A bad break for Trask Friday night was a good one for Union, as the Spartans rolled to a 57-36 victory over the visiting Titans, leaving them poised for either a three-way tie for first place in the Tri-County Conference or a lone spot in second, depending on the outcome of the Wallace-Pender game.

The break was Pender’s loss of three players, held out for disciplinary purposes, and the Spartans took advantage of it, striking fast and furious from the opening frame.

At the end of the first quarter, the Spartans were ahead 18-8 and by the half they had increased their lead to 32-24.

“We caught a break in that they had three players held out, but because of that, I don’t think our effort was as good as it should have been,” coach Tim Pope said of his Spartan varsity.

“We played much better when we came back from the half, though,” the coach stressed.

Union ended the third quarter on top 46-30 and finished the fourth by outscoring the Titans 11 to 6 to post the 57-36 win.

“Overall I thought the guys played well,” Pope said, “but we’ve got to be more focused throughout as we play our next games.”

Justin Smith led scoring for Union with 15 points. Also scoring was Brandon Lovette with 8 and Bakeem Murphy, 8.

The win moves Union’s record to 12-9 overall and 9-3 in conference play.

They face Midway next Tuesday, then host Lakewood in the final regular game of the season next Friday.