KETTERING FINALLY TURNS ASIDE MOTT
WATERFORD >> In the midst of a resurgent season, Waterford Kettering’s boys basketball program put another feather in its cap Wednesday by ending a longstanding losing streak to its archrival, Waterford Mott.
Already with twice as many wins as last season, Kettering added a gigantic one to get over the .500 mark by rallying from nine points down in the second half to walk away with a jubilant 48-44 victory.
The Captains’ triumph was their first against the Corsairs since February 2016, breaking a losing skid of nine games to their cross-town and conference foe.
New to the school, but not to the importance of rivalries, Kettering first-year coach Michael Marek was overjoyed for his players for pulling one out against Mott.
“It means everything to the team. When this game was on our schedule, this is the one we circled. This was the one we wanted,” Marek said. “It’s been such a long time since they beat them. For the kids to come together, play the way they did and win the game, I couldn’t be prouder.”
The relief and excitement extended to the Captains’ players, too, who suffered through a threewin season a year ago while the Corsairs were riding high and wrapping up a third-straight Lakes Valley Conference title.
“It really means a lot. We’ve always been the underdog,” senior point guard Bennie Crenshaw said. “Nobody thought we were going to win this. Our coach, he’s been feeding us since he got here, telling us to stick to the plan. We’re just believing in him because he’s been believing in us since day one. It’s mutual love. Without him we wouldn’t have beaten them, honestly.”
Crenshaw was a busy man in the second half as he helped orchestrate the Kettering comeback. A strong start to the second half saw Mott in the driver’s seat, up 30-21.
The tide turned quickly though. A layup by Crenshaw beat the third-quarter buzzer to make it a one-possession game again and he opened the scoring in the final stanza with a go-ahead 3-pointer.
The threes kept coming, as junior Trevor Donohue capped a 16-2 scoring run with a triple for the Captains, followed soon by a pair of 3-pointers from junior Chris Sanford that made it 45-38 Kettering with 2:12 remaining.
“He’s a guy that doesn’t play that often and sometimes doesn’t
play at all, but he came in with two big threes,” Marek said of Sanford. “For a guy like that to come in and hit those threes in this game, it says a lot about him.”
Not quite done yet, Mott climbed back within one point with 1:03 remaining. But out of a timeout, Crenshaw and Donohue combined for a game-clinching play. On the run from a double team, Crenshaw dribbled toward the basket and dished a pass to Donohue in the corner, who immediately tapped the ball back to Crenshaw for a finish at the rim and a drawn foul. The free throw made it a four-point game, which added just enough breathing room to prevail.
“I would love to take credit for it, but it wasn’t a planned play,” Marek said. “They were just doubling Bennie. The focus was all on Bennie, so we told him to give it up and get it back. We didn’t plan for it to happen like that, but I’m glad it did. Against a great player there in Zeke (Price), who was blocking shots all night, it was a heckuva finish.”
Crenshaw finished with 17 points to lead all scorers, but deferred to his teammate, Donohue, for the heads-up pass that clinched the ‘W.’
“My boy, Trev. That’s him growing up. We (seniors) won’t be here next year, so it’s going to be on him,” Crenshaw said of Donohue. “Him making IQ plays like that, it’s going to show we’re good for the future of Waterford Kettering basketball.”
Donohue and sophomore Zarek Zelinski posted 10 points apiece, while senior Jack Burch chipped in with five for the Captains (7-6, 3-4 Lakes Valley Conference). In all, Kettering ended the game on a 2714 run from the time of its largest deficit.
“We switched up our defense,” Marek said of what enabled the turnaround. “We started trapping, getting steals and some easy run-outs. We believed in the kids to run that defense because sometimes it leaves open layups and open buckets. We trusted the kids and they responded.”
Sophomore Dajuantae Warren scored 15 points to lead Mott (8-6, 3-4 LVC), with Juan Delvalle Claudio notching 10 points and Kalieb Osborn adding nine.
Both teams return to play Friday with Kettering at South Lyon and Mott welcoming in Milford.