ORCHARD LAKE — Welcome to "Looney Tunes."
It was hot dogs for the winners, and a baptism for the winning coach.
At St. Mary’s last Friday night, a tray of frankfurters was delivered to the Eaglets’ locker room celebrating their 47-34 win over Warren De La Salle.
At University of Detroit Jesuit High, visiting Brother Rice coach Rick Palmer was greeted with a spray of water by his players jubilant over their 67-42 trouncing of the Cubs.
In both cases, it was a matter of pent-up frustration.
A week earlier, St. Mary’s found itself in the middle of the CHSL Central Division standings as a result of a stinging 65-61 loss to U of D Jesuit, which three nights earlier had taken over first place by squeezing past Novi Detroit Catholic Central in a two-point thriller.
The Eaglets struggled to build a 23-19 halftime lead. The game had all the appearances of being a replica of the two-point, double-overtime spine-chiller St. Mary’s won when they faced each other three weeks ago.
“The locker room was not very pleasant,” coach Todd Covert said. “I told them all families have stressful times and that some have defining moments that bring them together.”
That “moment” came midway in the third quarter. A basket by Caleb Reese and a 3-pointer by freshman guard Phoenix Glassnor gave the Pilots a 24-23 lead — their only lead in the game that lasted as briefly as the time it took for the Eaglets to race downcourt and for freshman Trey McKenney to fire a 3-pointer to restore St. Mary’s back on top, 26-24.
The game was tied at 27-27 when St. Mary’s went on a 20-7 tear, combined with a smothering man-to-man defense, to claim the victory.
“That was St. Mary’s toughness,” Covert said. “That’s who we are, a blue-collar team. The kids were engaged today. They made some good decisions. We gotta not beat ourselves.”
Seniors JaVaughn Hannah and Kareem Rozier led St. Mary’s offense with 11 and nine points, respectively. Reese’s eight points and seven by forward Michael Sulaka led De La Salle.
Brother Rice faced a daunting challenge. The game against U of D Jesuit couldn’t have come at a worse time: they had lost their last two games by a combined nine points, were at the bottom of the Central Division, and now had to face a U of D Jesuit team that soundly whipped them, 61-42, three weeks ago.
On top of all that, Rice had lost their last 15 confrontations with the Cubs, dating back to Feb. 10, 2015.
Nonetheless, the Warriors bolted out of the gate to a 22-9 lead. Junior guard Johnathan Blackwell scored 11 points in the first quarter. Sophomore Keithan Gilmore tallied eight of his game-total 12 points in the first half.
Junior forward Curtis Williams scored 15 of his game-best 19 points in the third quarter. Sophomore guard Warren Marshall came off the bench and scored eight of his 11 points.
“Everyone played really well tonight. We're coming. We're improving,” Palmer said. “I knew coming into this game we had improved a great deal. Really proud. Really good program win.
“None of the guys in that locker room had beaten them before. Getting over this hump for us is big psychologically and, hopefully, this can take us on a run.”
That could be bad news for St. Mary’s because the re-charged Eaglets and re-invigorated Warriors clash Tuesday, Feb. 1, at Brother Rice. The Warriors slipped past St. Mary’s, 45-43, two weeks ago.
Also on Tuesday (with scores of their earlier meeting), Catholic Central is at De La Salle (CC 60, DLS 50). On Friday, Feb. 4, De La Salle travels to U of D Jesuit (DLS 49, UDJ 46) and St. Mary’s plays at Catholic Central (SM 75, CC 64).
Here are the Central Division standings: U of D Jesuit and St. Mary’s tied for first place at 3-2; Catholic Central is third at 2-2; tied for fourth are Brother Rice and De La Salle with 2-3 records.
February Frenzy is upon us
We know it’s February when the Catholic League holds its winter sports championships. Here is the schedule. Please be aware that some events do not have dates and sites nailed down for a lot of reasons, mostly COVID-related. We’ll let you know when we know.
- Friday, Feb. 4 — Wrestling championships held at Catholic Central.
- Wednesday, Feb. 9 — Competitive Cheer Championships, 6 p.m., at Wixom St. Catherine of Siena.
- Thursday, Feb. 10 — Dance and Pom Pon Championships, 6 p.m., at Bloomfield Hills Marian.
- Saturday, Feb. 19 — Bowling Championships, 9 a.m., at Oak Lanes, Westland.
- To Be Determined (Site and Date) — Girls Hockey Championship.
- Tuesday, Feb . 15 — Girls Basketball Bishop (Central) Division) Trophy semi-finals, 5:30 and 7 p.m., at Catholic Central.
- Wednesday, Feb. 16 — Girls Basketball Cardinal (A South & North Divisions) Trophy, 5:30 and 7 p.m. at Warren Regina.
- Saturday, Feb. 18 — Girls Basketball Championship, at site TBD.
- Tuesday, Feb. 22, and Wednesday, Feb. 24 — Boys Basketball semi-finals, 5:30 and 7 p.m., at Bloomfield Hills Marian.
- Thursday, Feb. 24 — Boys Diving Finals, 5 p.m., at Waterford Kettering.
- Saturday, Feb. 26 — Boys Basketball Championships, at site TBD.
- Saturday, March 5 — Boys Swimming Championship, 12 noon, at Waterford Kettering.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
Copy Permalink
