Northville Boys Basketball Falls to Salem

—Submitted by Bob Lasley

Although classes have yet to resume at Northville High School following Christmas break, the boys varsity basketball team learned a difficult lesson Friday night. The Mustangs began conference play on the road against their Central Division rival Salem Rocks, and came away on the short end of a 51-26 score.

From the outset it appeared that the Mustangs were in for a tough night as they had trouble getting good shots and holding onto the ball. Although they trailed 12-5 after the first quarter and 24-12 at halftime the deficit could have been much worse, had Salem been more efficient on offense.

Unfortunately for the Mustangs, their third quarter performance put them in an even deeper hole from which they could not extricate themselves. This young team, which lost 7 seniors from last year’s squad, is still learning to play with each other and are having to do so without their starting point guard. Hopefully they learned from Friday’s result that they need to come into each game with enthusiasm, energy, and aggressiveness from the opening tap, especially on the road. Perhaps a history lesson will help them. Last year’s squad, which lost on Jan. 6 at home to Salem by 17 points, came back to finish second in the Central Division and made it to the third round of the KLAA Tournament. The Mustangs will be looking to bounce back next Tuesday when they host Livonia Stevenson.