Shot heard round the city: Taylor’s buzzer-beater helps Detroit Westside Christian stun Oakland Christian for regional title

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Deon Taylor had a chance of a lifetime Wednesday night and the Detroit Westside Christian senior seized the moment.

UP FOR TWO: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian's Drew Perrin fires up this jumper during Wednesday's Class D regional finals against Detroit Westside CHristian. Staff Photo |Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com

Taylor, a 6-foot-8 forward, buried a 16-foot jump shot as time expired, leading Westside Christian to a wild, 45-44, victory over sixth-ranked Auburn Hills Oakland Christian in a Class D regional final played at Birmingham Roeper’s Bloomfield Hills campus.

The win was not only the biggest in Taylor’s prep career, but the biggest in school history. It carries the Warriors to the school’s first-ever regional championship and into unchartered territory, as Westside will play in the state quarterfinals next week for the first time.

Taylor, who did a quick pump fake before unleashing his game-winner, knew when he released the ball that it was on target.

“I knew it was in,” Taylor smiled. “I missed two free throws (earlier in the fourth quarter) so I knew I had to make it for the team.

“It’s the biggest shot for me ever and my school,” added Taylor. “We’re going to (the Elite Eight).”

Westside Christian, which has already shattered the school wins record with a 19-5 record, will play at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Waterford Kettering against the winner of the Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary-Burton Genesee Christian regional final.

SHOCK AND AWE: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian junior Josh Peterson covers his face in disbelief following the Lancers' buzzer-beater loss to Detroit Westside Christian. Staff Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com

Taylor was the second option on the final play, but proved to be the wise choice.

“The option was to double-screen for Robert Davis, coming off (the screen). If it wasn’t there then it was for Deon (Taylor) to pop the shot in. We got our second option and I’m very pleased with how it went,” said Westside Christian coach Gregory Boler.

The Warriors were not ranked the entire regular season, and didn’t even receive a single vote in the Associated Press Class D poll entering the postseason. Westside Christian, which opened its doors in the mid-1990s, is still making a memorable ride, also winning its first district championship in school history last week.

“It’s very exciting to be the first team to win a district title. We (lost in the district final) last year and (this is the first time for Westside to) even play in a regional game,” said Boler, whose squad is 2-0 in regional games, both coming this week. “It’s very exciting. We hope it doesn’t stop here.”

The entire fourth quarter was played within three points, and the lead was never greater than one point in the final seven minutes.

Junior forward Charles Hayden gave Oakland Christian (22-2) the brief 44-43 lead with 21.3 seconds left when he swished a pair of free throws. That gave the Warriors the final possession to keep its dream alive.

It was all too familiar loss for Oakland Christian, which was making its sixth appearance in the regional finals in the past decade and seventh in 14 years. In 1997, the Lancers lost to eventual state champion Detroit East Catholic at the buzzer in a regional final and are 4-2 since 2002 in regional finals. Oakland Christian’s only regional championships came in 2008 and 1989.

Oakland Christian watched Westside shoot just 4-for-19 from the floor in the fourth quarter, so Lancers coach Dennis Hopkins wanted his team to force the taller Crusaders to shoot from the perimeter. The plan backfired.

“It was to force an outside shot and get a rebound,” sighed Hopkins, whose team was trying to win its second regional in four seasons. “The ball trickles out of bounds (and they get it back). They have three seconds, they get it in and the kid hits a 16-footer. It was good shot. We had a kid in his face but he knocked it down.”

Using its quickness and size, Westside Christian took a 14-6 lead after the first quarter. Taylor had eight rebounds in the first quarter alone, as the Warriors dominated the glass the whole night.

Oakland Christian settled down in the second quarter and used a pair of three-pointers by freshman John Van Noord to fuel a 19-11 run and tie the score at 25-25 at the half.

The Lancers took their first lead of the game when junior guard Drew Perrin converted a pair of free throws with 6:02 left in the third quarter and held a 37-34 advantage at the end of the third stanza.

The fourth quarter featured five lead changes and four ties.

Senior guard Xavier Cross gave Westside a 43-42 edge with 52 ticks left on a driving layup through traffic before Hayden gave Oakland Christian its last lead inside 30 seconds.

Taylor was a thorn in the Lancers’ side all night besides the game-winning bucket. The unsigned prospect finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds, both game highs, to go along with two blocked shots, two assists and two steals for the Warriors, who are one of the smallest teams left in Class D with only 81 high school students.

Robert Davis, a senior guard, twined 11 points with three swipes, and both 6-6 sophomore forward Kaion Seals and Cross finished with seven points and four rebounds apiece for Westside Christian, which held a 40-26 edge on the glass.

The Warriors were 15-for-59 from the floor and just 2-of-17 from beyond the three-point arc.

Hayden scored 10 with four rebounds, 6-6 junior Josh Peterson collected eight points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots, junior Drew Perrin had a fine floor game with 10 points, four steals and four assists and freshman DJ Stevens supplied six points and four rebounds off the bench for Oakland Christian, which will bring back eight of its top nine players and only losses four players to graduation.

The Lancers finished the night 14-for-40 from the floor and kept it close by making 13-of-20 foul shots.

“It hurts it stinks. You never want to lose it like that,” said Hopkins. “We were a possession away from winning a regional championship. We got to get over it, store it up, and start working for next year.

“(We felt) that they gave us their best effort,” added Hopkins. “”We felt if we gave it our best effort, then what else can we do. There’s going to be mistakes, there’s going to be missed shots, the game is never perfect, no one ever plays a perfect game and  so you hope for your best performance.  Would it been nice to have an extra point or two? Oh yeah — but 22-2 is not bad. There’s a lot of teams that would have loved to have been 22-2 and playing for a regional championship.”

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Tags: boys basketball, boys basketball regional finals, Class D, featured, video

Category: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, High School, Prep Wraps