Howell pulls away in fourth quarter to beat Brighton in boys basketball
HOWELL — It was a tight battle for three quarters before Howell turned it up to beat Brighton, 50-39, in boys basketball Friday night.
Brighton led 22-21 at halftime and Howell held a 36-34 edge going into the fourth quarter.
“We were 1-for-10 in the fourth quarter,” Brighton coach Mike Griest said. “Howell really ramped up their defense. We’ve got to make shots. We just couldn’t get any to go in. We were down six or seven and had to foul. They made all their free throws.”
Howell’s Ryan Cirella was 9-for-10 from the line, sharing the team scoring lead with Carter Bandemer with 12 points.
Danny Honkala had seven points and 13 rebounds, while Nolan Petru also had seven points for the Highlanders.
Howell improved to 5-3 overall, 4-1 in the KLAA West. Canton is atop the division at 6-0. Howell will travel to Canton at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Brighton is 3-5, dropping four of its last five games.
“After the game, we talked about the challenges ahead,” Griest said. “The job for us is to improve every day. We felt like we did improve in some areas in tonight’s game. Obviously, with scoring being what it was, we’ve got work to do.
“The guys’ attitude is fantastic. They are hungry and want to work. I believe in our guys.”
Ashton Tomassi scored 18 points, while Eddie Millington has 12 points and 12 rebounds to account for all but nine of Brighton’s points.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Howell pulls away in fourth quarter to beat Brighton in boys basketball
