Beating Hartland '100% personal' for revenge-minded Howell boys basketball

HARTLAND — The name on the front of the jerseys was the same, in blue lettering with gold trim.

H-A-R-T-L-A-N-D.

So, for Howell, it didn’t matter if the names of the players representing the Eagles were different, that several of the players who broke their hearts in last season’s district championship game were watching from the stands in street clothes.

Someone was going to have to deal with the wrath of a highly motivated Howell team, even if nobody in a Hartland uniform impacted the outcome of a game that ended the Highlanders’ four-year run of district titles.

“It was 100% personal to us,” Howell senior TJ Fischhaber said. “It was something I was thinking about all weekend. During the snow days I was thinking about it. The whole ride here, it was just playing over in my mind how they sent us home. I remember seeing our seniors’ faces last year.”

A smothering Howell defense held Hartland to eight first-half points in a 55-27 victory Friday night, ending the Highlanders’ three-game losing streak in the rivalry.

“With a loss like that, you can’t really forget it,” Howell senior Logan Leppek said. “Hartland’s a great team. They’ve got great coaches. It’s a great system, every single year. The whole team’s been thinking about that since last year. It was definitely motivation coming into it.”

Leppek is the only player from either team who made a significant contribution in last year’s district final, scoring 12 points off the bench for a Howell team hit hard by injuries. He had eight in a district semifinal victory over Linden, providing a glimpse of what was to come his senior year.

Leppek scored a game-high 14 points Friday night, boosting his season average to 10.9.

“I think we both have almost completely different rosters from the kids who played in that game,” Howell coach Nick Simon said. “It’s just a crosstown rivalry that gets guys hyped up and the fact it’s a big game in the division for us, too. I think those things were probably in the forefront.”

The Highlanders’ fourth straight victory improved their record in the KLAA West to 5-2 at the halfway point of the division schedule. They are alone in third place, one game behind co-leaders Brighton and Canton, who are 6-1.

“There’s a chance, because we play everybody again where we kind of control our own destiny in this thing,” Simon said. “We’re more focused on ourselves and making sure we’re getting better every day, and the chips will fall where they may.”

Howell jumped out to an 11-4 lead and led 24-8 at halftime after holding the Eagles to two points in the second quarter. It never got close in the second half, as the Highlanders extended the lead to 38-15 late in the third quarter.

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With the game well in hand, the Highlanders had two moments in the fourth quarter that further energized their student section.

Fischhaber slammed home a dunk, a rarity in Livingston County basketball, midway through the fourth quarter off a long breakout pass from Andrew Weber. Fischhaber, a high jumper in the spring, has dunked in a game before, but not in a high school game.

“There’s nothing better than in front of the section,” Fischhaber said. “That was what I dreamt about.”

He’s had opportunities to dunk for the Highlanders, but they didn’t pan out.

“I had a couple I just didn’t take, because I didn’t want to get benched if I missed,” he said. “The first one I muffed the pass, so I had to settle for a layup.”

Howell emptied its bench with 2:13 remaining and worked to get a shot for junior Mason Pennala, who hadn’t scored this season. Pennala drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the final minute for Howell’s final points.

“I was more excited for that than any other shot we made,” Simon said.

Jaylen Hicks scored 11 points and Arik Pietila nine for Howell (8-4 overall).

Vance King and Michael Kilburg scored six points each for Hartland (5-9).

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Beating Hartland '100% personal' for Howell boys basketball