The Cumberland Valley Christian Blazers fell behind early and dropped a 53-44 decision to Heritage Academy in a Mason-Dixon Christian Conference boys basketball game Friday night, ending their seven-game winning streak.

“We did not come out and play well enough to compete tonight,” Blazers coach Austin Sanders said. “I think we were stifled offensively in the first half and couldn’t find a rhythm within the game. Credit to Heritage. They came in with a game plan, and unfortunately for us, we didn’t have a lot of answers.”

The Blazers (7-2, 2-1 MDCC) trailed 17-9 at the end of the first quarter and 25-16 at halftime. They got within 47-42 late, but Heritage hit its foul shots to preserve the lead.

Caleb Eckert led the Blazers with 17 points, leaving him just three points shy of 1,000 for his career. The 6-foot-6 junior also grabbed 15 rebounds, blocked six shots and handed off three assists.

Nollin Egolf was next with 14 points and three steals. Blaine Minnier scored seven points and grabbed nine rebounds, Isaac Kauffeldt scored four points, and Ryan Winters added a basket.

“The good news for us is we have a great group of guys who have bigger goals than one game,” Sanders said. “We won’t hang our heads, but instead we’ll learn from it, get back to practice on Monday and get back on track.”