BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Both the boys and girls Catholic League Central Division basketball teams find themselves immersed in a pattern of beating up one another.
The showdown turned out to be a smackdown
At Brother Rice on Tuesday evening, the Warriors smacked down Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in a highly anticipated showdown, 66-48, and created a three-way first-place tie.
The Warriors, Eaglets, and University of Detroit Jesuit share 2-1 records achieved by following the pattern of the craziness going on for the last couple of years. Consider:
Brother Rice (overall 10-1; 2-1 Central; No. 2 Associated Press rated) took out a loss to Warren De La Salle by whipping Novi Detroit Catholic Central and St. Mary’s.
St. Mary’s (5-4; 2-1; No. 9) slipped past U of D in overtime and had little difficulty against De La Salle but ran into a lot of trouble against Brother Rice.
U of D Jesuit (9-1; 2-1; No. 7) defeated Catholic Central and De La Salle after its loss to St. Mary’s.
De La Salle (7-4; 2-2; No. 15) beat Brother Rice and Catholic Central wrapped around losses to St. Mary’s and U of D.
Catholic Central (5-6; 0-3; No. 25) has lost to Brother Rice, U of D and De La Salle by an average of 10 points.
You get the picture? Action resumes next week. Games start at 7 p.m.
Jan. 24: Brother Rice at U of D Jesuit; Catholic Central at St. Mary’s.
Jan. 27: Brother Rice at De La Salle; St. Mary’s at U of D Jesuit.
The game was 8-8 midway through the first quarter when Brother Rice erupted with a 12-point run to close out the quarter ahead 17-8 and another run, this one for 15 points in the second quarter, to send the Warriors into halftime way in front 36-12.
Junior Warren Marshall sparked the breakouts with 13 points.
The Eaglets managed a mere four points in the second quarter.
“Our half-court execution was pretty good,” explained St. Mary’s coach Todd Covert, “but once we got down there, we were out of control. That was our panic in the paint.”
St. Mary’s scored 8 points in the first minute of the second half to reduce the disadvantage to 36-20, the closest they would come for the remainder of the contest.
“That’s how we want to play,” coach Rick Palmer said. “We played well defensively. Offensively, it clicks when Warren gets going like he did in the first half. I liked our shot selection, the way we moved the ball.”
Xavier Thomas led the Rice attack with 20 points. Curtis Williams scored 11 and Jonathan Blackwell 10.
The Eaglets offense revolved around sophomore sensation Trey McKenney. He had 21 points in spite of being sidelined three minutes in the third quarter when he suffered a bloody nose. Point guard Sharod Barnes had 15.
3 state-ranked teams in girls Central Division
Farmington Hills Mercy boasts a spotless 11-0 record and shares the No. 2 ranking with West Bloomfield in the Associated Press Division 1 poll. The Marlins at 4-0 also lead the CHSL Girls Central Division 1 standings, which has two other state-ranked teams.
Dearborn Divine Child (11-2) and Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard (11-2) are ranked by the AP 10th and 11th respectively in Division 2. The Fighting Irish are 4-1 in the league, having lost to Mercy, 46-33, back on Jan. 6. They meet again at 7 p.m. next Friday, Jan. 27, at Mercy.
Divine Child lost to Fr. Gabriel Richard, 49-47, on Jan. 10 (they’ll play again Jan. 31) and was upset by Warren Regina (1-4), 39-32. The Falcons travel to Mercy next Tuesday, Jan. 24.
Maya White, a 6-foot-2 senior heading to Grand Valley State, leads the offense for Gary Morris, now in his 19th year coaching the Marlins.
For the Fighting Irish, sophomore Charlotte Miller leads a five-guard offense.
Divine Child’s Kennedy Blair (Bowling Green) is averaging 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Macomb Lutheran North (8-0; 2-0 Double AA) is ranked No. 19 in Division 2.
In Division 3, Macomb Bishop Foley (8-2; 3-1 Intersectional 1) is ranked 21st.
Undefeated Loyola ranked No. 1 in Division 3
Detroit Loyola powered past Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood Tuesday night, 76-26. Dashawn Martin and Jotham Nweke led the offense with 18 points each. Darek Anderson chipped in 10.
The Bulldogs’ spotless 10-0 record has earned the No. 1 rank in the Associated Press Division 3 poll. They lead CHSL Intersectional 1 Division with a 4-0 mark. Loyola has scored at least 70 points in eight of their 10 games.
Riverview Gabriel Richard (6-2; 3-1 CHSL Double AA), Madison Heights Bishop Foley (4-4; 2-1 CHSL Double AA), and Grosse Pointe University Liggett (6-1; 2-1 Intersectional 1) are ranked 14th, 16th and 21st respectively.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
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