By Greg Gielczyk 
LocalSportsJournal.com 

HART — Mason County Central’s boys basketball team got back to the .500 mark with a 65-54 win over Hart Thursday night on the road. 

Led by the hot shooting of Cole VanderHaag, the Spartans are above .500 in the league and still trailing conference-leading North Muskegon and Whitehall, which are undefeated. 

“The guys came to play tonight,” said Spartans coach Chris VanderHaag. “Eathen Huffman and Peyton Merz drew a couple key charges, and our energy blew up after that. 

“It seemed every time they (the Pirates) tried to make a run Cole VanderHaag would hit a big 3. He was a real problem for their guards, and he had a great night shooting. It was nice to see him have a solid game. 

“We’ve been trying to unlock him all season. It was a great team win for us.” 

Central took control early, exploding offensively in the first quarter and opened a 11-point lead, 26-15 at the horn. Hart came back in the second, however, and outscored the Spartans 16-13 to trim the margin down to eight, 39-31 at the halftime break. 

But the Spartans re-established their dominance in the third period with a 19-11 scoring advantage which restored a double figure lead, 58-42. Hart finished the game with a 12-7 edge in the fourth. 

VanderHaag burned the Pirates for 26 points, hitting for six 3-point baskets and going 2-of-2 at the free throw line, while coming away with five steals. Jaxon Munoz added 15 points for the Spartans.

Hart was led by Blake Weirich with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. Senior Jesse Jacobs added 16 points.

The Spartans moved to 6-6 overall, 3-2 in the conference and will return to the hardwood next Tuesday when they host conference rival Shelby. 

Hart dropped its second straight and is now 3-7 overall, 3-2 in the conference with the Pirates at home for their next game Tuesday against Orchard View.