Oakland Christian stays undefeated by knocking off Southfield Christian
BY TIMOTHY PONTZER
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
AUBURN HILLS — Since 2004, head coach Dennis Hopkins has put his stamp on the Auburn Hills Oakland Christian boys basketball program. Hopkins has resurrected the Lancers team to a winning tradition, stringing together three straight winning seasons.
Since the 2007-08 season, the Lancers have achieved three straight district titles and one regional championship. Building on that success, Hopkins is guiding the Lancers to what might be their brightest season yet.
On Friday night the Lancers defeated Southfield Christian by a score of 74-50 in MIAC Blue Division play to remain unbeaten. The undefeated jump out of the gate is the best start to a season in Hopkins’ tenure and best start since the 1996-97 campaign.
The Lancers (10-0, 6-0) came out strong on their home floor, starting with a 9-0 run at the beginning of the contest. Oakland Christian controlled the tempo on both ends of the court, taking a 24-11 lead at the end of the first.
Despite the strong start, Hopkins was not pleased with his team’s defensive play in the first quarter.
“I wasn’t happy with the eleven in the first quarter, but we recovered and gave up only five in the second.”
The Lancers strong defense was aided by another twenty points of offense to take a 44-16 lead into the break at halftime. Junior guard Charles Hayden had twelve of his sixteen points in the first half to power the Oakland Christian attack.
Southfield Christian head coach Alonzo Littlejohn’s critique of the game began with his team’s poor play in the first half.
“I’m not upset about losing to them, they are a very good team. What I’m upset about is how we played in the first half” Littlejohn recounted. “We were trying too hard for the first half, but we had a great second half.”
That great second half was keyed by the outstanding performance of Lindsey Hunter III, the son of former Detroit Pistons guard and current Southfield assistant coach Lindsey Hunter Jr.
Hunter led all scores for the game with 32 points, 18 of them coming in the third quarter for the Eagles (4-5, 4-2).
Littlejohn praised the junior guard saying, “Lindsey is just learning the game, he is a talent with lots of potential. Once he learns the mental aspect of the game, he can be a great player.”
Hopkins, despite the big numbers put up by Hunter, was still pleased with his defense in the second half.
“If that’s the best shot they’re going to get, I’m fine with that,” said Hopkins. “Our defense forced them to go away from their offense, and Hunter went off. He was making some phenomenal shots, with Drew (Perrin) draped all over him.”
The spark by Hunter allowed Southfield to actually outscore the Lancers 22-18 in the third quarter, and cut the lead to 62-38. However, both teams traded 12 points in the final quarter to make the game a 24-point differential.
Despite the large deficit, Littlejohn took an optimistic view from the game, citing the strong second half and pointing out key injuries.
“In the second half, we changed the tempo of the game, concentrating on boxing out, rebounding, and defending. We cut down on the cheap fouls that plagued us in the first half and played a much better game.”
The Eagles were also missing three starters for the game. Lindsey Hunter IV recently broke his hand and was unable to play and two other Eagles were out on recruiting trips for football as National Signing Day for college football is this upcoming Monday.
Through it all, Littlejohn saw the upcoming potential for his squad. “We only had three wins last year, and we can double or even triple that total this season.”
On the other side, Coach Hopkins was pleased with the performance of the Lancers. Hopkins did not point out one individual player as the key to the success of his team, rather citing the whole squad as the reason for the recent undefeated run.
“We have 13 kids I feel who can really play, the problem on my end is that I can only play five at a time,” he said. “This is game ten of the season, and so far this season we have had seven different leading scorers. When the defense has to adjust to one guy, others can step up.”
Junior Drew Perrin led the Lancers with 18 points, while junior Charles Hayden had sixteen. The 74 points marked the largest offensive output for the Lancers this season and the second straight game in which the team has reached the 70-point plateau.
Hopkins credited the win with the style of play employed by his players, saying, “I want a physical, fast game, and when we make that happen, we have the depth to win the game.”
(Yimothy Pontzer is a senior at Oakland Christian High School and part of the NorthOaklandSports.com student internship group.)
Category: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, Prep Wraps
