Prep highlights: Howell win sets up boys basketball showdown with Brighton
Brighton vs. Howell will be more than just a boys basketball rivalry game Friday night.
The outcome of the 7 p.m. game at Howell could go a long way toward determining the KLAA West champion.
The Highlanders added some intrigue to the rivalry by knocking off Canton, 53-44, Tuesday night in the first game of the second round through the division schedule.
The outcome leaves Brighton alone in first place in the West at 7-1, while Howell and Canton are tied for second at 6-2.
“Oh, yeah, like you need to add anything to a major rivalry game like both teams competing to win the division with a huge game Friday night,” Howell coach Nick Simon said. “It will be a heck of a time. As a high school athlete, you can’t ask for anything more than an opportunity like this.”
Howell handed Brighton its lone loss in the division, rallying from 12-point third-quarter deficit to win 55-52 in overtime on Jan. 10.
Canton came to Howell Tuesday night having lost only one division game over the past two seasons. The Chiefs beat the Highlanders, 56-42, on Jan. 6.
“I thought we came out with great defensive energy,” Simon said. “We were rocking from the beginning with our energy. They’re such a great offensive rebounding team. Since we’re not very big, that poses a lot of challenges. We battled on the boards really well from the get-go. They killed us on second-chance points the first time.”
Howell outrebounded Canton, 20-18.
Andrew Weber scored a career-high 16 points, while Arik Pietila had his second-highest output with 14.
“It starts with their energy on the defensive end,” Simon said. “I’m convinced in basketball that’s how it works; you play hard, and things happen. They’re both great shooters and have been doing fantastic in practice. They’ve both been due for a big game.”
Brighton 52, Novi 30
With Canton’s loss, Brighton is alone in first place after handling its business against Novi
Ben Anderson had 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting and six rebounds, Trevor Viau had 11 points, and Eddie Millington had 10 points and four assists for the Bulldogs.
Hartland 54, Northville 48
Cyrus Gray had 15 points, Michael Pennala 10 and Vance King eight for Hartland (6-9).
Pinckney 45, Tecumseh 43
Caden Carlson scored 13 points and Johnny Combs added 12 for Pinckney (3-11) against a Tecumseh team that entered the game 9-4.
Drakon Mayes grabbed 10 rebounds, while Jack Ezerkis had five assists for the Pirates.
Portland 51, Fowlerville 44
Brendan Ray scored 19 points, Griffin Gonzalez had nine points and six rebounds, and Alex Jonas had eight points for Fowlerville.
Girls basketball
Novi 52, Brighton 45
Brighton fell out of first place in the KLAA West with its third straight loss.
The Bulldogs are 7-2 in the division, one game behind Salem (8-1).
Payton VanDeven had 13 points, Mary Copple eight and Sophia Moir seven for Brighton.
Howell 50, Canton 45
Howell freshman Gabby Piepho scored 26 points and had five steals.
Alexis Le had 10 points and three blocks, while Sophie Daugard had eight assists for the Highlanders.
Tecumseh 63, Pinckney 40
Audrey Wardlow scored 14points, Grace Halash had eight points and Bella O’Keefe had five assists for Pinckney (5-9).
Portland 64, Fowlerville 30
Angelle Haan had 10 points and Ava Kuch eight for Fowlerville.
Hockey
Brighton 5, Salem 4 (OT)
Cameron Duffany scored his second goal of the game in overtime to give Brighton its second come-from-behind victory over Salem in two weeks.
The Rocks took a 3-1 lead early in the third period before the Bulldogs rallied to win a game after trailing by more than one goal for the fourth time this season.
Lane Petit, Freddie London and Dominic Vincent scored Brighton’s other goals.
Hartland 7, Plymouth 1
Jack L’Esperance scored three goals and one assist for Hartland, which led 6-0 before Plymouth scored its lone goal with 3:53 left in the game.
Isaac Frantti, Luca DiGirolamo, Ben Pouliot and Jacob Lewis scored Hartland’s other goals.
Boys swimming and diving
Pinckney 118, Williamston 59
Pinckney junior Lucas Mondro achieved the first two state-qualifying times of his career, winning the 200-yard freestyle in 1:53.11 and the 500 freestyle in 5:10.67.
Junior Talon Koppmann won the 100 freestyle in a state-qualifying time of 50.11 seconds and took the 50 freestyle in 23.35. Junior Dylan Ray won the 200 individual medley (2:03.69) and qualified for the first time in the 100 freestyle by taking second in 50.52.
Griffin Stahl won diving with a season-best score of 238.5 points and Davis Radde took the 100 butterfly in a season-best time of 1:01.03.
Boys bowling
Brighton 22, Northville 8
Jimmy Chmielewski rolled a 202 for Brighton.
Girls bowling
Northville 19, Brighton 11
Natalie Barrett rolled a 163 for Brighton.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Howell win over Canton sets up boys basketball showdown with Brighton
