BRANDON- The good news is the Blackhawks are still hanging on to second place in the Flint Metro League.
The bad news? Lapeer West dropped the Hawks to one and a half games behind league leader, Lapeer East, on Feb. 18., winning 48-45 over Brandon.
It was a rough battle for the Brandon squad as they struggled to get fired up in the first quarter, scoring under ten points in the first eight-minute bout. The Hawks produced better in the second quarter, with Tom Schaefer putting up seven points to help Brandon to 14; their highest scoring quarter of the night.
The Panthers of Lapeer West clawed their way through the game, and led by a mere two points at the half. They were not complacent however, and continued to build on their lead in remainder of the game. The Panthers’ real deal closer came late in fourth when Mike Cox scored eight of his 11 points, to help West to a 20-11 fourth quarter.
The loss dropped the Blackhawks to 8-2 in league, 10-7 overall.
Nick Emery scored a game high of 15 points for the Hawks, nine of them from 3-point range. He also nabbed three steals and four rebounds.
Schaefer put up 12 points for the evening, and brought down seven rebounds. Mitch Brady added nine points to the tally for Brandon and Gino Torelli grabbed 14 rebounds.
On Friday, Feb. 14, the Blackhawks gave a better performance, as they traveled to defeat the Holly Bronchos 65-52.
In the win, Emery was hot from long range and sunk seven 3-point shots, as well as a close range basket, to lead Brandon with 23 points. Brady also shot an impressive 19 points, five coming from downtown. Torelli added eight points to the board for the Hawks.
Brandon traveled to Fenton to try and conquer the Tigers in a league battle on Friday, Feb. 21, however, no scores were available by press time.
Tomorrow, the action returns to home court as the Blackhawks take on Bay City Central in the last home match-up of the season. Game time is slated for 7:30 p.m., after JV play. On Friday, it’s battle royal time, as the Blackhawks travel to Lapeer to face off with the league leading East Eagles. The tip is slated for 7:30 p.m.