Photos: Lahser Boys Top Andover 48-47 in Battle For Bloomfield

The Lahser Knights defeated the Andover Barons 48-47 in the nightcap of a special event dubbed the Battle for Bloomfield Saturday night at Oakland University's O'rena.

The game featured the final scheduled time both rival schools faced each other with the pending merger to the new Bloomfield Hills High School next fall.

Powered by center Yante Maten's 19 points and 9 rebounds, the Knights used a late rally to take the lead and held on to climb to 7-1 on the season. Khalil Gracey made winning basket and finished with 9 points and 5 assists. It was the 6th straight road game for Lahser, which won all six as they continue defense of their league and district crowns from a year ago.The Knights have not lost since dropping a 58-49 contest to Clarkston Dec. 7.

"We knew this was going to be a very difficult game," Knight head coach Duane Graves told miprepzone.com. "But my guys preserved and survived one heck of an effort by our opponents. We were determined to come out of here with the win and that’s what we did.”

They host the Harrison Hawks Tuesday in the first league game of the season.

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Of Interest: Andover Ladies Beat Rival Lahser in 'Battle for Bloomfield'

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The Barons led most of the game and had two shots in the final moments, but couldn't escape with the win. Senior guard Marlon Pruitt scored a team-high 12 points.

“I thought we controlled tempo for the majority of the game, we just couldn’t pull it out,” Barons head coach Jeff Rubin said, according to miprepzone.com. "Some missed free throws hurt us down the stretch. At the end, though, when the game hung in the balance, Lahser made the plays they needed to and we didn't."

They dropped their second straight game after a 5-0 start, and will have to regroup quickly as Royal Oak visits Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

These photos were uploaded by Bloomfield-Bloomfield Hills Patch reader Susan Adams. View more on her website. Were you at the game and have photos to share with the community? Post them directly to this story, or in the Pics & Clips Neighborhood Gallery above.