The same old story

Cards fall apart in final quarter against DCD

By Andrew Bolton

14 February 2008

greatlakeshoops.com

Davison is a hard team to figure out.

One night they look absolutely terrible, and the other they look capable of beating anyone. Often, their fans end up seeing a schizophrenic performance, with both possible teams showing up at some point during the game. This results in a lot of close losses, which they have had many of this season.

Tonight was no different. The Cardinals played the Detroit Country-Day Yellow Jackets, and once again they let the game slip away at the end, falling 50-46.

Both teams came out struggling. The score was tied 8-8 at the end of the period. Davison missed a plethora of open shots, and DCD turned the ball over seven times. The story was a little different in the second period. After being tied 10-10, the Yellow Jackets went on an 11-0 run, spurred by a seven-point possession: DaShonte Riley scored a layup, Coach MacLachlan got called for a technical (both free throws were made), and Darnell Brown made a 3-pointer. Just like that, DCD was up seven, and they eventually extended it to 11 before Davison called timeout.

The break in momentum was all the Cardinals needed to get back in the game, however. They would close the half with a 12-4 run of their own to cut DCD’s lead to three, 25-22, going into the break.

The third quarter belonged to Davison. Matt Slezak and Corey Lang sparked Davison with timely shots and passes, as the Cardinals raced to a nine-point lead. They would eventually settle for a seven point lead going into the final period.

Alas, as has been the case with Davison this season, they could not close the game out, as much as DCD wanted to give them the game. Davison led 46-42 with over three minutes left, and would not score another point. Jordan Dumars hit a 3-pointer and Darnell Brown got a steal and a layup to give the Yellow Jackets the lead. The clock wound all the way down to about a minute and a half when Davison finally got into the bonus. DCD proceeded to miss five straight free throws, including four of the front ends on one-and-ones, but Davison could do nothing with any of the many opportunities. Finally, the Yellow Jackets closed out the game at the free throw line.

Corey Lang led Davison with 15 points.

Game and Player Notes

–Stat of the Game: Second half turnovers:    Davison–9      DCD–3

–What can be said about Davison that hasn’t already been said? Oh right. Coach MacLachlan didn’t sub five for five tonight. It didn’t make any difference in the final outcome, but the players seemed to play a little better, simply because they didn’t have to look over their shoulder every two minutes and wonder if they were about to be taken out. They gave great effort, but still came up short. Once again, Tyler Sauer didn’t play. This is bordering on criminal. Corey Lang led with 15 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Matt Slezak added eight points and three assists. I was most impressed, however, with Ryan Schultz. He wound up with six points and six boards, with lots of those rebounds coming in heavy traffic. He also had a block on DaShonte Riley as Riley was jumping, and he also intercepted a pass from Riley. I have written before that he has no idea of how good he is, and this still seems to be the case. Despite standing at no more than 6'4" he can take one step and dunk with both hands with ease. He has  ridiculous potential with the complete all-around game he’s got, but I don’t think he can realize it at Davison. We’ll see what happens next year.

–DCD would get slaughtered if they played a team like Frankenmuth the way they played Davison. Slaughtered. They were not even close to playing ball on the same level as the Eagles. Despite having an almost unfair amount of size and skill at every position, these guys just don’t play well. Now, maybe they just had a bad game. I can accept that excuse. But Davison is the fourth-best team in the Big Nine, and DCD is the top-ranked team in Class B. The Yellow Jackets should have crushed the Cardinals by 25-30 points, and they struggled to a four point win that they tried to give away. If Davison had a go-to player or play, they would have won. I’m not saying DCD is incapable of winning the state title, because they most definitely are. They need to get it together quickly, though. DaShonte Riley led the Yellow Jackets with 10 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks while generally being a terror at a legit 6'11". Darnell Brown added 15 points and two steals.

–The Yellow Jackets were perfect from the line as a team until the final minute and a half, when they missed five in a row...Danny Thwing, Davison’s best all-around player, didn’t take a shot. He did have four assists.

--I sat a couple rows from Joe Dumars, whose son plays for the Yellow Jackets. Jordan finished with six points and three rebounds.