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It was Central Lake's second shot at dismantling the hallowed Bellaire Eagles at home on Friday, Feb. 2.Ê Although the Trojans received good production from a multitude of players and displayed a confidence not found in the previous match up between the two Ski Valley heavyweights, it was not enough to overcome Bellaire's savvy demeanor as the Eagles beat the Trojans, 54-46.

Mike McClary scored the first four points of the game for Bellaire, to give the team a 4-0 lead, but an early outburst of Central Lake's Alex Scott brought the Trojans back.Ê Scott scored seven straight points, including a breakaway steal and a three-pointer.Ê ScottÕs production brought Central Lake back to a 7-7 tie.

McClary and Brent Patton exchanged buckets to put the teams in a 9-9 stranglehold.Ê Bellaire's defense rendered Central Lake's Zach Light ineffective early in the game, and forced the Trojans to find production elsewhere.Ê McClary's defense forced awkward shots as he blocked the TrojansÕ progress down low.Ê With 46 seconds to go in the first quarter, the Eagles were up, 12-9. Jordan Nevarez scored a buzzer-beating shot to end the first quarter, putting Bellaire up 14-9.Ê

The first scored bucket of the second quarter was a riot-inducing three pointer by BellaireÕs Anthony Garwood to put Bellaire up 17-9.Ê Another steal and bucket from Garwood put the Eagles up 19-9 with five minutes, 52 seconds left.Ê

Although a response from the Trojans John Lidster gave the team some life back, it was back to Garwood again for Bellaire, as he scored and brought the Eagles to a 21-11 advantage.

Throughout much of the second quarter, Bellaire got to the free throw line and, although they did miss a few, scored points to continually put pressure on Central Lake.Ê After a threepointer and layup by Byron Patton, the Trojans were within six points, but McClary responded back and scored a bucket to give the Eagles a 24-16 halftime lead.Ê The eight point lead was attained largely in part by BellaireÕs dominance on the boards.

After a three-pointer from Byron Patton pulled Central Lake to within five points, six points from Garwood and McClary drew their lead to 32-20.Ê A 6-1 run, produced from a three-pointer from Byron Patton and a bucket plus foul from Brent Patton, pulled Central Lake to within seven points with one minute, nine seconds left in the quarter.Ê A bucket from Nevarez stamped the third quarter with Bellaire up, 35-28.

Garwood added to his stellar game in the beginning of the fourth quarter, as he capitalized on a bucket plus the foul.Ê Another score from Nevarez gave the Eagles a commanding 40-28 lead as the fourth quarter moved on.

While a 7-0 run shortly after pulled the Trojans back to within six points, Bellaire again asserted their skill as they knocked down their free throws after the Trojans were forced to foul near the end of the game.Ê Garwood hit five straight shots from the charity stripe in the waning seconds to dispel Central Lake's late game surge.Ê Bellaire finished off the quarter, winning, 54-46.

"Our free throw shooting was atrocious throughout most of the game,Ó" said Bellaire head coach Stan Sexton. "But when it counted, Anthony Garwood and Mike McClary hit the clutch free throws."

"Anthony and Mike combined for two outstanding performances," said Sexton. "With this win, we control our own destiny in the drive for another Ski Valley title."

ÒI was more pleased with this game than I was the last game,Ó said Barry. "What's been our achilles heel is our shot selection at times. We sometimes need to take better shots. But in terms of X's and O's, it was a really good game. We had some guys come in and play well for us." Garwood scored an impressive 20 points on the night, including three steals, while McClary had a monster-like 18 points and 13 rebounds. Cody Bock had seven points, and Nevarez scored seven and had six rebounds.

Light's 13 points led Central Lake and Brent Patton had eight points with nine rebounds. Byron Patton scored eight and Scott scored seven. The junior varsity contest was nowhere near as close as the varsity campaign as Eagles guard Sean Payne again displayed why heÕll be a force to be reckoned with in years to come. Payne's 21 points were the linchpin in what was to be a dominant game for Bellaire, winning 53-31.