AVONDALE TOPS ROYAL OAK, GETS FIRST VICTORY OF 2021
AUBURN HILLS » In a game that both teams desperately needed to win, Royal Oak and Auburn Hills Avondale put on a back-andforth contest before the host Yellow Jackets eventually came away with a 59-54 victory.
“Give credit to both teams. They both played their butts off. We needed this big time, confidence-wise,” Avondale coach Pat Clancy said of the victory. “We grew (Friday). We matured. We took (Royal Oak’s) punches and came back and secured a win at the end.”
Avondale (1-2) entered the fourth quarter trailing Royal Oak (0-3) 46-41, but the Yellow Jackets scored nine of the first 11 points in the final quarter to get back the lead.
Over the final 2:30 of play, Avondale would knock down seven free throws to keep Royal Oak from being able to get back into the contest.
“We made some mistakes, but we battled through them and made some important plays down the stretch. That’s all you can ask for as a coach, that your guys overcome their mistakes and stay positive,” Clancy said.
Avondale looked like it might run away with a big victory when it jumped out to a 15-5 lead through one quarter.
However, Royal Oak would catch fire in the second quarter. The Ravens knocked down four 3-pointers in the period and went on a 15-2 run that gave them a 2826 advantage at the break.
“We started to build some momentum and shots started falling for us,” Royal Oak coach Aaron Smith said. “That can be contagious and once one went down, we were able to knock down more. We just didn’t let that carry over into our defense execution.”
The third quarter was the most competitive, as Avondale used de
fense and transition points to keep pace with the Ravens, who continued to hit shots from the outside.
“(Avondale’s) pressure really took us out of our stuff. We had a few too many turnovers down the stretch,” Smith said. “We just have to mature as a
team. We didn’t handle our success well and didn’t handle it well when (Avondale) made their runs.”
Along with the key free throws in the fourth, the Yellow Jackets were able to turn the tide in the game with their offensive rebounding. AJ Knox and Javonn Carter crashed the glass and provided Avondale with multiple possessions each time down the floor.
“AJ is a big body and a future college football star. We have been telling AJ to use his body the right way without fouling. The refs let us play a little bit and be physical and he did that very well,” Clancy said. “It was the first game that we saw him really play the way he’s capable of.”
Knox finished with seven points while Carter and Marshall Dennis each had six. Jeremy Neal and Jy
Smith led Avondale with 16 points each.
Royal Oak was led by Dylan Hoffmann, who had 13 points, while Camden Clark scored 12 and Colton Champion had nine.
“(Friday) should show these guys that when they go out and compete, that they can win these games,” Smith said. “When they play hard and play together, this is a team that can win games and grow.”