FORWARD MOTION
Ferndale edges North Farmington in key OAA Red battle, 60-55
FARMINGTON HILLS » Get out your driving gloves, Eagles fans. Call the pit crew.
Ferndale assumed the driver’s seat in the race for the OAA Red Friday, traveling to North Farmington and beating the Raiders, 60-55, in a game that wasn’t decided until the final seconds. The red-hot Eagles are riding a five-game winning streak.
Junior guard Jason (Deuce) Drake scored 24 points for Ferndale and connected on five straight free throws in the closing 90 seconds to sew the game up for the visitors.
“It all starts with our defense, that’s the foundation of our team,” Drake said. “We went into another gear tonight when the game was on the line and just locked down and dialed in on both ends of the floor.”
Drake transferred to Ferndale during Christmas break from Catholic League champion Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. Ferndale bumped off 14-time defending OAA Red champ Clarkston Tuesday for the second time this season. The Eagles (6-1) have yet to drop a league game in 2021.
North Farmington (5-1) entered Friday’s affair undefeated. Raiders’ senior floor general Deon Hayes got loose in the lane for a lay-up that would have tied the contest at 57 apiece Friday, but it went in and out with less than 20 ticks on the clock. Hayes finished the night with 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals.
The game was tied 28-28 at the half. Ferndale pulled in front 45-40 after three quarters and opened the fourth with six straight points to push its lead into double digits (51-40) for the only time in the game.
North Farmington’s Basheer Jihad hit two free throws to make it a one-point contest at 55-54 with 1:31 remaining. Jihad’s Raiders wouldn’t get any closer and Ferndale’s defense and Drake’s free-throw shooting put the game on ice.
“Defense is the secret recipe,” Ferndale head coach Juan Rickman said. “We finished strong. We’re proving ourselves every time out. I like where we’re trending towards. We have a high ceiling as a team. We just have to keep pushing, not let up, keep holding each other accountable.”
Treyvon Lewis (junior swingman) netted 10 points in the Ferndale victory. Jack Kennedy (senior center) totaled a doubledouble of 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Eagles coming off the bench.
Jihad led North Farmington with his own double-double of 21 points and 12 boards.
“Ferndale does a good job of getting players into their program, bringing them in and teaching them how to adapt to their system,” North Farmington head coach Todd Negoshian said. “Give credit to them, they played hard, they took us out of what we wanted to do. It’s a tough loss to digest.”