Friday Highlights: Andover Girls Stun Ferndale in Basketball

* home team in CAPS

Girls Basketball

Andover over FERNDALE, 54-53

Shannon Wilson did it again.

On the final day of the regular season, the sophomore hit a game-winning layup with six seconds on the clock to give Bloomfield Hills Andover (18-2; 15-1 Oakland Activities Association Blue) a 54-53 victory over on Friday night.

The Ferndale Eagles turned over the ball under the Andover Barons' basket with 10 seconds to go up 53-52. Lexi Sinclair tipped the ball and Wilson cut in front of the intended target.

Wilson’s layup did more than just win her team the game – it also clinched sole possession of the OAA Blue division title.

“It’s very exciting,” Barons coach Jeff Rubin said. “Shannon probably played her worst game of the season, but boy did she come through at the end.”

Andover’s leading scorer finished the game with nine points, eight assists and five rebounds.

Rachel Rea carried the load offensively for the Barons. Down the stretch, she was 5-of-5 from the free throw line and finished with 22 points.

Ferndale (9-11; 9-9 OAA Blue) led much of the game behind a strong performance from Janecia Jenkins. Jenkins had 25 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Micaela Ellis had 10 points and five assists.

Boys Basketball

Clawson over LINCOLN, 71-44

Clawson High School (18-2; 13-1 Macomb Area Conference Silver) closed out the regular season in convincing fashion Friday night. The Trojans trounced Lincoln 71-44.

“We were up 44-12 at halftime,” Clawson coach Bill Shellenbarger said. “We really stuck it to them defensively and that carried, like it has all season.”

The Trojans were able to get a lot of transitions baskets to take the early lead. In the fourth, they switched over to a zone defense and Shellenbarger let his bench finish out the game.

DeShawn Gilbert and Jared O’Campo each had 15 points. Tywaun Watkins added 13.

Farmington over ATHENS, 65-61

Troy Athens (12-6; 3-5 OAA Blue) is still looking for an identity.

With leading scorer Marcarius Coakley still out with an injured achilles, the Red Hawks lost 65-61 to Farmington (10-8; 5-3 OAA Blue) Friday night.

“We are out of sync,” Athens coach Dave Scott said. “We are still trying to replace Marcarius, he’s a big part of what we do offensively and I think everybody is trying to find their role.”

The Red Hawks were down only four points at halftime, but were outscored 20-12 in the third quarter.

“We just put ourselves into too big of a hole,” Scott said.

Freshman Tim Shayoka had a game-high 20 points in the win. Jeff Koch had 11 points and nine rebounds. Both players have stepped up in Coakley’s absence and are putting up solid numbers.

THURSDAY

Boys Basketball

TROY over Oak Park, 68-65 (OT)

James Young didn't let the rattle him Thursday night as he stepped up and sealed the deal for Troy High School.

Young hit a go-ahead 3-point play with 16 seconds left in overtime to put Troy ahead of Oak Park 68-65 Thursday on Troy's Senior Night. On the Knights final possession, Young sealed the win with a steal. The victory helped Troy keep pace with Ferndale for first place in the league.

“James always finds a way to step up when the game is on the line,” Colts coach Gary Fralick said.

He had six of his team’s seven points in overtime. The junior finished the game with 30 points and 18 rebounds. Joe Leonard added 19.

Young helped Troy (13-5; 7-1 Oakland Activities Association White) overcome a sluggish start.

“We didn’t open the game with the same kind of energy as we had on Friday (in a 58-56 win over Ferndale,” Fralick said. “We struggled and in the second half they had a 10-0 run to get back in the game.

Oak Park’s (6-12; 3-5 OAA White) run wiped away the Colts’ 13-point halftime lead.

Fans were on their feet early and often for Senior Night. Young had a spectacular dunk early in the game and there was a buzz in the gym with the .

"Oh, yeah, I love Troy High," Izzo said at halftime. "This gym is great. We practiced here for the Final Four (when it was in Detroit)."

Izzo showed up before the team's final home game of the season, signing autographs and posing for photos between the junior varsity and varsity boys games. But once the game began, his eyes were on the court and most likely on the junior phenom Young.

Andover over ROYAL OAK, 86-79 (OT)

Andover blew a 17-point in the second half to Royal Oak on Thursday night, but the Barons didn’t give up.

The Barons (9-9; 3-5 OAA Gold) opened overtime with a 7-0 run on its way to scoring 16 points in a 86-79 win.

“We allowed there to be an overtime,” Andover coach Jeff Rubin said. “We finished the game 18-of-38 from the free throw line.”

Devon Herzoff led the Barons with 23 points. Marlon Pruitt had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Andover finished the game with 11 3-pointers.

