The Saline basketball team came up short in the battle for the top spot in the SEC Red when Ann Arbor Huron handed the Hornets its first conference loss 65-52 Friday night.

The Hornets took an early 8-4 lead, but the River Rats closed the first with a 9-2 run for a 13-10 lead after one.

Huron opened the second with a 12-2 run to push its lead to 25-12 and force a Hornets timeout.

Saline came out of the timeout and answered with a 9-0 run to cut the Huron lead to 25-21 at the half.

The teams went back and forth in the third, but Huron outscored Saline 13-8 to push its lead to 38-29 heading into the fourth.

Huron would begin to pull away in the fourth with its lead growing to as much as 15 and would hold on for the win.

Jonathan Sanderson led the Hornets with 25 points.

Tommy Carr added 11 points and Brad Leventhal added six. Lincoln Keyes and LaDainian Woods scored four each, while Peyton Widen and Caleb Washington one each.

The Hornets took down rival Bedford 70-57 earlier in the week.

Saline led just 30-28 at halftime but outscored the Mules 18-13 to build the lead to 48-41 after three.

Sanderson was fouled on a three-pointer and made the free throw to open the fourth with a four-point play to put Saline up 52-41 and they would pull away from there by outscoring Bedford 22-16 in the fourth for the win.

Sanderson hit seven triples on the night and finished with a team high 38 points, while Keyes finished with 17.