Union’s JV fell to visiting Trask Friday night 45-41, but the effort from the young Spartans, their coach said, was to be commended.

“I was very proud of our guys and the way we competed in the first half,” said Union JV coach Bryant Register. “It was a really good start for us.”

Union opened the first quarter with strong play, and led by the frame’s end 16-13. And despite a good run by the JV Titans in the second quarter, the Spartans held their own, with both teams trading baskets down the stretch to go into the half knotted at 24.

But the second half wasn’t a mirror image of the first, and the young JV Spartans found themselves fast falling into a deficit.

“We just didn’t seem to have the same intensity in the second half,” Register said. “We missed a lot of loose balls and we weren’t rebounding as good.”

Register also tipped his hat to a good Trask team, noting their own intensity.

“I congratulate Trask on a great win,” the Union coach acknowledged. “Their kids played really hard.”

In the third quarter, Union found themselves in a deficit and by the frame’s end, they were down 35-33. Trash continued to add to Union’s deficit in the opening minutes of the final frame, but a run in the fourth quarter put the Spartans back to within two.

In the end, however, Trask’s proficiency at the charity stripe down the stretch gave them the edge and the eventual win.

“My guys did a really good job tonight, particularly in the first half, but we’ve just got to learn to be more consistent,” Register said.

Christian Boykin and Jamar Newkirk led scoring for the Spartans Friday night with 10 each; Brandon Johnson had 7; Shyquan Brunson, 5; Traquan Peterson, 3; JaVonte Henry, 2; Alex Maxwell, 2; and Devon Henry, 2.

Union’s record moves to 5-13 overall and 3-9 in conference with two games left in the regular season.

The JV Spartans face county rival Midway Tuesday and then play host to Lakewood’s JV Leopards on Friday.