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"The kids battled all night," Central Lake head coach Quinn Barry said after the game, "and I was proud of that."

The first quarter woes that have been afflicting the Trojans all season were absent on Monday. The Trojans played a good inside-outside game with Zach Light, Ryan Crawley, and Tyler Strange hitting buckets early to give the Trojans a 13-6 lead after one.

To start the second quarter, Jason Barnett hit two free throws followed by two free throws from Strange, and the Trojans held a 17-6 lead with 5:45 left.

Bellaire began to claw back, however, mostly on the back of Ryan Hebden, who scored six points in the final 1:30 of the first half to bring Bellaire within 24-18 at halftime.

Hebden continued his assault in the second half, tying the game at 24-all with a shot in the lane with 6:03 remaining in the third. Riku Lempio followed that up with a jumper that gave Bellaire a 26-24 lead with 5:10 left.

That lead was short-lived, however, as Ryan Crawley nailed an NBA-range 3-pointer off the right elbow to give the lead back to Central Lake.

Brad Guy followed that up with an old-fashioned 3-point play, and the lead was back in the claws of the Eagles.

It was punch counter-punch from that point on, with Bellaire leading 35-34 after three quarters.

A Jason Barnett free throw kept the Trojans within one point of the Eagles, 46-45, with only two minutes to go.

However, the Trojan offense went stagnant at that point, as they missed several crucial free throws and Bellaire took advantage.

Guy scored five points in the final minute of the game to put the game out of reach for the Trojans. Central Lake had a chance to tie with 20 seconds left, but they couldn't convert.

"I'm proud of the way the kids battled," Barry said. "We missed some key free throws at the end of the game, and they (Bellaire) got a couple buckets in transition."

Barry said that keeping the game close to the end should provide a boost of confidence for his team heading into districts, but that is a "shallow victory." "We didn't get it done tonight," he said.

Attempts to reach Bellaire head coach Stan Sexton for comment were unsuccessful.

Ryan Hebden led all scorers with 20 points, and Brad Guy chipped in 10 for Bellaire.

Zach Light led the Trojan attack with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Barnett added 9 points. Strange and Frank King each had 9 rebounds.

Central Lake hosts Mancelona on Wednesday and Ellsworth on Friday.

Bellaire 46, Joburg 43

Bellaire got a scare from Joburg at home last Friday night, but the Eagles were able to get a comeback victory over the Cardinals, 46-43. Bellaire led 25-18 at the half, but the Cardinals scorched the Eagles in the third period to lead 3532 after three.

Bellaire wasn't about to let their spotless conference record get tarnished, however, and they dug in defensively in the fourth quarter and limited Joburg to only 8 points while putting up 14 of their own to come away with the win.

"The illness bug has really sapped the team's physical and mental energy," Bellaire head coach Stan Sexton said. "But, the team reached down deep and with a hustling defensive effort grabbed an important Ski Valley win."

Chris Dewey led the Eagles with 12 points and 5 rebounds. Bellaire plays at Forest Area on Wednesday and at Pellston on Friday.