Oakland Christian overcomes early deficit to roll Roeper
BY TIMOTHY PONTZER
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
BLOOMFIELD HILLS – After a long holiday break, Friday night welcomed back high school basketball to the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference.
Fans packed Birmingham Roeper’s gym in anticipation for the first MIAC Blue Division contest of the season featuring visiting Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, and the rivals normally play closely-contested tussle.
Although Oakland Christian had to rally back from an early first-quarter deficit, this time it was not that close, as the Lancers prevailed in the end with a convincing 47-28 triumph to stay undefeated on the year.
The Lancers (4-0; 1-0) struggled early, allowing Roeper to go on a 10-1 run in the first quarter. The Roughriders could not hold onto the lead.
Roeper head coach Ernie Righetti attributed the strong start to one player in particular.
“The early run came from our good center, Jack Gorland,” Righetti said, “He really controlled the paint.”
Gorland, a junior, made himself known in the middle and at the free throw line, hitting six free throws in the first half. He finished with a game-high 22 points for the Roughriders, scoring all but six of his team’s points.
The Lancers fought back in the first to only be down 10-8 at the end of the first quarter. In the second, Oakland Christian exploded for a run of their own, scoring 12 unanswered points aided by back-to-back three-pointers from freshman John Van Noord.
The Lancers gained a lead that was never relinquished jumping out 23-16 at halftime.
Oakland Christian head coach Dennis Hopkins was frustrated by the way the Lancers started but was pleased with the second quarter onward. Hopkins admitted that the Lancers’ slow start could have been attributed to the two-week layoff for the holidays.
“We showed a little bit of rustiness, we were a half step away, a little bit off. We were struggling finishing, and we put them to the free throw line too often.” Hopkins added. “We only scored eight points in the first quarter — that is unacceptable. But we made some shots and got back in it.”
The Lancers played tough defense the rest of the way, allowing only 12 points in the entire second half. Righetti was disappointed with his players and the lack of execution in the second half.
“Nobody stepped up tonight and that was the problem,” he said, “But that happens, we’re young and inexperienced, and we turned the ball over too much.”
Despite the loss, Righetti was still looking ahead to the future. “Last year I graduated nine seniors, including all my guards. We’re still trying to develop a guard to help the team.”
Oakland Christian received some balanced scoring on the night with five players scoring between seven and nine points. Van Noord finished with nine points, all on 3-pointers, Drew Perrin also scored nine, DJ Stevens and Josh Peterson both added eight points apiece and Nathan Piasecki scored seven for Oakland Christian.
(Timothy Pontzer is a senior at Oakland Christian High School and part of the www.northoaklandsports.com / Stickradt Media Group’s Student Intern Program. He can be reached at theintimidator@juno.com)
Category: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, Prep Wraps
