Friday Highlights: Groves, Lahser and Ferndale Boys Roll

* home team in CAPS

Boys Basketball

Groves over ROYAL OAK 40-37

Birmingham Groves coach Scott Sheckell had a simple question after his team’s game at Royal Oak on Friday night.

“Do you know CPR?” he asked, smiling.

The Falcons needed some clutch free throws in the final minute to hold on to their three-point lead and escape with a 40-37 win over the Ravens in an Oakland Activities Association Gold division matchup.

Royal Oak had two chances to tie game in the final 20 seconds, but both fell short.

With 9.5 seconds left, Joel Gorbold turned the ball over trying to hit Martel Porter cutting to the basket. Gorbold threw the ball too high and it went sailing out of bounds. On the Ravens' final possession, Gorbold missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. 

It was a fitting end for a Royal Oak team that really struggled on the offensive end of the floor.

“There’s a movie The Good, Bad and the Ugly, well you take out the good and that would be the movie The Bad and the Ugly,” Royal Oak coach Michael Massucci said of his team’s offensive performance.

The Ravens (7-7; 2-3 OAA Gold) were 5-of-15 from the free throw line and even worse from 3-point range. They hit only 2-of-19 shots from behind the arc.

Groves (6-8; 4-1 OAA Gold) wasn’t able to get out to a bigger lead because they had struggles of their own offensively.

“We’re very young,” Sheckell said. “The kids have to grow up very fast, we only had one player (Grant Henderson) out of 15 with any varsity experience.”

It was Henderson who helped settle his team down with a 3-pointer with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter to put the Falcons up 35-32.

When Royal Oak tied the game at 37-37, it was Henderson who hit two free throws to give his team a lead with 1:14 to go. He finished with a game-high 14 points.

“It was a big win for us, keeps us tied at the top of the league,” Sheckell said. “We’ll take it.”

LAHSER over Hazel Park 63-51

“It wasn’t pretty,” Lahser coach Duane Graves said of his team’s 63-51 win on Friday night over Hazel Park.

The who injured his foot earlier in the week against Groves.

It was a struggle early in the game with teams only combing for 30 points in the first half.

“We couldn’t put the ball in the basket,” Graves said. “I think we missed 10 shots in the first quarter alone.”

Cartwright’s replacement in the starting lineup helped get Lahser going by scoring all 11 of his points in the second half. Martze Jones had 21 points and Yante Maten had another big all-around game with 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks.

The win helped the Knights keep pace with Groves and Oxford at the top of the OAA Gold. Lahser is now 11-4 overall and 4-1 in the division.

Oxford over ANDOVER, 72-67

Andover lost another close one in the OAA Gold on Friday night. The Barons fell to 7-8 on the season and 1-4 in the Gold with a 72-67 loss to Oxford at home.

All four of Andover’s losses in the division have been by five points or less.

“It’s frustrating, but I like the way we’re competing,” Barons coach Jeff Rubin said.

Rubin’s team didn’t shoot the ball poorly in the first half, but hit six 3-pointers after halftime to get back in the game. The key for Oxford was its ability to get to the free throw line. Andover went to the line only nine times while Oxford attempted 37 free throws.

“I’d like to see us attack the basket a little more, be more aggressive,” Rubin said.

Mark Hazelwood had a game-high 24 points for Oxford. Devon Herzoff had 17 points for the Barons.

FERNDALE over Berkley, 75-44

Ferndale stayed perfect in the OAA White with a 75-44 win over Berkley on Friday night. It was a nine-point game at halftime and then the Eagles (10-3; 5-0 OAA White) blew the game open with 20 points in the third and fourth quarters.

Four players were in double-digits for Ferndale. Robert Diez and Jermaine King had 12 points. Nate Stepney and Jordan Ellis each had 11.  

Girls Basketball

Berkley over SEAHOLM 39-29

Berkley is back to .500 after winning on Friday night 39-29 at Seaholm. The Bears are now 7-7 overall and 6-6 in the OAA Blue. Lucy McNally had a game-high 13 points for Berkley. Lauren Yousif had 10 points for Seaholm.

Football

football players met their new coach after school on Thursday. They heard their new leader's message loud and clear.

"I don't see any reason why this group of guys I'm looking at won't be in the playoffs next year," Brad Zube told about 50 players.

Zube, the former football coach at Pontiac High School, accepted the job this week. He replaces Calvin Gross, who had been with the program for 10 years.

