Troy knocked out via Waterford Mott’s upset punch
BY JAKE LOURIM
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
TROY — Troy’s boys basketball team was about to reach the point that good teams often hit where they know they can’t lose.
But upstart Waterford Mott, the most unlikely dealer of the knockout punches, threw the Colts’ season into a tough combination of sorrow and frustration.
The Corsairs shot their way to a 16-point halftime lead before holding on through a frantic final minute to take the district title from Troy, 58-53, in a Class A district final at Troy Athens.
The win marked Mott’s first district title since 1982 and sends the Corsairs into Monday’s regional at Lake Orion against Southfield.
After trailing the entire game, sophomore Craig Duggan’s 3-pointer brought Troy to within eight points with 1:34 left. Troy junior James Young hit three free throws in two trips, but then on the third try, Mott broke the press and went down for a dunk.
At the other end, Young’s shots just weren’t falling. With 55 seconds left, though he would go to the foul line and hit both free throws, his shots just weren’t falling.
Then came a key play in the game, one that will make Troy look back and wonder “What if?”
Mott tried desperately to get the ball past half-court to avoid the ten-second violation. It heaved a pass long, too long, and then went to fetch it. The pass to save the ball went all the way back to the backcourt, where Zak Noor tried to steal it but instead tipped it back to the in-bounder, thus avoiding the back-court violation.
Mott sank both ensuing free throws, thrusting a dagger into Troy.
But if there’s one thing that Troy’s taught everyone, it’s that the Colts never give up.
“It’s the truth; they just busted their butts and they did what we asked them to do, came back from a lot of adversity, played hard, played smart,” Troy coach Gary Fralick said, “it just didn’t go our way tonight.”
Noor went right back to work and hit one free throw. On the ensuing in-bounds pass, Troy forced another turnover, Mott’s eighth giveaway of the quarter.
Young took the Troy in-bounds and buried a 3-pointer, essentially making for a four-point possession.
That brought Troy within three—one measly possession. Mott went to the line and missed the front end of the one-and-one, but the rebound bounced at a tough angle and off
Young’s hands. Given a second chance, the Corsairs locked up the game with the next two free throws.
For Troy, a team that’s been through so much, that set off the end. Several players burst into tears, mostly seniors, at the end of the road.
“When they care that much,” Fralick said, “it makes me proud to be their coach.”
In the end, it was the first half that mattered most. Mott bombed away from the outset, hitting seven of 11 3-point attempts in the first half and gaining a 36-20 advantage at the half.
It hit a 3-point play before Troy started chipping away.
Mott also out-rebounded Troy before the break, 21-12, and held Young to just 2-for-14 shooting and a wrist injury in a loose ball.
Young sat the remaining three minutes of the first half, but came back in the second half and finished with 31 points.
Troy still trailed by 17 after the third quarter. The full-court pressure initiated the comeback, but couldn’t finish it for the Colts.
(Jake Lourim is a junior at Troy High School and a member of the AdaVan Media Group / www.northoaklandsports.com Student Correspondence Program. He is publisher of website www.troycoltsportsupdate.com and a member of the Troy school newspaper editorial staff. He can be reached by e-mail at j.lourim@comcast.net)
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