Oakland Christian takes care of Lutheran Westland, remains undefeated
BY TIMOTHY PONTZER
STUDENT COORESPONDENT
AUBURN HILLS — Expectations are running high at Auburn Hills Oakland Christian.
The boys basketball team is off to its best start in over a decade, enjoying an undefeated run with wins by large margins. The squad holds sole possession off first place in the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue Division and is currently ranked ninth in Class D by the Associated Press.
However, despite the success the team has maintained, a disciplined focus and approach to each game is deployed no matter who the opponent is on the court.
On Tuesday night the host Lancers made Lutheran Westland its 12th victim of the season, posting a 69-45 victory.
Oakland Christian (12-0, 7-0) fired out of the gate with an impressive 20 points in the first quarter, aided by a 12-0 run in the quarter. With the score 20-4 at the end of the first and 43-15 at halftime, OCS had their 12th straight win solidified early.
Oakland Christian head coach Dennis Hopkins attributed the fast start to several factors.
“We were hot, making our shots, we were able to get the ball inside to (Josh) Peterson and control the inside” he said. “All our of baskets either were hard drive ins or kick out for threes.”
Lutheran Westland head coach Doug Haller offered a simple explanation for his team’s struggles.
“They certainly have a good team, they’re undefeated for a reason. They have more size, speed, and athletes” he said. “When you are undersized and they play better you usually don’t have a chance to win.”
In the second half, with the game already in hand, Oakland Christian began to bring out most of their starters. After the first three minutes of the third quarter, none of the top eight players on the squad reached the floor.
Hopkins explained his reasoning for this tactic.
“We have a big week coming up, it was nice to conserve energy for the back to back games later this week.”
The Lancers will host Birmingham Roeper on Thursday and then travel to Plymouth Christian on Friday.
Along with giving his players adequate rest, Hopkins was pleased to see his backups get considerable minutes on the floor. Each of the 13 members of the Lancers squad at least registered two points.
“This was the first time this year everyone had a point. That’s a good pick-me-up for those guys, a good reward for their hard practice,” noted Hopkins.
Despite Oakland Christian employing many second and third stringers, the Lancers never allowed the Warriors (2-7, 1-5) to get within more than 19 points in the second half.
Haller was blunt with his analysis of the second half, but still pleased with the tempo from his team. “I won’t beat around the bush, their starters came out in the third, but I was happy that we kept playing hard. Our energy was definitely better in the second half.”
The Warriors’ attack was lead by senior Marc Rosin, who registered 14 points.
Drew Perrin, a junior, led all scorers with 15 points and fellow juniors Josh Peterson and Nathan Piasecki each had 10 points for Oakland Christian.
This marked the third straight game in which Perrin led the Lancers in points, showing the talented junior becoming the focal point in high powered offense.
“We moved his position, he is playing the (point guard) now, and he is able to attack more, and therefore able to score more.”
(Timothy Pontzer is a senior at Oakland Christian High School and part of www.northoaklandsports.com Student Correspondent program.)
Category: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, Prep Wraps, Student Columns
