Lahser Denied Outright League Title by Seaholm; Draws West Bloomfield in MHSAA Playoffs

The Lahser Knights will begin their quest a second-straight district playoff title as co-champs of the OAA Blue Division on Monday.

Following a stellar win earlier in the week to Harrison, the Knights dropped their final home contest Thursday to Birmingham Seaholm, 60-51.

Seaholm used a second-half surge to keep Lahser from celebrating an outright league title in its last-ever homegame as Knights due to the merger with Andover next fall. Down nine points, early in the third quarter, the Maples went on a 14-2 run to take the lead, and didn't let it go in the fourth, miprepzone.com reported. They finished the regular season 15-5 and will face Andover at Andover Monday night at 7 p.m.

Paris Bass, who was suspended when Lahser topped the Maples 51-33 on Feb. 1, scored 16, and center Karl Marback registered eight points and 16 rebounds. Scores by Khallk Gracey (16 points) and Armand Cartwright 11 points cut the lead to seven with about three mintus remaineing, but the Maples didn't relent. Lahser's Yante Maten finished with 17 points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots in the middle for Knights, now 14-6.

"We were pressing tonight, rushing through things, a little too excited for our own good," Lahser Head Coach Duane Graves told miprepzone.com.

Lahser avenged and early-season loss and beat Farminghton Hills Harrison in convincing fashion, 73-48 on Tuesday to gain a share of the OAA Blue regular-season title with Lake Orion (6-1 conf., 12-8 overall).

West Bloomfield is 8-12 on the season and is coming off two consecutive losses where they scored just 44 and 43 points, repectively. The Lakers were nearly beaten by 20 points in their last game Thursday at Southfield (14-4), and finished last in the league with a 1-9 record.

More Hoops:

• Andover beat Oxford 62-60 on Feb. 28 and is 11-9 on the season, 3-3 in conference play, in thid place. The win snapped a four-game losing streak in league play. They will host Seaholm at 7 p.m. Monday.
• The Frankel Academy faces madison Heights Bishop Foley Monday at Royal Oak Shrine High School. The time was still to be determined Friday morning.