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BOYS BASKETBALL: Rochester wins first district crown since 1988

Dan Stickradt | March 8, 2013 | Comments (1)

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

Twitter: @LocalSportsFans

STERLING HEIGTHS — This time Rochester would not be denied.

After going more than two decades without a district title in boys basketball, the Falcons ended a quarter century of futility by topping district host Sterling Heights Stevenson, 56-34, Friday in a Class A district final.

The win marked Rochester’s first district championship since 1988, when Ronald Reagan was near the end of his second term as President of the United States and Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up took over the No. 1 slot on Billboard’s Hot 100.

“It’s been a real, real long time,” admitted a relieved Rochester coach John Pleasant.

Rochester (19-4) dominated the Titans (15-7) from start to finish, opening with a 5-0 run and never relinquished the lead. Stevenson clawed back to within 6-5 with 3:29 left in the first quarter. That was as close as the Titans would get on this evening.

Rochester’s length and defensive pressure wreaked havoc on Stevenson’s shooters the whole night. The Falcons held the Titans to just 11-for-41 shooting from the field, including 4-for-12 from outside the 3-point arc. Stevenson also shot just 8-for-18 from the foul line.

The Falcons outrebounded Stevenson by a sizeable 37-21 margin, forced 16 turnovers, swiped nine passes and blocked seven shots.

A 13-5 lead after the first quarter was upped to 26-16 at the half. The Falcons went on a 16-8 blitz in the third quarter for a 42-24 lead and led by as many as 27 points (55-28) with 3:39 remaining in the contest before emptying their bench.

“I don’t like to toot our own horn, but I thought, defensively, our defense was as good as you can get on that team,” said Pleasant. “I told the boys at halftime to try to get the lead up to 16 points. Stevenson was able to come back from 17 the other night against (Utica Eisenhower in the district semifinals). I thought if we could get a big enough lead on them, we could hold onto it.”

James Young, Rochester’ 6-foot-7 senior guard who is a leading candidate for the 2013 Mr. Basketball award, finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds, six steals and five assists but wasn’t the Falcons’ only player doing damage.

Junior forward Mike Murri added nine points, six rebounds and two blocks, 6-8 senior center Arben Camaj scored six with eight boards and four blocked shots and junior point guard Jason Lee added five points and three assists for Rochester.

More importantly for Rochester, Lee, who stands only 5-foot-5, shut down Stevenson 6-0 sharpshooter Brandon Hughes, holding him scoreless.

“I thought their defense was the difference in the game,” sighed Stevenson coach Bill Lerch. “That No. 3 (Jason Lee) is a heckuva defensive player. I thought their whole team did a nice job on us defensively. They never allowed us to get into any type of flow. We were undersized all year long. But tonight (Rochester) really didn’t allow us to get inside and they guarded our shooters.”

Rochester was upset in the district finals by Lake Orion last season despite winning 20 straight games at that point. The Falcons have lost in the district finals twice in the past six years and were 0-5 in district title games since their last district championship 25 years ago.

During that quarter century stretch, Rochester has had five teams ranked inside the Associated Press Top 20 in Class A but were never able to win a district title, including the 1989 squad that finished 21-1 and lost in the district semifinals to Pontiac Northern.

Young, who spent the last three seasons at Troy High before moving over the summer, never won a district title in a Troy uniform.

“This is a great feeling. I have never been able to enjoy a district title before. None of us have,” smiled Young, who was recently selected to play in the McDonald’s All-America game.

Senior guard Tyler Sykes scored 12 points to lead Stevenson. Senior forward Darrin Futch added seven points and seven rebounds for the Titans.

Rochester will face Romeo at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the regional round at West Bloomfield. Romeo upset previously unbeaten Rochester Adams, 53-52, in the district finals at Lake Orion.

The last time the Falcons reached the regionals, they advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to Port Huron, 62-48.

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Tags: Basketball, boys basketball, high school boys basketball, James Young, MHSAA Class A Boys Basketball Districts, prep boys basketball, Rochester Boys Basketball, Rochester wins first district crown since 1988, Sterling Heights Stevenson Boys Basketball