Onsted basketball flexes defense in tournament victory

Brad Maska has been waiting for the Onsted Wildcats defense to kick in.

It happened Tuesday afternoon in Detroit.

Onsted (5-0) remained undefeated with a 52-34 win over Class A Plymouth, neutralizing the Kensington Lakes Activities Association opponent with some great defense. Onsted led 41-16 through three quarters.

“They didn’t hit their first and only 3-pointer until the fourth quarter,” Maska said. “We played tremendous defense. I was really proud of our guys after making the hour and half trip a couple days after Christmas and playing so well.”

The game was part of the annual Motor City Roundball Classic and played at Ferndale High School.

Maska was excited about the game particularly because Plymouth has a front line that goes 6-11, 6-8 and 6-6 and it gave his own squad – featuring 6-foot-10 Ayden Davis – a chance to match-up with someone his own size.

“We knew what we were getting with them,” he said. “We wanted to play against that. It was a good opportunity for us.”

Plymouth also has Bryce Garbacz, who came into the game averaging 19.5 points a game. He was held to 3 points.

“Bradlee VanBrunt started out on him and did a great job,” Maska said.

VanBrunt also scored 16 points and dished out five assists. Davis was named the game’s MVP after posting 13 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots. Connor Szul added nine points – hitting three 3-pointers in the third quarter when Onsted went on a 21-6 run. Maska said Aidan Paquin and Quinn Hiram played big roles defensively as well.

“We were locked in defensively,” he said. “We scouted them well and had a great game plan and we stuck to it.”

Onsted is 5-0 and will play at Spring Arbor University Thursday in the Shot Clock Classic. They will take on undefeated Olivet as part of a showcase event that features several other games. All games will be played with a 35 second shot clock.

“We played two or three times this summer with a shot clock and, honestly, it shouldn’t affect us,” Maska said. “We are used to getting out and running.”

Onsted: Henagan 1 0-0 2, Paquin 1 1-1 3, Szul 3(3) 0-0 9, Hiram 2 0-0 4, Hill 2(1) 0-0 5, VanBrunt 7(2) 0-2 16, Davis 6(1) 0-0 13. Totals 22(7) 1-3 52.

Plymouth: C. Smith 3 0-0 6, Garbacz 1(1) 0-0 3, Peterson 2 1-2 5, Kraft 2 0-0 4, Amoako 5 0-0 10, K. Smith 1 0-0 2, Daniels 1 0-0 2, Cotton 1 0 0-2 2. Totals 16(1) 1-4 34.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Onsted basketball flexes defense in tournament victory