WARREN — Head coach Todd Covert and associate head coach Len Karschnia of Division 1 top-ranked Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep had to be a bit concerned after witnessing Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice’s display of raw talent in a 79-67 victory over De La Salle this weekend.
The Eaglets (7-0; 0-0 Central Division) placed themselves as the odds-on favorite for the Catholic League Central Division title by virtue of a 68-55 win over No. 2 Clarkston and 69-66 victory against No. 7 Grand Blanc.
Yet, the coaches would be the first to quickly issue a caution. Granted, those are impressive early-season non-conference conquests, but they serve as a kind of appetizer for the main course, the CHSL’s Central, which will be offering a month-long feast of exciting basketball starting this week.
Reservations aren’t necessary. Just show up.
Brother Rice (5-2; 1-0) hosts University of Detroit Jesuit (4-3; 1-0) on Jan. 14. The Cubs lost 69-61 to Grand Blanc a week ago and slipped past Novi Detroit Catholic Central last Friday, 55-54. Coach Pat Donnelly’s squads are reigning CHSL A-B champions the last seven years.
Here's the rest of the schedule:
- The same evening, St. Mary’s travels to Catholic Central (2-3; 0-1).
- On Jan. 17, Orchard Lake St. Mary's is at U-D Jesuit, and De La Salle (5-1; 0-1) at Catholic Central.
- On Jan. 21, Rice travels to Catholic Central, and De La Salle plays at Orchard Lake St. Mary's.
- On Jan. 28, St. Mary's goes to Rice, and U-D Jesuit is at De La Salle.
- Throw in a pair of notable non-conference games on Jan. 18: Brother Rice vs. Grand Blanc at Albion College, and St. Mary’s plays at Division 3 No. 1 Flint Beecher (6-1).
The menu goes on for the next two weeks, until Feb. 14, as the teams switch locations and play a second round.
Now, back to Rice and De La Salle.
The game took 21 hours to complete. It tipped off at about 7 p.m. Friday and the contest-ending horn sounded near 3 p.m. Saturday.
Just four minutes into the game, with Rice leading 8-6, play was suspended after referees, coaches and athletic directors determined that condensation, caused by the confluence of outside unseasonable temperatures and humidity and heat in the gym, created an unsafe playing surface.
De La Salle’s maintenance staff corrected the situation overnight for a 1 p.m. resumption Saturday.
Outside of an 8-8 tie, the Pilots trailed from start to finish, finding it difficult to cope with Rice’s overall team speed and athleticism. They were able to reduce an 8-point halftime deficit to 41-35 in the opening two minutes of the third quarter.
In a span of 90 seconds, Rice’s sensational freshman Curtis Williams fired a pair of triples and a basket to restore the Warriors’ lead to 49-37, a double-digit margin they maintained the rest of the way.
Williams, a slender 6-foot-5 forward, converted six of the team’s 11 threes en route to 22 points as well as being a dominant force on the backboards.
Williams (16) and junior guard Mikkos Stewart (19) combined for 35 points in the pivotal middle two quarters. Senior Jon Brantley scored eight of his 16 points and freshman Xavier Thomas six of his 11 in the closing eight minutes to wrap things up.
“It’s a young team, but we’re getting better,” Warriors coach Rick Palmer said. “This was our most mature game. I loved the attitude. They came here to win in a gym that’s a hard place to win in.”
De La Salle junior guard William Smythe took game honors with 28 points which included seven three-pointers. His fellow guard, junior Linden Holder, had 14 points.
“Unfortunately in our first league game we didn't show up, plain and simple," Pilots coach Greg Esler said. “They smacked us in the face, and we took it. Tonight truly showed how much we missed (senior Nick) Troszak (out with a foot injury). He's a great defensive player and they owned us in the paint.”
