The Union boys basketball team finished with flourish to fight off an upset bid by Battle Ground, beating the Tigers 57-41 on Wednesday in Battle Ground.
Union outscored the Tigers 21-2 in the final period to turn a 39-36 advantage into a big win.
Kaden Perry had a solid first half as the Tigers built a 29-18 lead.
“We played with a lot of energy in the first half and protected the rim really well,” Battle Ground coach Manny Melo said.
But that switched in the second half when Perry, who has been battling some injuries, could not continue.
“Union took advantage,” Melo said. “They shot the ball well and played really good defense on us. We just couldn’t score, couldn’t find anything.”
Brad Lackey paced the Titans (9-0) with 14 points. Ethan Smith added 12 points and Ty McCullum had 11.
KeAndre Hunter-Holliday led Battle Ground with 15 points. Perry had eight in two quarters of play.
UNION 57, BATTLE GROUND 41
UNION — Brad Lackey 14, Houston Combs 5, Izaiah Vongnath 0, Ariya Briscoe 0, Josh Reznick 0, Tanner Toolson 7, Ethan Smith 12, Connor Flannigan 0, Mason Hill 0, Ty McCullum 11, Curtis Youngren 2, Alishawuan Taylor 6. Totals 25 (3) 4-8 57.
BATTLE GROUND — Jaiden Linville, KeAndre Hunter-Holliday 15, Vincent McCormic 9, Colin Barton 5, Nathan Millspaugh 2, Brendan Beall 2, Kaden Perry 8, Lukas Karlsson, David Reed 0, Cole Bowden. Totals 16 (5) 4-6 41.
Union 10 8 17 21–57
B. Ground 16 13 10 2–41
JV — Union won. C — Union won.
