State-ranked Lancers survive scare from Plymouth Christian
BY TIMOTHY PONTZER
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
CANTON — As the high school basketball season is reaching its final few weeks before the state tournament, a new favorite is starting to emerge in the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference.
On Friday night, the favorite to win the MIAC Blue Division met the league’s defending champ, as Auburn Hills Oakland Christian paid Plymouth Christian a visit.
Oakland Christian overcame a rough first half to claim a 43-35 road victory over the Eagles.
Plymouth Christian (3-12, 3-7), hoped to pull an upset that would highlight an otherwise dismal rebuilding year, jumped out of the gate with a 7-0 run behind tough perimeter defense and good shooting.
The Lancers (14-0, 9-0) appeared tired and sluggish from the start, missing layups and allowing uncharacteristic easy baskets.
Plymouth Christian head coach Keith Anleitner was pleased with the quick start, attributing it to his game plan.
“We were running our offense well and getting good lucks,” he said. “They hadn’t quite figured out how to stop us yet.”
From the other bench, Oakland Christian head coach Dennis Hopkins pointed out the schedule as a reason for the Lancers’ slow start.
“This was a second day of back-to-back games. We’re not NBA players, we’re high schoolers, and therefore we struggled at the beginning,” noted Hopkins.
Despite the slow start, the Lancers battled back to take a 12-10 lead at the end of the first. Both teams continued to trade baskets, with strong play by their offensive leaders.
Senior Eric Jipping had 11 of his 13 points in the first half for the Eagles, while freshman D.J. Stevens had eight points in that same time frame for Oakland Christian. The teams found themselves knotted up 21-21 at halftime.
Strong play continued after the break, with the Eagles taking a one-point at the end of the third, 33- 32. Plymouth Christian relied heavily on sophomore Mitchell Noel, who had eight points in the third, including a pair of three-pointers.
Over the course of their unblemished season, the Lancers have rarely found themselves trailing going into the fourth quarter. However, the Class D ninth-ranked Lancers proved their worth by only allowing the Eagles a single basket in the fourth quarter.
By only allowing two points the final stanza, Oakland Christian was able to pull out a 43-35 win and maintain their perfect record for at least another weekend.
Hopkins was very pleased with his squad’s defense in the fourth, but was still impressed by the Eagles’ overall play.
“It was a good game, they definitely did the things against us I would’ve done if I had been playing against us,” he said. “It was a tight game, but we tuned up the defense in the fourth quarter and shut them down. This was an ugly one, but we got the win on the road. It will be nice to have two days off.”
Anleitner pointed out that the Lancers were struggling.
“It is fair to say that this wasn’t their best game of the year, he said.
The Eagles coach attributed to his team’s poor fourth quarter to two simple things.
“It was combination of not making our shots and a good defense by them,” added Anleitner.
Hopkins pointed to his younger players stepping up big as a key aspect to Oakland Christian’s victory.
“Our two freshmen had five threes combined tonight,” said Hopkins, noting that Stevens with three and John Van Noord canned two triples. “That’s 15 points right there. That definitely helped.”
Stevens played especially well leading the Lancers with 13 points, marking the second straight game he has led the team in scoring.
“He hit all his stuff and really stepped up big tonight,” Hopkins said.
Mitchell Noel led all scorers with 17 points for the Eagles, while Jipping added 11 points.
For the Lancers, junior Drew Perrin also reached double figures with 11 points.
(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
