Lahser Point Guard Armand Cartwright Out Until Districts

road to a division title in the Oakland Activities Association Gold division hit a roadblock this week.

Armand Cartwright, the Knights starting point guard and leading scorer, suffered an inline fracture in his left foot and is out until the playoffs. On Tuesday, the sophomore landed awkwardly after getting fouled in the first quarter against Groves.

“He was trying to hide it from me,” Lahser coach Duane Graves said. “He actually hit two free throws with it, but we could see him limping a little bit and we pretty much ended up having to win without him.”

Lahser behind 26 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks from Yante Maten.

Cartwright was so subtle about it even Groves coach Scott Sheckell didn’t notice he was hurt.

“I didn’t even see it on the tape," Sheckell said. “During the game, I didn’t even really notice until the fourth quarter that he hadn’t come back in the game.”

The sophomore will be in a boot for up to three weeks. Once the boot is removed, he’ll have physical therapy for a week before he can return to the court. He’s on crutches right now with instructions to rest and not put any weight on it.

“He’s staying positive,” Graves said. “He’s looking forward and going to use this as an opportunity to learn the game from another perspective.”

Graves is optimistic that if Cartwright stays off the foot he’ll be back for districts. The district tournament starts on March 5.

With Cartwright out, Graves had hoped he could keep the severity of the injury under wraps this week until after Lahser’s game against Hazel Park on Friday night. He didn’t want the Vikings to be able to change their game plan.

Sophomore Khalil Gracey stepped in the starting role at point guard and scored 11 points as Lahser beat the Vikings 63-51. Graves and his coaching staff spent the week preparing Gracey for his new role.

“Khalil is more than capable of filling the spot,” Graves said. “He can really play all five positions, he’s played shooting guard, at small forward and as a wingman this season. The challenge for him will be just playing one spot.”

Graves isn’t planning on bringing anybody up from the Knights junior varsity squad as of now. He’d like to see how the team performs before making any more changes.

Lahser, 11-4 overall and 4-1 in the division, will have almost a full week of practice before playing again Feb. 10.