ALPENA, MI - Traverse City Central outscored Alpena, 9-0, over the final 1:10 of the ball game to steal a 54-47 victory on Friday night at the Gillespie Gymnasium.  Alpena could not have asked for a better start as they took advantage of some poor shooting from the Trojans to lead 10-2 early.  Alpena's strong defense frustrated the Trojans over the first sixteen minutes as they were only able to score 12 points in the first half.  Jorrdan Schultz's 7 first-half points paced Alpena to a 23-12 lead at the break.

The Wildcats were able to maintain a strong lead through most of the 3rd Quarter thanks to solid motion offense, leading to easy baskets.  The Trojans then got hot from behind the three-point line as they hit four consecutive shots to cut the Wildcat lead to 35-34 after three.  The fourth quarter saw more of the same as the Trojans responded to a Wildcat free throw with their fifth straight three-point shot to tie the game at 37-37.  A Carson Briggs basket with 6:00 to go gave the Trojans their first lead of the night at 39-37.  A pair of buckets from Jack Schmanski and Kelley Stark pushed Alpena back out front by two, but Central's Josh Burnham tied the game at 41-41.  Alpena seemed to take control of the game after a Jordan Schultz traditional three-point play gave Alpena the 45-41 lead.  However, Central clamped down on defense and made clutch shots down the stretch.  After Alpena took the 45-41 lead, the Trojans would outscore the Wildcats 13-2 to close out the game.

Alpena (7-5, 1-4 BNC) was led by Schultz's 14 points and Stark's 12 points.  Henry Goldkuhle led the Trojans with 16 points.  The Wildcats host Chebogan next Tuesday.