BOYS BASKETBALL: Bishop Foley rallies past Oakland Christian for district title

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Twitter: @LocalSportsFans

MADISON HEIGHTS — If Auburn Hills Oakland Christian could go back in time around 8 p.m. Friday night, the Lancers would collectively try to relive a portion of the third quarter against Madison Heights Bishop Foley and attempt a do-over.

The district-host Ventures rolled used a 10-0 run as part of an 18-8 third-quarter spurt to take the lead and eventually ousted Oakland Christian from the Class C boys basketball state tournament with a 52-46 victory.

Oakland Christian (11-11) could not buy a bucket with a winning lottery ticket throughout most of the third stanza.

“We couldn’t get anything to fall for a long stretch of the third quarter. If we could only do it over again,” said Oakland Christian coach Dennis Hopkins. “We couldn’t buy a basket and it seemed like they couldn’t miss during that run. That was the difference in the game.”

Oakland Christian, which didn’t start any seniors and only carried three on its entire roster, could not hang onto the lead in the second half after leading for the entire first half.

The upset-minded Lancers led 15-8 after the first quarter and 24-20 at the half thanks to some precise ball movement and timely shooting. Bishop Foley, which won the CHSL C-D title two weeks ago, changed the tide by turning a four-point halftime deficit into a 38-32 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Both teams traded off 14 points in the final frame, as Oakland Christian could get no closer than four points in the fourth quarter.

“We played a good game, except for the third quarter,” said Hopkins. “I think we have a problem of driving towards the basket and hitting little 10- or 12-foot jump shots and floaters. We are a good perimeter team but we need to be more consistent closer to the basket. We couldn’t hit anything in the third quarter. Part of that is our inconsistent shooting jump shots and driving to the basket and converting.”

Antonio Capaldi scored 13 to lead Bishop Foley (13-10). Gary Perry added nine points and Nick Gwisdalla followed with eight points for the Ventures, who pulled away despite shooting only 6-for-20 from the foul line.

DJ Stevens scored 12 of his game-high 14 points in the first quarter for Oakland Christian. John VanNoord scored added 12 points, knocking down a trio of three-pointers, for the Lancers.

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