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NEW LOTHROP -- Amber Sammons scored all 19 of her game-high points in the first half as New Lothrop's varsity girls basketball team steamrolled visiting Durand, 61-24 last Thursday. Tom Kohlmann's Hornets have reeled off seven straight league wins after dropping a season-opening nonleague tilt to Clare. "The girls really did a good job of taking control of the game early and they established the tempo we wanted right from the start," Kohlmann commented. "Hopefully we will continue to show improvement throughout the year." New Lothrop jumped out to a 24-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and held control of the contest at intermission with a 34-14 advantage. The Hornets shot a healthy 44% from the field, including hitting 7 of 16 three-point attempts. New Lothrop also connected on 16 of 22 free throws and committed just six turnovers during the game.

Sammons received offensive support from Kayla Gross, who hit three treys as part of a 12 point outing. Gross also grabbed six rebounds, distributed three assists and came up with four steals. Monica Confer recorded 11 points, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals while Kayla Knieper chipped in with 10 points. The Hornets took their perfect 7-0 GAC record to Bentley on Saturday. Check next week's Citizen for details on that contest.

Durand derails Hornet perfect season, 53-48

DURAND -- New Lothrop's varsity boys basketball team suffered its first setback of the season last Friday as Durand surprised the Hornets, 53-48, on the Railroaders' home court. "They surprised us some tonight and they played very physical while we came out flat," commented Hornet coach Joe Corkran after the contest. "Durand outplayed us tonight, and now we simply have to get back to work and get back on track for the rest of the season." The two teams fought to a virtual draw in the first half as NL took a 21-20 lead into the locker room at intermission. The third quarter proved to be the deciding stanza as the Hornets could muster just six points to 14 for the Railroaders. New Lothrop finally clicked in the fourth quarter, sinking 21 markers, but Durand scored 19, enough to hold off the comeback try and hand the Hornets their first loss in seven league contests. Jason Henige led NL with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Brandon Baryo added nine points for the Hornets. Ryan Praski turned in a solid performance, recording 8 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. New Lothrop plays a pair of road games this coming week, traveling to Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart for a nonleague encounter on Tuesday before resuming conference competition on Friday at LakeVille.

Sharpshooting Bentley downs Montrose, 69-53

MONTROSE -- Bentley broke open a close game by posting 31 points in the third quarter en route to a 69-53 win over host Montrose last Friday. The Rams entered the third quarter down just 25-23 before the Bulldogs pulled away after intermission. Meanwhile, Montrose struggled to overcome cool shooting from the field (14 of 44 for 32%) and 24 turnovers. The Rams marched to the free throw line 35 times, where they sank 23 freebies. "We made 14 turnovers in the first half alone, which hurt us, and we lost our composure at times tonight," commented Ram mentor Rick Ustishen after the game. "We played hard, but you have to give Bentley credit, too. They had size, speed and they were aggressive." Preston Taylor sank 22 points and had three steals to lead Montrose. Cory Hargraves contributed 14 points, 7 rebounds and two blocks while freshman Keith Boswell added four points and eight rebounds. Cody Groulx chipped in with four points and seven boards.

The loss drops Montrose to 2-3 in the GAC and to 3-4 overall heading into Tuesday's game at Byron. Bentley improved to 6-1 on the season.

'Dawg winning streak halted at Carrollton, 60-57

CARROLLTON -- St. Charles led throughout most of the contest last Friday before host Carrollton finally put together a rally in the fourth quarter to steal a 60-57 victory over the Bulldogs. The loss ends a modest three-game win streak for St. Charles. The Bulldogs held a 33-25 halftime advantage and carried a 46-39 edge into the final stanza before the Cavaliers rallied with 21 points to grab the victory. Dugan Roosa paced the ëDawgs with 16 points and 5 rebounds while Matt Schalow turned in a solid all-around game with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals. Ryan Humpert also reached double figures for St. Charles, scoring 10 points and dishing out three assists. Chris Schalow added six markers and six boards. Fourteen turnovers in the second half hurt the Bulldogs. The ëDawgs committed 23 miscues overall. St. Charles shot 33% from the floor, making 21 of 64 shots, and hurt themselves at the free throw line where they made just half of 22 charity tosses. The loss drops St. Charles to 3-5 on the season.