CADILLAC -- A strong start and a solid finish was just enough for Cadillac.
The host Vikings remained in first place in the Big North Conference boys basketball race thanks to a 75-71 overtime victory over Traverse City Central on Friday night.
Cadillac (8-2, 4-1 Big North) jumped out to a 27-14 lead after the opening quarter. TC Central turned it around in the second quarter to trail 38-36 at halftime and came all the way back to tie the game at the end of regulation, 66-66.
Cadillac outscored the Trojans 9-5 in the overtime as Ben Simons had five points and Steven Cooper four free throws.
"We played as well offensively in the first quarter as we have all year," Cadillac coach Jeff McDonald said. "To TC Central's credit, they answered. They shot the ball extremely well all night long."
Unfortunately for TC Central, that hot shooting wasn't from the free-throw line. The Trojans were 14 for 23 from the stripe and missed four from the stripe in the fourth quarter alone.
"In a close game like that, it makes a huge difference," Central coach Jeff Turner said.
Simons finished with 29 points to lead Cadillac. Cooper and Rocko Holmes, who pulled down 12 rebounds, each added 20 points.
David Harman had 15 points and Michael Valesano 14 for TC Central (5-8, 1-4). Sam Martin and Doug Burke each chipped in 12 points.
TC Central rolled to an 80-38 win in the JV game. Mike Heim had 19 points, Ben Fischer 17 and Keegan Hall 15 for the Trojans (10-3).
MORE BOYS HOOPS
TC West 54
Alpena 52
Jordan Rife scored 19 points -- 17 in the second half -- to propel TC West to a 54-52 Big North Conference win over Alpena.
Rife also had eight assists, five rebounds and four steals for the Titans (8-4). Also contributing were John Purdy (nine points), Mike Rosenberg (eight), Greg Forrester (eight), Jake Aldrich (seven) and Darren Keyton (eight rebounds, three assists).
Nathan Kindt's 19 points topped Alpena.
Gaylord 53
Petoskey 49
Robert Phillips hit four straight free throws to seal a 53-49 overtime win over Petoskey.
Phillips and Nick Freeman led the Blue Devils (8-3, 3-2 BNC) with 16 points each, while Quinn Woodhouse added 13.
Dustin Dibble had 15 for the Northmen (7-5), while Nick Moore added 14 and Steve Behan 10.
Charlevoix 88
Harbor Springs 69
After falling behind 20-13 after one quarter, Charlevoix got its offense going en route to an 88-69 victory over Harbor Springs.
The Rayders outscored Harbor 30-15 in the second quarter and 31-21 in the third to improve to 10-1 overall and 7-0 in the Lake Michigan Conference.
Nate LaBlance led Charlevoix with 28 points thanks to knocking down six 3-pointers. He also had six assists and four steals.
Austin Wilhelm added 14 points and eight rebounds, Corey Gotshall 11 points and five assists and Justin Friske 10 points for the Rayders.
Joe Foster had 20 points to pace Harbor Springs. Josh Boekman chipped in with 16 points and Sean McCarthy 12.
Mancelona47
Inland Lakes 45
Late free throws gave Mancelona the lead and a late steal sealed it.
Greg Blanco and Tony Derrer hit two free throws and Mike Herczak within the last minute as Mancelona erased a six-point third quarter deficit to beat Inland lakes, 47-45.
A steal by Herczak on the defensive end sealed the victory.
Steve Sheridan led the Ironmen (9-2, 7-1 Ski Valley) with 21 points. Sheridan knocked down five 3-pointers.
Blanco added seven points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Mancelona, which trailed 14-7, 24-23 and 34-28 at the quarter breaks.
Steven Kolb led Inland Lakes with 17 points.
Reed City56
Manistee 32
Reed City pulled away in the second half to beat Manistee in a non-conference basketball contest, 56-32.
Andrew Tighe had eight points and 11 rebounds to lead Manistee (3-8). Kyle Kline chipped in with seven points.
McBain 72
Lake City 25
Elizabeth Hamlet scored 20 points as McBain routed Lake City 72-25.
Jen Brunink added 15 points and Jamie Geesman 10 for the Ramblers (9-3, 8-0 Highland Conference). Megan VanDerVlucht pulled down 10 rebounds.
Caelean Murray paced the Trojans with eight points.
McBain hosts undefeated Kingsley on Tuesday.
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