Rebels Fall to First Place Lions

The Rebels certainly gave them a scare, but in the end, it simply was not enough.

Howell drew within four points mid-way through the second quarter, and trailed by just eight points at halftime, but Middletown North (16-0) pulled away in the final two quarters, out-scoring Howell 41- 29 over the final two quarters.

Ryan Keegan, on the brink of making history, was strong as usual, leading Howell (10-9) with 21 points in a 75-55 loss, Thursday night at Howell High School.

"I'm never happy after a loss," Howell head coach Brian Quick said, "You don't want to get into a habit of being happy after losses, that leads to not finishing out games."

The Rebels went stride-for-stride with Lions, who are ranked 11th state-wide, throughout the first half, including owning two leads in the first quarter.

In their second game against a premier Shore Conference team this week, the Rebels shooting touch seemed to improve from their loss at CBA on Monday.

"We've been shooting the ball well for the last few games now," Quick said, "It's never a bad thing to be shooting the ball well."

Senior Mike Porter appeared to have the hot-hand on the night, notching nine of his 14 points in the third second quarter, on three three-pointers.

Brian Jordan also displayed his shooting ability, tallying nine points on the night along with grabbing a team-high five rebounds.

After falling down 50-31 in the third quarter, the Rebels became re-charged after an 8-0 run that included to three pointers from Porter and a floating jumpshot from Keegan to draw the team within 11 points.

Howell would later draw within ten points in the fourth quarter of Keegan stole the ball and was fouled. He knocked down both free throws to make it a 59-49 game.

Kendall Simmons had a busy night inside, battling with the big men for Middletown North. He finished with six points and three rebounds.

Raquan Haynes also contributed for Howell, adding five points of his own.

With 21 points, Keegan moves just 13 points away from setting the school record for points in a career. He will have a chance to set that record tomorrow night, when Howell hits the road to take on Jackson Memorial. The start time for that game is 5:30 p.m.