Kingston’s Kylan Pennington, and Peck’s Kyle Abrego matchup in Tuesday nights game. Pennington led Kingston with 12 points, and Abrego led Peck with 16.
Mike Gallagher
Advertiser Staff
KINGSTON – When these two North Central Thumb League rivals played earlier this season, Kingston handed Peck its first and only conference loss. The Pirates returned the favor here Tuesday night, as they defeated the Cardinals 45-40.
Kingston, which was previously undefeated in NCTL conference play, now sits in a tie for first place with the Pirates.
Peck came out firing in the first quarter, as Pirates forward Kyle Abrego knocked down two 3-pointers to start the game, giving Peck an early 6-0 lead.
Kylan Pennington made two free throws for Kingston, but a steal and score by Cody Abrego, and a 3-pointer by Tom Gallagher extended the Pirate lead to nine.
Buckets by Travis Tucker, and Clay Dailey made the game 11-6, before Dylan Dankenbring beat the buzzer for Peck making a layup as time expired in the first quarter.
In the second quarter the Pirate’s lead grew to 12 points, but Kingston, sparked by Tucker’s six point quarter, fought back, scoring six unanswered points to end the half.
In the third quarter the two rivals traded baskets, and late in the quarter a pass from Tucker to a wide open Aaron VanHorn seemed to shift the momentum, as Kingston went on a 8-2 scoring tear to get within two points early in the fourth.
In the final quarter, Peck used a 6-0 run to push their lead to 36-28, and led 40-32 late in the quarter, but VanHorn calmly made a jumper, and Jared Koehler scored on a layup, cutting the lead back to four.
After a Cody Abrego layup, Peck regained control of the ball, yet with :19 seconds remaining a VanHorn steal turned into two points for Pennington, who would also draw a foul on the play.
Trailing by only three points, Kingston got one chance to tie the game, but could not knock down a 3-pointer, and free throws by Jacob Adams and Nathan Rosenthal sealed the victory for the Pirates.
Kingston’s Jared Koehler goes up for a layup in Tuesday night’s game against Peck. Koehler would finish with eight points for the Cardinals
Kyle Abrego, scored a game-high 16 points for Peck, and Caleb Dudley added eight for the Pirates. Kingston was paced by Kylan Pennington, who scored 12 points, and Travis Tucker added 10. Jared Koehler chipped in 8 for the Cardinals.
Kingston (11-5, 10-1) has one NCTL game remaining, at North Huron, while Peck (13-3, 9-1) has two conference games left, at Mayville, and Carsonville-Port Sanilac. If both teams win their final conference games Kingston and Peck will be co-champions of the NCTL.
Mayville 50, Akron-Fairgrove 34: The Wildcats jumped out to a 17-7 advantage after the first quarter, and never gave up their lead Tuesday night as they beat the Vikings in non-conference play. Mayville used a balanced scoring attack, and a wide rebounding margin to defeat Akron-Fairgrove. Andrew Morrison led Mayville with 15 points, six assists, six rebounds, and seven steals. Dillon Pollard scored 10 points, and grabbed seven rebounds, while Dalton Bailey contributed eight points, and pulled down 17 rebounds. Mayville (5-9, 2-5) will travel to Cass City on Wednesday, and Akron-Fairgrove (9-6, 2-5) will visit Caseville.
Flint Kearsley 68, Frankenmuth 50: The Eagles fell in non-conference play Tuesday night at home. Kearsley led only 28-26 at intermission, but a 22-9 run in the third quarter broke open the game for the Hornets. Kearsley was led by Jamarcus Elerson-Porter who scored a season-high 18 points. Mario Whitley led Frankenmuth with 10 points, while Brady Wood and Sam Bookmyer scored nine and eight points respectively. Frankenmuth (11-4, 8-2) will return to conference play Friday as they visit Caro.