Northville Varsity Boys Basketball Falls Short to South Lyon

- Sumbitted by S. Patrone

The Northville boys varsity basketball team hosted the South Lyon Lions this week as both teams battle for the rights of second place in the KLAA Central.

Northville (4-4, 2-1 KLAA Central) started the game slow as South Lyon (5-3, 2-1
KLAA Central) had the hot hand from the floor. The Lions came out strong as their long range shots from the arc were spot on target. The Mustangs struggled in the first quarter from shooting outside but it was their inside play that kept them close. Junior forward Stewart Henzi racked up a quick 4 points underneath the basket from precise passing from seniors Brett MacDonald and Mitch Alamaddine. Jeff Hewlett was the lone Mustang to go to the line with a 2-for-2 effort. The Mustangs found themselves down 8-15 after eight minutes of play.

The Mustangs continued to struggle with their outside shooting in the second quarter but it was their point guard play that kept the Lions on their heels. Jeff Gertley and Jeff Hewlett found a way to the basket with some penetrating drives. If those lanes weren’t open, the Mustangs relied on the inside post moves from sophomore Andrew Meacham. Junior Jake Hansen came off the bench and contributed a quick 4 points. Northville fell short as the Lions outscored the Mustangs in the second quarter 12-13 and a halftime lead of 20-28.

The third quarter had the Mustangs firing on all cylinders as Gertley, Meacham and Hewlett started dropping in jumpers from outside the paint. The Mustangs outscored the Lions 17-11 in the 3rd quarter and improved their deficit 37-39 going into the fourth quarter.

Jeff Hewlett was the only Mustang to hit a 3-pointer from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. Meacham converted on an And1 with 3:50 left in the game to put the Mustangs up by one 47-46.

Both teams battled down to wire but it was South Lyon who converted on bonus free throws to hand the Mustangs a loss 50-57. Gertley lead all scores with (14), followed by Meacham (12), Hewlett (8) and MacDonald/Henzi with (6).