MIDDLEPORT, N.Y. --- The Albion Purple Eagles had a 38-22 lead going into halftime of Tuesday's match-up with the Royalton-Hartland Rams. But after the Rams cut the lead down to six, Albion's Bailey Blanchard took over, scoring seven of his game-high sixteen in a 72-46 win.
The first quarter was all Albion, as Christian Doty and Bailey Blanchard combined for 17 of the team's 24 points as the Purple Eagles had a 24-9 lead after the first quarter.
The Rams fought back in the second as Aiden Petrie scored nine points for the Rams. But Purple Eagles center Damion Lattimer found his stride, matching Petrie with nine of his own as Albion held a sixteen-point lead at the half.
But after spending most of the halftime break in the locker room, the Rams came out on a tear. The combination of Rhett Goodwin and Petrie paid dividends as both players helped push the Purple Eagles lead to six midway through the third quarter.
There was a sense of momentum-shifting as the Rams began to play a little more scrappy, leading to some fireworks in the fourth. After a no-call on a shot attempt by Petrie, Roy-Hart head coach Joe Pawlak was assessed a technical foul.
But while Bailey Blanchard missed both free throws, there was a sense of momentum shifting. And that was all the Purple Eagles needed, as they held a 53-38 lead and began to rotate their players in the fourth, as they cruised to the victory.
Senior Damion Lattimer said postgame it was all defensive tempo that gave Albion the chance to pull away.
"We had a little slump at the end of the third, but I think we really came together in the fourth by starting off with a strong defensive tempo. We really just worked on it all night to try and get our bench players some time at the end of the game," Lattimer said.
With the win, Albion improves to 3-3 while Roy-Hart drops to 1-5. Both teams will face off again to close out the regular season on March 18th at Albion starting at 6:30.