TURNER – Fourth-seeded Ben Alpren battled back from the consolation bracket of the Leavitt Men’s Basketball League playoffs after a first-round upset to reach the championship game.

No. 5 St. Hilaire’s sidetracked Alpren with a 87-76 verdict. Alpren answered with wins over The Affiliates, 107-77, St. Hilaire’s, 91-86, No. 3 Ranor, 79-62, and No. 2 Liberty Mutual, 82-79.

That set up a battle with No. 1 Run ‘N’ Gun, whom Alpren would need to beat twice to take the title. Run ‘N’ Gun, the defending champion, skated through the playoffs with its closest game a 77-63 win over Liberty.

Thursday’s opening game of the series saw Ben Alpren battle back from a double-digit halftime deficit to trim the Gunners, 93-81, and force a winner-take-all game Tuesday night.

Clutch 3-pointers by Brandon Kyajohnian and Jon Furbush brought Alpren back and eventually into the lead with two minutes remaining. Free-throw efficiency helped seal the upset.

Furbush led Ben Alpren with 26 points. Jon Wallingford tallied 20 points for Run ‘N’ Gun.