SHA faces Frankfort in state quarterfinal
Whoever controls tempo wins.
Natural fact.
At 7 p.m. today from Houghton Lake High School the Sacred Heart Academy boys basketball program will take on Frankfort in a Division 4 quarterfinal and one of the biggest keys to the game will be its tempo.
Will it be a track meet or will be played in the half-court?
“It’s going to a battle of styles of play,” said Irish coach Justin Sherlock of Tuesday’s contest.
“We’ve got a good team in front of us. They’re going to try to slow it down and it keep it low scoring.”
SHA, which is in its first quarterfinal since 2014, is going to want to run and speed the game up to a feverish pace.
Guards Luke Predum (21 ppg, 5 asp) and Zach Wentworth (17 ppg, 7 rpg) have both had great senior seasons and can put up points in a hurry.
They combined to score 23 points in the final seven minutes of the regional final which led to the win.
When the tempo is fast SHA excels.
Meanwhile, Frankfort will likely want to slow it down and play out of the half-court.
Offensively, senior Jack Stefanski is Frankfort’s top player and SHA’S top problem.
Stefanski stands in at 6-foot-7 and averages 20 points per contest along with double-digit rebounds.
He helped lead Frankfort to the Division 4 state final two years ago and is a match-up problem all over the court.
Containing him will be an absolute key for the Irish.
SHA is 19-1 on the season while Frankfort is 17-5. Both teams have won 11-straight games.
The Irish were fourth in the final Associated Press Division 4 state rankings.
Frankfort did not receive votes in the final regular season rankings.
The winner of Tuesday’s quarterfinal advances to MHSAA semifinals from Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids on Thursday.