"Brad brings a different view to the program," said Stoney Creek athletic director Shane Redshaw. "We liked his energy and enthusiasm. He's about the kids, for the kids and willing to do what he can to make the kids successful."

Redshaw said the school had 22 applicants for the head coach position and interviewed nine of those individuals.

Zube, who grew up in Romeo, described himself as an "old school" coach.

"There aren't a lot of jobs I would have left Pontiac for. But this is a marquee job at a marquee place."

Zube coached at Pontiac for three years; he was the head coach the past two years. Before that, he was an assistant coach at Notre Dame Prep.

Girls Basketball

ROYAL OAK over Lahser 45-26

The Royal Oak girls kept pace with Andover on Thursday night with a 45-26 win over Lahser. The game was also the Ravens 3rd Annual "Pink Game" cancer fundraiser.

Sami Stormont, , had 18 points and Mariah Gardziola had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Lizzie Girardot lead the defensive effort helping limit Lahser to 13 points after the first quarter. Lahser
was lead by Suzanne Miller with 11 points.

Royal Oak is now 14-1, 11-1 in OAA Blue and Lahser is 5-8, 5-7 in the league.

The Ravens now set their sights on evening the season series on Andover on Tuesday night. Both teams only have one loss in the league and whichever team wins will gain a key advantage in the race to a division title.

ANDOVER over Hazel Park 56-36

Even on a bad night the girls are still a pretty good team.

Despite a poor night of shooting and a slow start, the Barons beat Hazel Park 56-36 for their seventh straight win on Thursday night.

Shannon Wilson, , had a game-high 22 points and also grabbed eight rebounds. Rachel Rea had 10 points.

Hazel Park (1-13; 1-11 Oakland Activities Association Blue) actually had a 13-8 lead in the first quarter before Andover (13-1; 11-1 OAA Blue) settled down.

“We were just lackadaisical in the first quarter,” Barons coach Jeff Rubin said. “We missed some shots and were just kind of out of it. Shannon Wilson hit a half-court 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter and then it was business as usual.”

Rubin felt his team didn’t play to their level on Thursday, but admitted, “I guess it's not a bad thing when the coach is complaining, but you score 56 and win by 20.”

Ferndale over SOUTHFIELD 47-38

Ferndale used its defense to score a 47-38 upset at Southfield on Thursday night.

“Tonight we looked like we did last year,” Eagles coach Berwyn Ellis said. “We put a lot of pressure on them, pressed them all game and forced a lot of turnovers.”

Taryn Stephens led the charge on both ends of the floor with 11 points and six steals. Micaela Ellis had 10 points and nine assists. Janecia Jenkins added eight points and 10 rebounds.

Ellis was really happy with his team’s overall effort and felt they did a solid job defending Southfield’s top scorers - Cortney Williams and Chelsea Brown. Ferndale held Williams and Brown to 20 combined points.

The Eagles are now 6-8 overall and 6-6 in the OAA Blue. It was only Southfield’s second loss of the season in the Blue and at 10-2 is now a half-game back of Andover and Royal Oak in the division race.

“We are playing the spoiler role now,” Ellis said.

TUESDAY

Boys Basketball 

Athens over STONEY CREEK,73-55

Troy Athens' top scorer Marcarius Coakley played sparingly Tuesday night, but it didn’t matter. The Red Hawks cruised to a 73-55 win on the road over Rochester Stoney Creek.

Coakley, who sprained his right ankle Friday night in a loss to Rochester, had only three points in limited minutes. The ankle was still bothering the senior and he’ll be re-evaluated Friday before his team’s game against Lake Orion.

Tuesday, his teammates did most of the heavy lifting; Tim Freiman had 12 points and Caleb McIntosh and Jeff Koch each had 11.

“We had the lead for most of the game,” Athens coach Dave Scott said. “It was nice because we had the opportunity to play a lot of kids tonight, who we are definitely going to need as the season goes on.”

Scott’s team improved to 10-3 on the season and 2-2 in the Oakland Activities Association Blue division. Stoney Creek dropped to 0-13 overall and 0-4 in the Blue.

Royal Oak over ANDOVER, 69-63

It was a close one Tuesdsay night at in Bloomfield Hills in the Oakland Activities Association Gold division.

Royal Oak used some clutch free throw shooting to beat the Barons 69-63.

“The game went down to the final minute,” Andover coach Jeff Rubin said. “It came down to free throw shooting and they made their shots.”

Rubin’s team missed a couple layups and were only 2-of-7 from the free throw line in the final quarter.

