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Fighting a blinding snowstorm on the ride back home, the Warriors could take their minds off the conditions by replaying their 64-50 victory ... over and over again.

It was a particularly sweet win for the Warriors following on the heels of last Tuesday night's 63-50 at home to Mancelona that saw Forest Area struggle to make the easy baskets.

The Warriors were far more efficient on offense against Onaway, shooting a solid 40 percent from the field.

Gaylord St. Mary handed Mancelona its first loss in the Ski Valley Conference, 46-40 on the same evening.

Bellaire took over sole possession of first place with a 6-0 record following the Eagles' 69-51 rout of Pellston.

Forest Area now trails Bellaire by two games and Mancelona by one with a 4-2 league record. The Warriors are 6-3 overall.

The Warriors never looked back after taking a 20-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. It was 36-18 at the half and 47-33 after three.

"We played really well right from the start," Forest Area coach Bobby Nix said. "There was no doubt.

"Our defense really did a great job. Onaway only shot 29 percent from the floor. They are really big, but it seemed we matched up really well with them.

"Right from the tip, we played them really tough."

Both teams shot relatively well from the free throw line. Forest Area made 64 percent of its shots, and Onaway 66.

Tyler Denike scored 18 points to lead the Warriors. He also dished out 6 assists and had 4 steals.

Matt Kelly contributed 14 points and 6 rebounds. Bob Hatfield added 13 points and 7 rebounds. Jordan Griffin scored 6 points. Nix was especially pleased with Kelly's performance.

"He scored our first 10 points of the game," Nix said. "He played really well."

Denike and Sam Runkel scored 10 points each for the Warriors in their loss to Mancelona last Tuesday.

The Warriors twice rallied from major deficits to get within single digits of the Ironmen, but their inability to convert offensive rebounds into second-chance points hurt.

Forest Area's carelessness with the basketball didn't help, either. The Warriors had 24 turnovers.

"Missing bunnies has been our downfall all year," Nix said. "We've been working on it in practice.

"It's frustrating, because when we get in games, we turn the ball over and miss the bunnies.

"But, like I told the kids, at least they didn't give up. They got behind, but they kept coming at Mancelona."