HARBOR SPRINGS — Harbor Springs slipped past Charlevoix at home to stay within a game of first place in the Northern Shores Conference boys basketball race.
Charlevoix kept things close most of the game until the Rams pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 48-39.
Ryan Novak and Thaddeus Cosens led Harbor Springs (9-4 overall, 7-1 Northern Shores) with 15 points each. The Rams trail Elk Rapids (9-2, 6-0) by a game in the loss column and host the Elks next Friday.
Elk Rapids beat Harbor by 26 at home two weeks ago, but the Rams reeled off five consecutive victories since and the Elks’ Thursday home NSC date with Kalkaska was postponed due to inclement weather.
Joe Gaffney scored 20 points for the Rayders (4-8, 3-4 Northern Shores), with Carter Greenacre pitching in nine points and nine rebounds.
“Defensively, we did a solid job overall,” Charlevoix head coach Anthony Troshak said. “We gave up a few offensive rebounds, but for the most part our defense was strong. Offensively, we struggled. We had some good looks, but our offense lacked flow and became stagnant at times. As a coach, I need to do a better job putting our players in better positions on that end.”
Charlevoix hosts Grayling in a league game Monday, while Harbor travels Tuesday to Boyne City.
BOYS HOOPS
Benzie Central 46
Leland 41
Benzie (8-5 Overall, 6-1 Northwest): Carson Case 30 points; Zack Hendrick 6 points; Rowan Zickert 4 points; Oliver Graetz 3 points.
Leland (7-5 Overall, 4-3 Northwest): Chris Knudsen 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals; Adrian Spencer 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists; Hayden VanSteenhouse 7 points.
Onekama 61
Frankfort 50
Onekama (8-7, 6-2 Northwest): Mitchell Falk 17 points, 7 rebounds; Tyler Hart 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Carson Bradford 11 points, 3 rebounds; Luke Bradford 9 points, 4 rebounds; Bennett Zeller 7 points, 2 steals; Jacob Burtch 3 points.
“The game was back-and-forth early, but the teams came out strong in the second half and played outstanding team defense, which allowed us to build a lead,” Portagers coach Nathan Bradford said. “The guys did a great job taking care of the basketball and moved the ball extremely well throughout the game.”
Frankfort (3-9, 3-5 Northwest): Hudson Worm 21 points, 7 rebounds; Sam Volkama 16 points.
East Jordan 68
Central Lake 28
East Jordan (11-1, 11-0 Ski Valley): Trevor Aenis 13 points; William Webb 12 points; Ellis Malpass 11 points; Hadley McCafferty 10 points.
Central Lake (4-8, 3-7 Ski Valley): Riley Shafer 9 points.
Manistee 73
Muskegon Oakridge 38
Manistee (9-4, 5-2 West Michigan): Adam Olson 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 6-6 FG; Braylen Zimmerman 12 points, 5 assists, 5-7 FG; Landin Sowa 12 points; Dayvion Neal-Berry 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 3-3 FG; Chaos Davis 8 points, 4 steals; Wyatt Protasiewicz 7 points, 3 assists, 2 steals; Ean Guenthardt 7 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3-3 FG.
McBain 76
Houghton Lake 53
McBain (11-1, 10-1 Highland): Clayton Heuker 31 points; Trenton Brunink 16 points; Colton Haverkamp 9 points; Joshua Rodenbaugh 7 points.
Manton 65
Lake City 43
Manton (8-5, 5-3 Highland): Cooper Chittle 24 points, hit 7 3-pointers; McCoy Hicks 17 points; Reece Traxler 10 points, 10 rebounds.
GIRLS HOOPS
Leland 62
TC Christian 24
Leland (6-3): Ruby Popp 18 points; Ariah Amin 8 points; Lorna Wiesen 7 points.
Joburg-Lewiston 52
Alpena 50
Johannesburg-Lewiston (4-5, 3-5 Ski Valley): Lily Crane 25 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists; Emery Lawes 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists; Laney Wells 8 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists.
Deadline for prep submissions is 10:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday. Email resports@record-eagle.com, fill out the online form at record-eagle.com/prepscores or call 231-933-1410. Please give scores, record, next opponent, stats with names spelled when leaving a message.