Sweet, Sweet 16: Adams upsets Pontiac to reach regional finals for first time
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
SOUTHFIELD — Nick Zekaj wasn’t the first option Monday night. He wasn’t even the second or third.
MARCH MADNESS: Rochester Adams' Matt Nestor (left) and Nick Zekaj celebrate the Highlanders' rare state tournament win over Pontiac. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
But the Rochester Adams senior delivered the Highlanders’ biggest shot of the season Monday to force overtime — a three-pointer at the buzzer that tied the game at 57-57 — and Adams went on to claim a 71-68 upset of Pontiac in a Class A regional semifinal at Southfield .
Adams (17-7) will face regional host Southfield at 7 p.m. Wednesday for the regional championship. Southfield upended Birmingham Brother Rice, 69-51, in the first semifinal Monday.
While Zekaj’s shot was truly monumental for an Adams program playing in just its fourth regional since the school opened its doors in 1969-70, veteran Adams coach John Hall doesn’t believe the play was the biggest or the win the most important win in his coaching tenure — or the biggest in school history for that matter.
“No …. and no,” smiled Hall, whose team picked up an extremely rare postseason win over a Pontiac school. “But it definitely ranks up there.”
“(Zekaj) was the fourth name in the huddle,” added Hall on the game-tying play. “He got it to go.”
Adams, which has two freshmen and a sophomore in its main playing rotation, never wilted against Pontiac to advance to the regional finals for the first time in school history.
“It’s our motto to just go out there and play as hard as we can and see what happens,” said Hall, whose team has won 11 of its last 12 games after a mid-season slump that saw them lose four of five games in late January and early February.
“I don’t think this is as big of an upset as everybody thinks,” added Hall. “The way that we’ve been playing the last four to five weeks is amazing. Right now, this team is getting what they deserve. They’ve worked so hard from the beginning of the season until the end.”
Trailing 57-54, Zekaj received the inbounds play, ran down the court and threw up a running 3-pointer attempt which forged a 57-57 tie at the end of regulation. The Highlanders, which also played in the regional semifinals in 1974, 2005 and 2006, outscored Pontiac 14-11 in overtime.
“I got the ball and just ran down the court,” said Zekaj, who finished with nine points. “I just threw it up and thank God it went in. I saw it was (on line) and figured it had a pretty good chance of going in.
“I made a shot like that on the freshman team, but not this big.”
Adams led 18-15 at the end of the first quarter, converting on seven straight field goal attempts. Pontiac fought back for a 34-28 halftime lead but could never put the Highlanders away.
Pontiac coach Robert Rodgers felt his team was out-worked by Adams.
“I don’t know what it was. We came out and played a little sluggish,” noted Rodgers. “I don’t think we came to play.
“Adams always plays us tough and they are well-coached,” continued Rodgers. “They just came at us tough, tough, tough and won it in overtime.”
Pontiac (16-7) was rescued by senior guard Anthony Adams, who poured in a career-high and single-game school record 45 points for the Phoenix. Adams, who had 23 points at the half, didn’t even score in the third quarter, where Rochester Adams used an 8-3 run to close to within 37-36.
Pontiac’s Adams scored 14 in the fourth quarter, including the Phoenix’s final eight points of the frame. He scored on a leaner to put his team up 55-54 with 35 seconds still on the clock, then split a pair of free throws on two occasions in the final 15 seconds, the second time which gave the Phoenix a 57-54 lead with 6.1 seconds left, setting the stage for Zekaj’s heroics.
Adams came out and scored the first five points in overtime, a layup by Matt Nestor, a free throw from Andrew Hammett and a layup by Hammett and never trailed in the extra session.
Pontiac was able to close to within one (67-66) with 33.7 seconds left in the overtime on a 3-pointer by DeBrian Lewis, but could get no closer.
Nestor and Hammett each swished a pair of free throws, with Hammett’s coming with 9.9 seconds left to make it a five-point game at 71-66.
DeBrian added 15 points and eight rebounds for Pontiac and Adams also had nine rebounds, six steals and three assists in his encore performance. No other Pontiac player scored more than five points.
Although the Phoenix held a 32-26 edge on the boards, they committed an uncharacteristic 23 turnovers in the contest. Pontiac finished 26-for-58 from the floor (44.8 percent).
Hammett finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals, Akhemji Williams, a freshman, had 11 points, six assists and four steals, Nestor chipped in with 12 points, sophomore Zach Littleson had 11 points and Mario Roveda added eight points and six rebounds for the Highlanders.
Adams shot 26-for-54 from the floor, good for 48.2 percent.
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Category: Prep Wraps, Rochester Adams
