while the Eagles improved to 6-10 overall and 3-6 in the league.
The game started out in typical Metro League fashion, with physical play and both teams trying to find their offensive rhythm. The Blackhawks and Eagles battled to a 5-5 deadlock at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, it was the Eagles that found their mark offensively, outscoring the Blackhawks 15-4 in the period to take a 19-9 lead at the half. After three quarters, the Blackhawks were in a deeper hole, trailing the Eagles 31-17.
In the fateful fourth quarter, the Blackhawks more than doubled their point total from the previous three quarters combined, scoring 24 points in the final stanza.
However, the Eagles? lead was ultimately too much to overcome, and Linden wound up pulling out a road victory.
Linden was the more aggressive team in terms of making their way to the free throw line, making 16-of-30 free throws (53.3 percent), compared to 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) for the Blackhawks.
Carter once again led the Blackhawks in scoring with 12 points, while junior Andrew Koenig added seven points. Aaron Hitchcock led Linden with 13 points.