NORTH JUDSON - Even though the LaVille basketball team had lost three straight basketball games and the team record had fallen below .500 in terms of won-loss, the Lancers were still trending at the top of the Hoosier North standings. Heading into the second half of a doubleheader weekend with Westview and North Judson, LaVille sustained four losses, three to teams that have current winning records, including Hebron at 9-1 and Westview at 8-2, along with Bremen. Enter Saturday's game at HNAC rival North Judson-San Pierre. The Lancers, along with Triton, were off to a 2-0 conference start, while the Blue Jays were 1-0 heading into the weekend tussle. Still a lot to play for with nearly three-quarters of the season to play and plenty of HNAC action to go. Coach Michael Edison's club was able to get off to a good start, with Lucas Plummer, Collin Czarnecki, and Michael Good getting into the scoring column. An added bonus was the play of Cody Allen and Avery Garrett, the latter who gave solid minutes off the bench. "We did get some nice bench play from Avery Garrett and Lance Edison," Edison said following the 56-47 victory against North Judson-San Pierre. "Cody Allen was solid all night defensively and was able to get an early much needed bucket. Michael Good, Lucas Plummer, and Collin Czarnecki all had big nights for us offensively." NJSP stretched the Lancer defense, hitting 3-point shots well beyond the arc, to keep things close. The Blue Jays also utilized pressure defense to cause havoc in the middle of the court. As the game progressed, Edison continued to push LaVille's pressure out on the NJSP shooters to keep defending. "I did not want us to get complacent as we had led our last three games against Glenn, Hebron, and Westview and just frittered those games away," Edison said of the recent string of losses. "Even though we could have handled the pressure from Judson better in the 2nd half than what we did, I was at least glad that we found a way to hold them off and not give up the lead. It was a big conference road win for us that hopefully we can continue to build on." A solid 6-of-8 from the line in the fourth quarter and 10-0f-12 overall helped LaVille hold off NJSP. With the victory, the Lancers moved into sole possession of first place in the Hoosier North at 3-0. Triton is just one-half game behind in conference play at 2-0. Knox is 3-1 and will visit LaVille Friday, January 12, in a girl-boy doubleheader at Cox Gymnasium. "We needed a big win as we have another tough week coming up," said Edison. "We hit some shots and were able to get a lead and we did not give that lead up." Czarnecki led the Lancers with 25 points, while Good had 13 points, and Plummer chipped in with 11. Plummer hauled down 9 rebounds, Good added 5 boards, and Czarnecki 4. LaVille improved to 4-4 overall and 3-0 in the Hoosier North. The Lancers will travel to Tippecanoe Valley on January 9, play host to HNAC rival Knox on January 12, and close a busy week at home against Elkhart Christian Academy on January 13. * * * * * LAVILLE 56, NORTH JUDSON 47 The Nest, North Judson, IN. Score By Quarters LaVille 18 30 42 56 NJSP - Jesiah McDaniel 10, Owen Radtke 0, Lukas Burkett 1, Quinn Bales 18, Kole Wilcox 6, Connor Benson12, Sam Holem 0. Totals: 17 7-11 47 LaVille - Lucas Plummer 11, Lance Edison 3, Andre Gonzales 0, Collin Czarnecki 25, Michael Good 13, Braedyn Foster 0, Cody Allen 2, Avery Garrett 2. Totals: 21 10-12 56 3-point field goals: LaVille 4 (Czarnecki 2, Edison, Good), North Judson 6 (Bales 4,Bendson, McDaniel) JV score: NJSP 49, LaVille 31 (Brayden Schwitz 11, Dylan Miller 8) HOOSIER NORTH ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ALL TIMES EASTERN CONF AG OA DA AM Streak LaVille 3- 0 4- 5 50.4 49.6 0.9 Lost 1 Triton 2- 0 7- 2 51.3 41.2 10.1 Lost 1 Knox 3- 1 3- 5 46.8 51.1 -4.4 Lost 1 North Judson 1- 1 8- 2 52.3 37.7 14.6 Lost 1 Caston 1- 1 4- 6 52.6 48.1 4.5 Lost 1 Culver 1- 2 6- 4 60.6 55.9 4.7 Won 1 Pioneer 0- 2 3- 8 43.6 55.6 -12.0 Lost 1 Winamac 0- 4 5- 7 46.2 50.1 -3.9 Won 1 UPCOMING GAMES INVOLVING HNAC TEAMS (Approximate varsity tip times) Friday, Jan. 12 DeMotte at Pioneer, 7:30 pm Knox at LaVille © , 7:30 pm North Judson at Winamac © , 8 pm Triton at Culver © , 7:30 pm Saturday, Jan. 13 Carroll at Pioneer, 7:30 pm Elkhart Christian at LaVille, 7:45 pm North Miami at North Judson, 7 pm Oregon-Davis at Winamac, 7:30 pm West Central at Caston, 7:30 pm