Pentwater falls at home to Baldwin 80-56

The Falcons, who are 0-2 overall, were outscored, 28-7 in the third period and couldn’t climb out of the hole in an 80-56 loss to the Panthers.

Although the Falcons continued to improve on offense and defense, free throw shooting hurt them as they made only 11-of-26 from the stripe for the game.

Baldwin took a 17-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, and then outscored the Falcons, 20-16 in the second to build a 37-31 edge at the half.

Pentwater had a 18-15 advantage in the fourth period, but it wasn’t nearly enough to offset the third quarter and make up the deficit.

“I think we’re evenly matched teams,” Pentwater head coach Ashley Lubera said. “The third quarter got away from us. We had opportunities to take the lead, but just couldn’t seem to knock down some free throws.

“Werkema-Grondsma, one of the top two on my team, got into some early foul trouble and had to set most of the third quarter. Our chemistry just fell apart a little bit in the third quarter.”

Tyler Plummer-Eisenlohr led the Falcons with 27 points on 40 percent shooting from the field and 3-point line, and also had three assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Jack Stoneman had a solid game in the paint for the Falcons, scoring 12 points and cleaning the glass for 10 rebounds. Will Werkema-Grondsma contributed eight points, five rebounds and three steals.

“Overall, I think the team played hard,” Lubera said. “We were ready to go tonight. I just think we’re trying to find some chemistry and balance.

“I have some freshmen starting for me, and (they’re)  kind of trying to figure out the chemistry and pace of the game a little bit. I’m proud of how we played three out of four quarters.”

Pentwater is on the road next Tuesday for another league matchup at Walkerville.