Friday's high schools: Wilson helps U-D Jesuit defeat Brother Rice in Catholic League title game
Mar. 20—DETROIT — Birmingham Brother Rice continued its Revenge Tour week Friday night, playing U-D Jesuit in the Catholic League championship game on U-D's home floor.
On Tuesday night, Brother Rice avenged an early season 59-42 loss to Warren De La Salle by defeating De La Salle on its home floor 58-56 in a league semifinal game.
This time around Brother Rice (6-4) was trying to show how much it has improved since suffering a one-sided 85-56 loss to U-D Jesuit — ranked No. 3 in The News Super 20 — on Feb. 16.
It was obvious to see Brother Rice's improvement in the rematch with the Catholic League championship on the line, playing toe-to-toe in the final seconds before U-D Jesuit sophomore point guard Sonny Wilson scored off a driving layup with four seconds left for the difference in a 64-62 victory.
"We just wanted to shoot the ball under six seconds so they couldn't get a shot, the main goal was to attack so at the end we just ran a pick and roll, I knew he (Curtis Williams) was going to play the screen so I went the opposite way and attacked and got the layup," said the 6-foot-2 Wilson, who scored 21 and was defended on the final play by 6-6 sophomore Curtis Williams, who has offers from Alabama and Maryland. "It's all about confidence. I've been living for these moments all my life."
Brother Rice had a chance to win or force overtime, but Johnathan Blackwell's 18-footer bounced harmlessly off the rim as time expired.
It was U-D Jesuit's eighth Catholic League title in the last nine years, having its seven-year run come to an end last year at the hands of Orchard Lake St. Mary's. It was Brother Rice's first Catholic League final appearance since 1999.
St. Mary's — ranked No. 1 — is on quarantine and didn't compete in the tournament, but will play in next week's districts.
"The big thing about our guys is they're unflappable," said U-D coach Pat Donnelly. "They're calm. They are under control. They didn't panic and throw up bad shots and that was really important.
"Sonny does a great job for us and makes great decisions, but Phil Ragan came out today and played phenomenally well. It's great to have a two-headed monster, guys who can handle the ball, guys who can penetrate and make the right decision, make some shots and that was huge for us.
"This was a big one for us. We beat Rice pretty handily at their place. We knew they'd come out with a great intense game and they did. They jumped on us early. We called a timeout down 12-to-3 and I told them 'that was their haymaker and we have to throw one back,' and I thought we got back into the game pretty well. It was neck-and-neck the entire game. It was good basketball."
JonMarcus Roland scored 11 for U-D, making three 3-pointers, Zavier Banks added nine and Ragan and Chris Mutebi had eight each.
Brother Rice's largest lead was nine (12-3) and U-D Jesuit's three on Wilson's driving basket for a 53-50 lead as time expired to end the third.
Xavier Thomas, a physical 6-foot-5 sophomore forward, was aggressive from the opening tip for Brother Rice, constantly taking the ball to the basket. He finished with 31 points and 12 rebounds.
Thomas scored six points in the opening quarter to give Brother Rice a 12-9 lead, then scored 13 more in the second quarter to make sure Brother Rice entered halftime with a 35-32 lead, shooting 68 percent from the field as a team, led by Thomas' 8-of-9 shooting.
Wilson made sure to keep his team close, scoring 10 of his points in the second quarter, driving to the basket and knocking down a 3-pointer.
Blackwell scored 17 for Brother Rice and Williams nine with all of his points coming on 3-pointers.
"I'm proud of our guys, the guys were crushed in there with the results, but 30 days ago they beat us by 30 in our own gym," Brother Rice coach Rick Palmer said. "We're getting better at a high pace. The league has already kind of run through them and we had a chance at every opportunity to win tonight. We have to find a way to make one more play."
More boys basketball
Ecorse 54, Dearborn Advanced Tech 53: Malik Olafioye scored 31 and Dakario Valentine 10 with 12 rebounds for Ecorse (11-3). Kyle Germany scored 17 for Dearborn (9-6).
Novi 73, Livonia Churchill 51: Bryce Lubin scored 33 for Novi (3-11). A'Mareon Jackson scored 20 for Churchill (1-16).
Boys scores
Huron
Carleton Airport 59, Milan 48
Riverview 57, Grosse Ile 53
New Boston Huron 87, Monroe Jefferson 74
KLAA
Plymouth 43, Wayne Memorial 39
Canton 55, Livonia Stevenson 46
OAA
Auburn Hills Avondale 49, Pontiac 33
Oak Park 64, Farmington 56
Bloomfield Hills 54, Troy 51
Southeastern
Dexter 62, Chelsea 46
Others
Ecorse 54, Dearborn Advanced 53
Clawson 36, Garden City 26
Pontiac Notre Dame 65, Ypsilanti 63
Novi 73, Livonia Churchill 51
Girls basketball
Farmington Hills Mercy 43, Bloomfield Hills Marian 39: Alexis Roberts scored 15 for Mercy (12-3). Sarah Sylvester scored 13 for Marian (10-5).
Hartland 56, Grand Blanc 26: Lillee Gustafson scored 15 for Hartland (16-0). Grand Blanc is 11-3.
Madison Heights Lamphere 56, Hazel Park 32: Evy Bisbikis scored 16, Kate Robinson 15 and Nydia Shumate 11 for Lamphere (11-2, 8-2 MAC Silver). Mary Mauney had 14 points for Hazel Park (2-10, 2-6 MAC Bronze).
Plymouth Christian Academy 62, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 43: Morganne Houk scored 20, Anna Fernandez 18, and Ariela Boboc 14 with 11 rebounds for Plymouth (10-3, 7-1 MIAC). Sabrina Gottschalk scored 15 and Melanie Siebert 10 for Northwest (11-1, 7-1).
Roseville 46, Eastpointe 18: Olivia Vanderham had 12 points, eight rebounds and five steals and Trinity Brown 12, 10 and six for Roseville (5-5). Haley Emon scored six for Eastpointe (7-6).
St. Clair Shores Lakeview 49, Utica Ford 25: Tricia Sankiewicz scored 21, and Ari Wlodeck 14 for Lakeview (13-1). Karin Stepp scored 13 for Ford (9-7).
Girls scores
Blue Water Area
Yale 31, Algonac 26
Almont 64, Richmond 47
MAC
Fraser 37, Clinton Township Clintondale 14
Madison Heights Lamphere 56, Hazel Park 32
Warren Cousino 35, Warren Woods Tower 15
OAA
Oak Park 41, Farmington 39
Southeastern
Chelsea 53, Dexter 37
Others
Trenton 50, Grosse Ile 48 (OT)
Troy Athens 47, Oxford 34
Lake Orion 49, Pontiac Notre Dame 48 (OT)
Romulus Summit 48, Mount Clemens 36
Salem 61, Taylor 31
Plymouth 69, Dearborn Fordson 41
Wixom St. Catherine 40, Waterford Lady of the Lakes 36
Ann Arbor Greenhills 28, Bloomfield Hills 15
Detroit News staff contributed.
