OSCODA - Feb. 13, 2007 - Oscoda raced out to a 16-0 lead over Fairview on Tuesday, then held off the Eagles in the second half to take a 57-52 victory and avenge an earlier defeat.

It took the Owls just four minutes to run up their big lead, but Fairview kept chipping away, holding Oscoda to just nine points over the final 12 minutes of the first half and cutting the lead to 25-17 at the break.

"I give a lot of credit to coach Wayne Nutt and his team," said Oscoda coach Scott Lueck. "I never saw a glimmer of 'quit,' even when they called their second time-out in the first quarter. Certainly there are many reasons why they have won 13 games."

One of the big reasons is Pierson Szubelak, who scored 26 points, hit 4-of-5 3-pointers and pulled down eight rebounds.

"He is phenomenal," Lueck said. "He hit (the 3-pointers) and then would take us to the hole."

The Owls made some offensive changes at the half, and Kevin Mallak scored eight third-quarter points to help Oscoda get back on track.

"He has been solid all year, and it was good to see him get some points," Lueck said. "We didn't get any points from our bench, but we got some solid minutes. We played last night and we got a little tired, but our bench helped us keep fresh for the final run. It was truly a team win."

Barak Henderson scored 15 points and pulled down 19 rebounds, Adam Dettmer scored 15 and Jason Jimenez scored 14, including four 3-pointers.

The Owls outrebounded the Eagles 40-28, though shooting percentage (34-33 percent for Oscoda) and turnovers (22-19 for Fairview) were about even.

The Owls improved to 9-7, while 13-2 Fairview, the North Star League leader, had a 10-game winning streak snapped.