ARENAC EASTERN - Mar. 2, 2010 - Arenac Eastern kept its hopes for a .500 regular season alive Tuesday with a 56-43 victory over Akron-Fairgrove.

"Akron-Fairgrove has improved quite a bit since the beginning of the season," said AE coach Bob Morgan. "We had a decent game and we were able to get everyone ample playing time."

The Eagles took a 13-3 first quarter lead and nursed a double-digit advantage through the remainder of the game. Akron's Josh Repke provided AE with a stiff challenge inside with a game-high 21 points.

"He's one of the best big players we've seen all year," Morgan said.

The Eagles (9-10) put three players in double figures: Caleb Whitney with 13 points, John Chmura with 12 and Graham Morgan with 11.

"Caleb really had a nice night," Morgan said. "HE was able to drive to the bucket often to score or to dish off to one of the big guys."

AE finishes its regular season Thursday at Owen-Gage.