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"It was a tough battle. Our kids played well, but the difference was that we shot six free throws to their 21 attempts," Elk Rapids coach Andy Kenney said. "To beat a team like them, we have to be more aggressive."

Elk Rapids (5-10 overall) led the game, 14-13, at the end of one quarter, but trailed by almost 10 points at one time in the second period. The Elks rallied to tie the game, 28-28, as the two teams headed to the locker room for the intermission.

"We got down by nine in the first half, but we fought back to tie it up and we were down by 10 again in the third quarter," Kenney said. "We just kept fighting back."

The Elks had to rally once again in the third quarter to cut the Benzie Central advantage, 43-40, going into the final eight minutes of the game.

The Huskies sealed the win when they outscored the Elks, 14-13, down the stretch.

Garrett Gribi came off the bench with a strong game to lead the Elks scoring with 13 points. Brandon Isenhart added 10 points, and Sam Wittbrodt and Skyler Hindes chipped in with nine points each.

Adding to the Elk Rapids stats, Mike Hubbell contributed eight rebounds and three blocked shots, Hindes added four assists, Gribi had four assists, Isenhart had three steals and Andy Caperton had four steals.

Conner Nugent and Jarred Lorenc added nine points each for the Huskies.

Elk Rapids travels to East Jordan on Friday, Feb. 16, and hosts Grayling on Tuesday, Feb. 20.