We Got This, Coach! Mustangs Strong at Crunch Time.

     Coach Todd Sander, along with 90 percent of the fans at the Corral tonight, could feel the game slipping away.  Canton had gradually edged back to even after Northville had run out to a big 22-11 halftime lead.  Now the game was tied and the momentum had shifted....things weren't looking too good for the home team as they huddled up during a late game time-out.  "We were desperately looking for somebody to step up and take charge," sighed Sander over a post game Pepsi, "we had a lot of years of experience on the court.  We just trusted our guys."
     That trust paid off tonight.  Out of the timeout they came with a vengeance, as if to say, "we got this in our house tonight."  Andrew Meacham got a big bucket, Joe Hewlett made his only two shots of the game, big free throws with the game on the line, but the hero of the game tonight, was junior Nathan Kellum.  With  the game tied and time running low, Kellum went high for a beautiful drop in for 2, retreated to the defensive end where he had a Sports Center swat of Canton star Davon Taylor, and then drained a 12 footer to give the Mustangs a little breathing room.   From there, Hewlett and Bazzi made their free throws to secure the huge victory in the opening round of the annual KLAA tourney.
     During the post game press conference, Kellum was asked about his 4th quarter performance.  " I was just trying to stay within myself, do my job, and help our team win," he said with a prize-winning smile, "I've been waiting all season for an opportunity to make some plays at crunch time.  Tonight was really fun."
     Tonight was indeed fun for the Mustangs.  Although the first quarter was a struggle, ending 8-6 for the Stangs, we went on a 10-0 run in the second to take a seemingly comfortable lead into the half 22-12.  The Chiefs are a feisty bunch though, and gradually fought back to 27-21 at he end of the 3rd.  By halfway through the final stanza, the score was deadlocked.  But tonight, to the delight of the loyal Mustang fans, our squad was up to the challenge.  Victory Northville 39-36!
     First tournament mission: Accomplished!  Next up will be the conference semifinal vs. the winner of the Westland John Glenn/Livonia Stevenson game which was incomplete as of press time.  If the seeds hold, Northville will play at Glenn on Monday evening.  If Stevenson gets the upset, Northville will host them on Monday night.  Either way, it shapes up to be a terrific high school basketball contest.  GO MUSTANGS!
     In earlier action, the Canton Freshmen slipped by the Mustangs in a tough battle.  Our JV's evened the nights action with a comfortable win after a slow start.  The Varsity Mustangs broke the tie for a nice Northville night.  Stay tuned for an update on the opponent and location of Monday's semi-final, and mark your calendars to come out and help get a trip to the finals.