Dre Smith led the Ravens (10-8; 4-4 Gold) with 23 points. Teammate Joel Gorbold added 17.

FERNDALE over Avondale, 70-61

“Every game is a championship game,” Ferndale coach Tom Staton said.

After a 58-56 loss to Troy on Friday, the Eagles need to win the rest of its Oakland Activities Association White division games to win a title. It won its first test on Thursday night with a 70-61 win at home over Avondale.

Nate Stepney led the way with a game-high 19 points, six rebounds and six assists. Jermaine King added 16 points. King finished off the game with a tremendous dunk to put an exclamation point on the victory.

Staton was happy with the way his team responded from last week’s heartbreaking loss.

“The one thing we pointed all week was that you have to put the past behind you while learning from it,” he said. “We did that tonight.”

Ferndale (13-5; 7-1 OAA White) was up by as many as 24 points in the second half.

LAHSER over Oxford, 63-51

Lahser’s bid to regain a share of first place in the Oakland Activities Association Gold division .

The Knights (13-5; 6-2 OAA Gold) were up 24 points on first-place Oxford early in the fourth quarter when the referees' whistles started to dictate the flow the of the game. Most of the whistles didn’t go Lahser’s way.

A career-high 20 points from junior Andrew Gikas helped the Knights hold on to even the season series between the teams with a 63-51 win.

“The referees didn’t keep control of the game and when they didn’t keep control of the game the kids lost control of the game,” Lahser coach Duane Graves said. “My kids got a little frazzled, but hats off to Oxford, they played hard and they played good.”

Graves, , was more restrained Thursday night, but still wasn’t happy with the way the game was called.

The Wildcats (13-5; 6-2 OAA Gold) went on a 10-2 run and ended up outscoring Lahser 18-6 in the final five minutes. It wasn’t enough to overcome their sluggish start.

“They are bigger than us, we had to be quicker and tougher and we weren’t,” Oxford coach Paul Marfia said. “They were the tougher team in the first half. We had a lack of focus and concentration. They did a great job and I think they are the best team in the league, they showed that tonight.”

Marfia’s pointed to Maten’s presence in the lane as the difference maker. The sophomore finished the game with 17 points and five blocks. He also helped limit the Wildcats' leading scorer Mark Hazelwood to 11 points.

Girls Basketball

Andover over SEAHOLM, 51-36

(17-2; 14-1 Oakland Activities Association Blue) isn’t celebrating yet.

The Barons earned at least a share of the OAA Blue division title on Tuesday night with a 51-36 win over , but they have their eyes set on bigger things.

“We’d like to win it alone,” Andover coach Jeff Rubin. “There are a couple of different scenarios, but we’re also excited and looking forward to districts.”

With one game to play in the regular season, those scenarios are simple - a Barons win or a loss will give them sole possession of the Blue championship. Andover hosts on Friday while Royal Oak visits Southfield.

On Tuesday, Shannon Wilson led the Barons with 19 points and eight steals. Jamie Lederman had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

“We forced a dozen or so turnovers in the first half, but missed a bunch of layups,” Rubin said. “In the third, we outscored them 20-2 and pulled away a little bit.”

Seaholm’s Lauren Yousif prevented the game from getting out of hand with six 3-pointers. She had a game-high 24 points.

FERNDALE over Hazel Park, 56-30

The girls basketball team is trying to finish the regular season on a high note going into districts.

It won 56-30 over Hazel Park on Tuesday night to improve the team's record to 10-9 overall and 10-8 in the OAA Blue. The Vikings dropped to 1-18 overall and 1-14 in the Blue.

Micaela Ellis had a game-high 14 points, 10 steals and seven assists for the Eagles. Janecia Jenkins had 11.

Ferndale visits Andover on Friday. Coach Berwyn Ellis said, “Hopefully we can play spoiler and make sure they are co-champions of the league.”

Royal Oak over CRANBROOK-KINGSWOOD, 47-36

Royal Oak defeated Cranbrook-Kingswood 47-36 in a nonleague game on Tuesday night.

The Ravens were down 18-15 at half, but coach Brian Sopata said a solid third and fourth quarter helped them earn the win.

Junior guard Sami Stormont had a game-high 26 points. Senior center Mariah Gardziola and sophomore forward Ashley Krenzer each added six points. Madi Heimerdinger had 13 points for Cranbrook-Kingswood.

With the win, Royal Oak is 17-2 on the season. Cranbrook-Kingswood is 10-8. Royal Oak finishes up the regular season at Southfield on Friday night. It needs to win to keep its hopes of a share of the OAA Blue title alive.

Previous Weeks

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