BOYS BASKETBALL: Walled Lake Central holds off Holly for first regional title since ’93
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
HOLLY — Trying to find the fine line between Walled Lake Central and Holly might be found by simply looking at the final score.
A contest that saw as many twists and turns of a rocky mountain road, the Vikings edged host Holly, 73-71, in a thriller Wednesday night to earn its first Class A regional title since 1993 in front of an overflow crowd at Holly.
The win moved Walled Lake Central (20-5) into next Tuesday’s state quarterfinals at Grand Blanc, where the Vikings will face perennial state powerhouse Saginaw Arthur Hill at 7 p.m.
“What a high school basketball game,” smiled Walled Lake Central coach Chuck Spolsky. “We found a way to hold them off.
“We didn’t expect it to be easy tonight,” added Spolsky. “These last few games, it all has come down to defense and getting a stop and we pride ourselves on that.”
Holly (23-3) saw its dreams of making its first state quarterfinals appearance since 1959 dashed away and with it a fine 19-game win streak. The Bronchos competed the state tournament minus two starters, Kyle Woodruff and Joshua Sims, who averaged a combined 26 points a game.
“The effort was insane and the execution was awesome,” sighed Holly coach Lance Baylis. “We looked like a machine. We lost to a good team. We were one basket away from being in the Elite Eight. We don’t have a player over 6-foot-2 and two of our top three players are out due to injury, but it didn’t matter. This team plays as a team. We were a play away from (advancing).”
Walled Lake Central built a 39-30 lead with 2:25 left in the second quarter, only to see Holly claw back to make it 39-36 at the half.
Neither team could build more than a four-point lead on one another in the second half and were tied 55-55 heading into the final frame.
Walled Lake Central outscored Holly 18-16 in the final quarter and withstood every rally the Bronchos could muster down the stretch.
Holly only committed four turnovers on the night. The Bronchos pulled to within 70-68 on a three-pointer by senior Jake Daniels and cut the deficit to within 72-71 on a triple from senior Isaac Casillas with 30 seconds remaining.
Holly had two chances to go ahead or tie in the final 10 seconds, but contested shots by Daniels and junior guard Adam Tooley fell short.
Walled Lake Central finished 7-of-8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, with junior guard Anton Lucaj hitting two free throws with 37 ticks left and sophomore guard Dylan Hudspeth splitting a pair with 23.9 seconds remaining to provide the winning points.
Daniels was held to 7-for-26 shooting but made up for it by sinking 8-of-10 free throws for 25 points with five assists.
Casillas chipped in with 14 points, Tooley added 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals, sophomore Paris Partee followed with nine points and eight rebounds and junior guard Ian Hodges had nine points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals for Holly, which made only 23-of-61 field goal attempts (37.7 percent).
“We knew who their go-to guy was. Credit to Anton Lucaj for doing a good job on Daniels,” said Spolsky. “He’s guarded some of the best scorers in Oakland County this season. Daniels only made (seven) field goals and he took a lot more than that. We contested most of those shots.”
Junior guard Walter Kelser had 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals to lead Walled Lake Central.
Lucaj’s defensive prowess was matched by his 19 points and four rebounds, 6-foot-3 junior center Calvin Dado contributed 10 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks, while 6-4 junior center Adtetokunbo Ogendeji chipped in with eight points and five boards for the Vikings, who finished the night with a 41-26 edge on rebounding and shot 25-for-54 from the floor (47 percent).
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