Ashton Tomassi continues hot start for Brighton basketball
Ashton Tomassi continued his hot start for Brighton’s basketball team, but the thing that pleased coach Mike Griest the most Wednesday night was the defensive effort in a 67-42 victory over Livonia Stevenson.
Stevenson entered the game with a 4-0 record, averaging 69.3 points. The Spartans couldn’t overcome a Brighton defense that has allowed 45 points or less in its last four games.
“It’s cliché, but we came ready to play,” Griest said. “Stevenson was 4-0 and had some really good offensive players. They’ve been scoring a bunch. We’ve been working on our defense. It was a test of how we’re coming along on that. I was proud of the effort. They did what we asked them to do. We’re building confidence with each game.”
Tomassi, the reigning Livingston County Player of the Year, scored 25 points to boost his six-game average to 20.0. He’s scored at least 25 points three times.
“He’s playing at a really high level,” Griest said. “He’s getting the attention of all the teams. He’s going to continue to get that; it’s only going to ramp up. He’s feeling really comfortable. He’s really making other guys effective, too. He’s figuring out, ‘Yep, they’re coming after me; I’m going to find guys.’ Guys are ready and willing to step up and make shots. It takes a little bit of pressure off Ashton. He’s a really, really good basketball player. We’re lucky to have him.”
Ben Anderson had 10 points and nine rebounds, Trevor Viau had seven points and six rebounds, and Eddie Millington had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Bulldogs.
Brighton is 5-1, matching its best six-game start over the past 12 seasons. The 2020-21 team also started 5-1.
“They come to practice, they have fun,” Griest said. “It’s a great group of guys, but they compete while they’re having that fun without a lot of prompting. So, it’s nice to see young guys mix in well with the guys returning, and we’re just getting everybody back. (Wednesday) was the first time we had everybody be able to be on the floor. Mason (Millhouse) is back. Eddie’s been sick. Trevor’s been sick.”
Brighton doesn’t play over Christmas break, its next game being against Swartz Creek at home on Jan. 3. The Bulldogs will begin KLAA West play Jan. 6 at Novi.
Wrestling
Northville quad
Howell rolled to victories over Northville (60-12) and Novi (72-9) to begin its KLAA West schedule.
Will Stewart went 2-0, winning 10-8 in overtime over Northville’s Andrew Fawaz at 165 pounds. Freshman Gavin Holbrook, who normally wrestles at 190, weighed in at 215 and bumped up to heavyweight where he got a pin over Northville and a forfeit against Novi.
Also going 2-0 for the Highlanders were Connor Wallace (106), Zach Leventis (113), Ryker Newstead (120), Jake Lynn (126), Ian Laskowski (138/144), Drake Blazevski (150), Brady Metz (157), Dylan Perkins (175) and Nathan Hardy (190).
Brighton quad
Brighton beat Canton (75-6) and Plymouth (60-24) in its KLAA West opener.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Ashton Tomassi continues hot start for Brighton basketball
