News Photo by Owen Kinzey Alpena’s Devin Lamay handles the ball during the second half of a boys basketball game on Friday at Alpena High School.

ALPENA — The Alpena High boys basketball team suffered another heartbreaking loss on Friday. The Wildcats played Traverse City West in an offensive game that ended in a final score of 67-63.

The Titans were nearly unstoppable down to the end of the game and late turnovers by Alpena turned out to be the difference.

“That was a great basketball game and it was probably one of the best games we’ve played all year. We played super hard and competed until the end which I’m happy with. We did so many things right, but a couple of late mistakes cost us the entire game,” Alpena coach John Pintar said.

The offensive talent from both teams was apparent early when Devin Lamay knocked down a big three to give Alpena some early momentum.

Colt Gray and Easton Srebnik both added a few solid finishes at the rim and played great defense on the other side of the floor.

Although Alpena’s offense was off to a great start, West was even better.

The Titans had baskets from all of their starters and consistently spread the ball around for the open shot.

West’s diverse scoring gave it the 17-14 lead over the Wildcats at the end of the first quarter.

Alpena tied the game up immediately starting the second quarter with a Tucker Bright three.

After the Wildcats finally gained back the lead, West got into a rhythm. The Titans went on an 8-0 run going into half which gave it the 32-30 lead.

Coming out of the half, Alpena continued to struggle. This time the Titans went on a 7-0 run and had a comfortable lead.

Nearing the end of the third quarter, the Wildcats picked up some late momentum after forcing several turnovers. This led to easy baskets and Alpena only being down three points going into the final quarter.

Bright kept the Wildcats in the game, scoring double-digit points in the fourth with two massive three-pointers. These points allowed Alpena to regain the 59-57 lead with just two minutes left.

Back-and-forth scoring between the two teams went down to the wire, where a late turnover cost the Wildcats the game.

This turnover allowed West to finish off the game by making the final free throws and ultimately winning 67-63.

“We had the lead late and we just didn’t make the last few shots we needed to go in. The turnover late obviously hurt, but give all the credit to them because they hit the shots when it mattered most,” Pintar said.

Leading the Wildcats in scoring was Tucker Bright with 19 points and Easting Srebnik with 15.

TC West was led by Ben Habers and Quentin Gillespie. Habers had 17 and Gillespie finished with 14.

Alpena plays Midland Dow on Tuesday.