PINCONNING - Feb. 26, 2010 - All Pinconning needed to do Friday to wrap up sole possession of its second straight North East Michigan Conference boys basketball title was defeat a Whittemore-Prescott squad that hadn't won a conference game in its five seasons since rejoining the league.

It turned out not to be so easy. The youthful Cardinals, who have shown significant improvement as the season has progressed, gave Pinny a scare, taking a 38-35 halftime lead. Pinny asserted itself in the second half, pulling away to a 72-57 victory.

W-P pushed the pace and scorched the nets in the first half, hitting five 3-pointers. The Spartans led 22-18 after the first quarter, but the Cards got six points apiece from Matt Harrington and Jayme Humphrey in a 20-13 second quarter.

The Cardinals cooled off in the second half, particularly the fourth quarter, while the Spartans' Casey Pashak and Lucas Foco took over.

Pashak finished with a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds while Foco added 21 points and eight boards. Pinny (15-3, 9-1 NEMC) finished one game ahead of Ogemaw Heights, which had to go to overtime against Tawas Area to keep its title chances alive.

Jayme Humphrey led the Cardinals (5-13, 0-10), with 20 points, with Chris Downes adding 13 and Clay Loomis had 12.