Northville Boys Basketball Beats Canton

—Submitted by Bob Lasley

The Northville Mustangs once again kept their fans on edge until the last second of the game by pulling out a squeaker at home Tuesday night, edging the Canton Chiefs 38-35.

Both teams turned the ball over on their first possessions before Canton spurted out to an 8-0 lead. The Mustangs did a good job on the offensive and defensive backboards to open the game, but they did not get a shot to fall until the 3:22 mark to cut the Chiefs’ lead to 8-2. Junior Malik Bazzi came off the bench to provide 3 assists to help Northville reduce Canton’s lead to 12-8 at the end of the quarter. The Chiefs spurted to a 17-8 lead to start the second quarter before Northville’s zone defense slowed them down. Bazzi and Andrew Meacham both hit 3 pointers, the latter of which tied the score at 19 apiece with 52 seconds remaining in the first half. Joe Hewlett hit a baseline jumper with 4 seconds remaining to put the Mustangs up 21-19 at the half. Meacham led the Mustangs at the half with 12 points, and Bazzi contributed 4 assists.

Both teams struggled to put any points on the board in the third quarter as the score at the end of the period was 25-23 in Northville’s favor. The fourth quarter was a nip and tuck affair as has been the case in three of the four Mustangs’ games to date. The lead changed hands three times before Malik Bazzi hit a 3 pointer to put the Mustangs ahead for good 34-33 with 3:15 remaining. Andrew Meacham made two free throws at the 2:38 mark to push the lead to 3. The remainder of the game saw only 2 more free throws by Meacham and one basket by Canton. The Chiefs missed a 3 pointer from the corner with 11.1 seconds remaining, and after the loose ball rebound went out of the bounds, the Mustangs ran out the clock to seal the victory. The Mustangs host their Holiday Tournament Friday, Dec. 28 and Saturday, Dec. 29.