“It’s frustrating,” Rubin said. “We got them to play our style, we got off 80 shots tonight, but we were only 29 percent from the field. We did everything we could to win the game, but didn’t deserve to win.”

Martel Porter led the Ravens with a game-high 16 points. Marcus McQueen had a team-high 14 points for the Barons.

Royal Oak is now 7-6 overall (2-2 Gold) while Andover drops to 7-7 overall (1-3 Gold).

CLAWSON over Clintondale, 58-49 

Clawson overcame a slow start to stay undefeated in the Macomb Area Conference Silver division with a 58-49 over Clintondale on Tuesday night.

“It was a tough one,” Clawson Trojans coach Bill Shellenbarger said.

Shellenbarger’s team had an uncharacteristic slow start on the defensive end of the floor and finished the first quarter down 17-12.

“That’s unlike us,” Shellenbarger said. “We came back and held them to 17 points in the second and third quarter combined. That’s where our strong senior leadership came through.”

Tywaun Watkins led Clawson with 25 points, with four 3-pointers. Marquian Johnson had nine points and 15 rebounds.

The Trojans' (12-1; 8-0 MAC Silver) next game is Thursday at Marine City.

“That’s a tough trip,” Shellenbarger said of the hour drive. “We are tired right now, too; we have guys sick and coughing in the locker room. We are going to watch film tomorrow and then get some rest.”

Lahser over GROVES, 54-48

Yante Maten’s strong night ended Birmingham Groves unbeaten streak in the OAA Gold. Maten had 26 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in 's 54-48 win over the Groves Falcons on Tuesday night.

Martez Jones added 12 points for the Knights. Angelo Grant Henderson had 30 points for Groves, with five 3-pointers.

Lahser is now 10-4 overall (3-1 Gold) and Groves is 5-8 (3-1 Gold).

FERNDALE over Adams, 58-53

Ferndale extended its win streak to nine games on Tuesday night as the Eagles beat Rochester Adams 58-53 with a strong effort from its front court.

Jacob Dotson had another double-double with a game-high 21 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.

“Our bigs were really, really good tonight,” Ferndale coach Tom Staton said.

Nate Stepney added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles. Ferndale is now 9-3 overall and a perfect 4-0 in the OAA White.

Girls Basketball

Berkley over ADAMS 41-36

Aarica McCray’s 17 points and six rebounds helped Berkley win 41-36 on the road at Adams. Diamond Wilford had 10 points and four assists for the Bears. Lucy McNally added eight points and seven rebounds.

Swimming

West Bloomfield over ROYAL OAK, 118-67

The West Bloomfield swim and dive team won easily Tuesday night, 118-67, over Royal Oak.

The Lakers swept all three relay races again just like they did last week in a win over Rochester, but they also did pretty well in the individual events.

Andrew Jacob won the 200 yard IM (2:17.65), Tyler Edwards won the 200 yard freestyle (1:58.96), Nick Basel won the 100 yard butterfly (1:05.76), Greyson Cepnick won the 100 yard backstroke (1:08.66) and Amr Zakkar won the 500 yard freestyle (5:57.00).

Girls Basketball

Troy over ATHENS, 58-45

Troy High School beat Athens for the second time this season Monday night. A balanced offensive attack helped the Colts erase a 22-point deficit in the second half to win 58-45.

“We kicked it up a notch,” Troy coach Dennis Koch said. “We rebounded better, moved the ball around better and played a pretty good half of basketball.”

Koch had four girls in double-digits led by Katy McCuish and Karin Moss who each had 12 points. Sinclair Russell led the Red Hawks with 14 points and five blocks.

“She swatted everything,” Koch said.

The Colts host West Bloomfield on Thursday in a Coaches vs. Cancers game. Proceeds from the game will go to American Cancer Society.

GROVES over Seaholm 68-31

The girls varsity basketball team went into halftime Monday night sensing it had rival on the ropes.

Up 28-18, Groves quickly landed a knockout punch in the third quarter with a 12-0 run right out of the gate. The Falcons extended their 10-point halftime lead to 22 in less than four minutes and went on to win 68-31.

“The kids count this as one of their best rivalry games, their emotion was there and the energy was there,” Groves coach Amos Thompson said.

Jessica Turner was one of three Falcons’ players to finish with game-high 12 points. Lucy Mailing and Nicole Prentice also had 12. Groves (5-6; 5-6 Oakland Activities Association White) had nine different players get in the scorebook. Seaholm (3-11; 3-9 OAA Blue) didn’t have a single player in double-digits and struggled all night to get in a rhythm offensively.

Previous Weeks 

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