Rochester wins 15th straight by taming red-hot Colts
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
TROY— With each passing game, Rochester is finding a vote of confidence that they are one of the best boys basketball teams in Oakland County.
The Falcons have now won 15 straight following Tuesday’s 70-56 OAA crossover win over Troy and nationally-ranked junior James Young. Rochester (15-1) has not lost since its season-opener to Class C state-ranked Detroit Loyola, and now own the second longest win streak in school history.
The school mark is 21 straight wins, which the Falcons reeled off to start the 1988-89 season. In that campaign, Rochester was ranked fifth in Class A before being upset in triple overtime by unranked Pontiac Northern in a Class A district semifinal game at Waterford Mott, 71-68.
The Falcons are currently unranked despite their lofty start which includes several impressive wins.
“We are playing really well overall and I’m proud of them. But we have to stay focused and we can’t take e
SEIZING CONTROL: Rochester's Taylor Perry and the Falcons pulled away r from host Troy and Danny Wunderlich in the fourth quarter Tuesday night for a 70-56 victory. Photo | Ken Swart, Ken Swart Photography.
ven a quarter off,” admitted Rochester coach John Pleasant. “I think they understand that if we have one bad night in the districts, then we’ll be done the first night when we play (Rochester) Adams. We have to stay hungry and keep playing hard.”
The Falcons showed some resiliency against Troy. The Colts had defeated state-ranked Clarkston last week behind a career-high 49 points from James Young. Rochester held Young to 26 points.
“Our defense on them was really good at times,” said Pleasant. “I thought Manny Mendoza did a great job guarding JamesYoung. He has scored over 30 points several times this year and he had that 49-point game last week. Keeping him to 26 was crucial.”
Senior guard Paris Pereira, a fourth-year varsity veteran and third-year starter, scored a game-high 28 points with four assists for Rochester. Taylor Perry, who has signed with Western Michigan, added 16 points and eight rebounds and 6-7 junior Arben Camaj chipped in with a career-high 15 points for the Falcons.
Senior guard Mike Klotz also had four points and six assists while Mendoza supplied seven points and seven rebounds for Rochester, which canned 18-of-24 free throws.
“We did a great job handling our pressure, and I thought Paris and Mike Klotz did a great job with that. Klotz had six assists and only a couple of turnovers,” praised Pleasant. “We had a lot of layups because we were able to break their press, especially in the fourth quarter. And we did a great job from the free throw line.”
Troy, which has had a season of turmoil which has seen player suspensions and outgoing transfers, lost for the first time in six games. Zak Noor added 11points and Joe Leonard scored 10 for Troy (11-5), which made 11-of-17 free throws but were able to sink eight 3-pointers in the contest for 24 of its 56 points.
Only five Colts reached the scoring column.
Rochester led 18-16 after the first quarter and 32-31 at the half. The Falcons used a 15-12 surge in the third quarter for a 47-43 advantage heading into the final period.
Rochester outscored Troy 23-13 in the fourth quarter, knocking down 8-of-10 free throws in the final minutes to pull away.
“This was another big win for us,” said Pleasant, whose team has a two-game lead on the rest of the OAA Blue Division field and is trying to win back-to-back league championships for the first time since the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons, those coming in the old Metro Suburban Activities Association. “It’s ours to win.
“I think the guys want more than that, though,” continued Pleasant. “They want to win the district, too. It’s been a long time since we’ve won a district and a long time since we’ve won a league and district in the same season in a long, long time.”
Rochester has not won a district championship since the 1987-88 season, a year they reached the Class A regional finals before falling to Port Huron (62-48). Rochester has not won a regional title since 1950, when the Falcons reached the Class B Final Four and were knocked out by Wyoming Godwin Heights.
“Right now, our focus should be on staying hungry and winning the league,” added Pleasant. “We will worry about the district when that comes around.”
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