Oakland Christian rolls Everest Collegiate to advance to district finals
BY TIMOTHY PONTZER
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
CLARKSTON — They say the hardest part of a journey is taking that first step.
Auburn Hills Oakland Christian easily handled that initial step on Wednesday night, rolling over the district host Clarkston Everest Collegiate 68-48 in a Class D boys basketball district semifinal.
The Lancers (19-1), co-champions of the MIAC Blue Division, drew the host Mountaineers (13-8), just a second-year program, in their first game of the postseason and rolled to the 20-point win.
Coming off their best regular season since 1996-97, the Lancers (No. 6 Class D, Bankhoops.com) are looking to make a deep run in the playoffs. From the onset of the game, the Lancers proved why they are a favorite in the tournament.
Oakland Christian exploded out of the gate, scoring 19 unanswered points in the first quarter. The 19-0 run was keyed by junior Nathan Piasecki, who had 10 in the first quarter, aided by going a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. The Lancers closed out the quarter on the way to a dominating 21-4 lead and the Mountaineers never fully recovered.
Oakland Christian head coach Dennis Hopkins was very pleased with the opening quarter, praising his team on both ends of the floor.
“We ran the floor really well and pushed the tempo that we wanted andit was favorable for us,” he said. “That 21 (first quarter points by OCS) was nice, but the four (Everest’s first quarter points) was really nice.”
The Lancers kept the momentum on their side into the second quarter, taking a 35-17 lead into halftime. Piasecki led all scorers in the first half with 13 points, while freshman John Van Noord and freshman D.J. Stevens each came off the bench with six points for the Lancers.
Junior Donald Allen notched six points in the first half for the out-matched Mountaineers, being one of only three players to score for Everest Collegiate.
Mountaineers head coach Ann Lowney thought her team did alright in the first half, but definitely not good enough.
“I thought we had a lot of good shots that just didn’t fall,” she said. “But I told the boys, we can’t win these kind of games, if you are not playing nearly perfect, especially against an opponent like Oakland Christian.”
Lowney was especially critical of her squad’s performance from the free throw line, a place where the Mountaineers shot a dismal 4-for-11 in the first half.
“We can’t leave points like that out there, especially when it is a free throw. We have to get those, there isn’t anybody in your face, we have to knock those down.”
Oakland Christian took the momentum out of the locker room to put the game out of reach in the third quarter. An impressive 20-point frame was powered by 10 points from junior Drew Perrin in the third.
The fourth marked the only quarter that the Lancers were outscored, with Everest notching 20 points to the Lancers’ 13 in a quarter featuring many backup players.
Piasecki led all scorers in the game with 18 points. Perrin added 12 points, while junior Charles Hayden had 11 points for Oakland Christian.
For the Mountaineers, sophomore Ben Marcial dropped 13 points and Allen added 11 points..
Oakland Christian advanced to the district final against Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes on Friday night.
Hopkins was pleased with the win, citing it as an exclamation point to start the postseason. The head coach was especially pleased with the play from his bench.
“We changed our focus on some things, and we really played well tonight. This gives us a lot of confidence to start the second season,” he said. “We had four guys with two fouls early on, so we had other guys step up off the bench and that really helped us tonight.”
Hopkins was impressed with his opponent, a second year program that has no seniors.
“They’re a good team, but they’re young,” added Hopkins.
Lowney cited the lack of seniors as an obstacle for her team, especially in the postseason.
“At this point, in the tournament, having those seniors really makes a difference, because they know this could be their last game,” offered Lowney, whose school is only in its third year with a high school and second with a varsity program.
However, Lowney had her eyes already set on next season which will only be the third season in the program’s history.
“There is tons of hope for the future,” she said. “We have a lot of good sophomores, some younger guys who all played hard tonight.”
Lowney stressed the simple fundamentals of the game as a building point for next season.
“As seen tonight, we have to knock down a free throw, and we have to become a better outside shooting team,” she said.
The Mountaineers’ coach was very impressed with her opponent in the Lancers, but looked to Friday as a compelling matchup.
“Lakes will be a tough game for them (Oakland Christian), they can’t look past them,” she added.
Friday night’s game will be a rematch of the two squads, who met for the opening game of the season in December. That game proved to be a nail-biter, with Oakland Christian coming back to post a 53-51 road win.
Category: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, Clarkston Everest Catholic, High School, Prep Wraps
