Northville Boys Basketball Lead First 3 Quarters in Season Opener

Northville High School Mustangs varsity boys basketball were defeated in the season opener Tuesday by Hartland High School.

The following summary of the game at Hartland High School was submitted by Northville basketball parent Scott Badwin.

Our Mustangs opened the 2013-14 season with a long arching three point shot by senior Andrew Meacham and the Mustangs controlled the game at Hartland through 3 quarters of hard fought basketball.  Northville led 5-4 after the first quarter, stretched the lead to 21-17 at half, and continued to inch ahead through 3 quarters, seemingly on their way to a big road win.  

But that's when the wheels came off for the orange and black.  Hartland senior Tyler Leighton caught fire and started the Eagles on the comeback trail.  With 3 minutes remaining, Hartland took their first lead, 43-40.  At the 2:30 mark, Meacham fouled out, having scored a game high 22 points for the Mustangs.

Northville Coach Todd Sander called time out to reset the Mustang strategy, and apparently found the right words since his team responded with a burst of energy to keep the game close.  Senior Malik Bazzi was nearly unstoppable in the final 2 minutes, scoring all 7 of his points during that frenzy.  

However, Hartland was able to hang on and make their free throws to hold of the valiant charge, and the game ended with Hartland ahead 52-46.  Leighton led the Eagles in scoring with 17 while Mustang Meacham led all scorers with 22.  All in all, it was a solid start to a promising season.

No time to lick our wounds though, the Mustangs host Walled Lake Central on Friday night at 7:00.  Don't forget that the JV team, who also lost 42-37, will play at 5:30 while the Freshman team will tip at 4:00.  

Our Frosh were a bright spot tonight, leading off with the first victory of the young season........Go Mustangs!!