DLS boys headed to state semifinals
The first one didn’t live up to its promise.
It never had a chance.
Senior guard Linden Holder scored 16 points to lead De La Salle Collegiate to a 68-33 victory over shorthanded Dakota in a state Division 1 quarterfinal basketball game at Detroit Renaissance on Tuesday night.
Caleb Reese added 10 points as De La Salle (14-3) qualified for the semifinals for the first time since 2018, in coach Gjon Djokaj’s first season on the bench.
It was the first time Macomb County teams met in a quarterfinal and had the potential to be one of the more memorable prep events in recent years.
But MAC Red champion Dakota had only eight players in uniform because of coronavirus issues and was no match for the Pilots, who led 21-6 after one quarter on the way to their sixth victory of the postseason.
“Today was the game to get to the semifinals, but we earned this a long time ago,” Gjokaj said. “You don’t get to this point in one day. It’s been a lot of hard work, tears, sacrifice by our players, coaches, administration, school and our parents.
“We have a lot of respect for Dakota. It’s unfortunate that it had to unfold this way for them. Our heart goes out to them. They had a phenomenal season. It takes away a little bit from the feeling of where we’re at, to be honest, but deep down we know that we got here because of a lot of hard work.”
De La Salle plays either Ann Arbor Huron or River Rouge at the Breslin Center at 3 p.m. Thursday.
The Pilots, Djokaj said, eagerly await the opportunity to compete at Michigan State.
“There’s a lot in front of us, a lot to be had,” he said. “We’re Breslin bound. We’re extremely proud of our group. We’re going to play our tails off and give it everything we’ve got.
“We’ve got a lot of belief. We’re going to compete.”
Tymias Williams scored 11 points to lead Dakota.
“It’s just a raw deal,” Dakota coach
Paul Tocco said. “I’m proud of the eight guys that were here and made it through the coronavirus protocol.
“The ones that were not here — it’s not necessarily their fault; it’s a worldwide pandemic and we’ve all had issues with it.
“When you play so well all year and competed and
come here and you’re not at full strength ... it was a raw deal for the whole program overall.”
Tocco said the Cougars considered not playing, but felt they owed it to the available players to take the court.
“I didn’t want to leave them high and dry,” he said. “With the guys we had, we wanted to give them the opportunity to compete. They wanted to play. It was tough.”
Last season, Dakota’s campaign ended with the Cougars unable to play in a district championship game when the state tournament was canceled because of COVID-19.
“You can’t complain about it,” Tocco said. “Just move on and look toward next season.”
This was only the second time in more than 60 years that more than one county team from the same class or division
won a regional championship.
“It’s just too bad,” Tocco said of the lost opportunity to play at full strength. “It’s too bad we couldn’t show ourselves.”
Dakota was without four of its top eight players, including high-scoring guard Joshuah Hines, who had 31 points in the Cougars’ victory over Stoney Creek in a regional final last week.
Dakota finished 13-2 after
having a 10-game winning streak snapped.
Holder scored 12 points as De La Salle built a 3415 halftime lead.
De La Salle is the last Macomb County team left in the tournament. The Pilots are in the semifinals for the fourth time since De La Salle moved from Detroit to Warren in the early 1980s.
The state championship game is at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.