West Bloomfield plays Grinch in stealing win from Rochester
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
LOOKING FOR THE OPEN MAN: Rochester's Paris Pereira looks past West Bloomfield's Daryn Byrd for an open teammate during Thursday's OAA Crossover game. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
WEST BLOOMFIELD — West Bloomfield was not in the giving mood Thursday night. In fact, the Lakers were more into the spirit of playing The Grinch.
After being outplayed for the better half of 3.5 quarters, the Lakers lost their holiday spirit, stealing away a win from visiting Rochester. West Bloomfield outscored Rochester 12-7 in overtime to post a 78-73 OAA crossover boys basketball win over the Falcons.
West Bloomfield trailed throughout most of the contest, but used a 15-4 run over the final 4:10 of regulation to tie the game at 66-66 and forge overtime.
“Rochester came in and wanted it more (in the first half),” said Denha. “They played well, they shot the ball extremely well. Just like last game (against Plymouth Canton), we made plays when we needed to. We made a little run (in the fourth quarter) and guys were making plays.”
Spencer Parker’s offensive rebound and putback began the late run, where the Lakers (2-0) picked up the full-court pressure and forced four turnovers in the fourth-quarter spurt.
The Falcons led 62-51 before losing control. Rochester held a 62-51 advantage with 4:10 to play.
That’s when Parker scored on a putback to kickstart a 15-4 run to tie the game at 66-66 and force overtime.
It was a game in the stocking for Rochester, but the Falcons could not close out.
“Perhaps this will be good for us, to play a game with some adversity,” said Rochester coach John Pleasant. “I liked our ability to get some good looks. Offensively, we played well. But we let down. You can’t give up 78 points and expect to win. We’ll get better.
“I thought we played well until the last five minutes,” added Pleasant. “I thought their big guy (Parker) played well. He kind of stayed on the perimeter (in the first half). They really came at us defensively in the last few minutes. Our turnovers and our missed free throws came back to hurt us.”
Rochester finished 27-for-38 from the foul line and 19-for49 from the floor, including 7-for-14 from three-point range.
Parker, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, finished with a game-high 26 points for West Bloomfield. But he scored 21 of his points after halftime and also grabbed 11 rebounds.
“Spencer Parker is the key. The first half he was kind of (missing) and then the light kind of went on. He’s tough,” said Denha. “He made a difference.”
Parker scored seven in the fourth quarter and six more in overtime. His driving layup put West Bloomfield up for good at 68-66 and he followed moments later with two free throws and a short-range jumper to help build a 72-69 advantage with 2:19 left in overtime.
Rochester made just one field goal in overtime, converting five free throws. Billy Klotz’s leaner cut the deficit to 76-73 with 14.9 seconds left, but Rochester could get no closer.
Rochester came out the aggressor and led at the end of the first three quarters — 17-13, 36-29 and 56-46, respectively.
“Spencer Parker is the key. The first half he was kind of (missing) and then the light kind of went on. He’s tough,” said Denha. “He made a difference.”
Jordan Evans scored 16 with six rebounds, five steals and four assists for the Lakers. Daniel Byrd added 15 points and four rebounds and Nick Leventis chipped in with eight points for West Bloomfield.
Klotz tossed in 20 points, including eight free throws. Taylor Perry added 18 points and seven rebounds before fouling out early in overtime, while Paris Pereira chipped in with 14 points, including nine free throws, and Mike Klotz finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
With Parker playing aggressive, he made the rest of the Lakers more effective. His inside presence also resulted in 10 rebounds and he helped his team outscore the Falcons 37-30 in the second half.
Rochester led 62-51 with 4:10 to play. That’s when Parker scored on a putback to kickstart a 15-4 run to tie the game at 66-66 and force overtime.
“Defensively, in spurts, we were good. We shut them down (at the end),” said Denha. “I tip my hat to (Rochester coach John) Pleasant. They played a good game. They had a good game plan coming in. We were able to get some stops in the end.”
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Category: Prep Wraps, Rochester
