Northville Boys Basketball Falls in First Round of Conference Tournament

In the fourth game of the season the Northville Mustangs squeaked by the Canton Chiefs. Friday night the two teams met again in their first round matchup in the KLAA Kensington conference tournament; Canton as a 2 seed from the South Division and Northville as the 3 seed from the Central Division.  Canton took control of the game early on their home court and never looked back in their 51-34 win.  Northville jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Canton countered with 3 consecutive basket; Canton led 14-9 at the end of the first quarter.  The Mustangs twice cut the deficit to 3 in the initial minutes of the second period, but the Chiefs then outscored Northville 11-4 for the remainder of the quarter to take a 27-17 halftime lead.  Throughout the first half Canton’s man-to-man defense appeared to cause Northville problems on the offensive end that led to numerous turnovers and forced jump shots. 

            It was critical for Northville to come out with fire to start the second half to prevent Canton from extending their 10 point lead.  Unfortunately for the Mustangs, their stagnant offense continued in the third quarter and they did not score their first points until the 2:40 mark, by which point Canton had increased the lead to 34-17.  Northville did cut the deficit to 9 points mid-way through the fourth quarter, but Canton scored the final 6 points of the game.  Northville continues their conference tournament play Tuesday night February 19 against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.