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As the first half of the Downriver League season nears an end, action picked up in Wyandotte Tuesday night as a pair of teams vying for a spot in the top five resulted in a big win for the home team.
Roosevelt held off a game Lincoln Park squad 57-54 to improve to 5-3 in league play. The Rails fell to 4-4 with the loss.
“We needed that win bad,” Roosevelt Coach Dave Cramton said. “We really needed that one and it was a good battle.”
Lincoln Park held a small advantage for much of the first quarter, but Roosevelt’s Tommy Cannon beat the buzzer with a putback to tie the game 13-13 after eight minutes.
The Bears started using its transition game for easy baskets in the second quarter and got behind the Railsplitter defense several times for layups for a 12-6 advantage and took a 25-19 lead into the break.
“First half, I thought we did a poor job getting back on defense,” Lincoln Park Coach Todd Tobin said. “They were sprinting down the floor and we were jogging.”
Roosevelt’s lead remained in the third quarter, but never grew over two possessions. The Rails cut the lead to one point, 32-31, with less than four minutes remaining, but the Bears scored the next five points to hold a 37-31 advantage late in the quarter.
Lincoln Park’s Delvon Byner-Simmons brought the Rails back to within a possession after he knocked down a big three-pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining in the quarter for a 37-34 Roosevelt lead entering the fourth.
The Bears looked primed to pull away early in the fourth after a 7-1 run in the first two and a half minutes, but Lincoln Park refused to go without a fight. Trailing 47-38, the Rails scored the next six points to climb within three points with three minutes left.
The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes, but sloppy Roosevelt play down the stretch allowed Lincoln Park to shorten the gap even further.
Lincoln Park’s Tywan Cage made it 53-50 with a layup with 40 seconds remaining and after a Roosevelt turnover, the junior knocked down a pair of free throws to pull the Rails within one, 53-52.
The Bears averted disaster on the next possession when freshman guard Donnie Corley took a near-turnover and turned it into a Roosevelt layup for a 55-52 lead.
“I’m happy we won, but turnovers we’ve got to clean up,” Cramton said. “That’s why we’ve lost a couple of key games is turning the ball over way too many times. If you do that, you’re just asking to get beat.”
The Rails outscored Roosevelt 35-32 in the second half, but poor shooting from the three-point and free throw lines plagued the visitors and prevented them from getting over the hump.
“I thought we played hard, but we didn’t execute very well,” Tobin said. “When you shoot 3-for-30 from three and 13-for-28 from the line, it doesn’t help.”
The Bears held a significant rebounding advantage throughout the contest with two players in double-figures on the glass and while another had seven.
“In the last six games, five of them we got outrebounded and we lost three of them,” Cramton said. “It comes down to getting more shots and, on the offensive end, it’s all about desire.”
All nine Roosevelt players who saw time on the court scored at least two points and the Bears were led by Stewart with 13 points. The senior also pulled down 11 rebounds.
Damon Singleton had eight points and 13 rebounds, Corley had eight and Cannon, Tyler Thorington and Jacob Lavis each had six.
“Credit to Wyandotte, they played hard and protected their home court,” Tobin said. “I think you see it’s two pretty evenly-matched teams.”
Lincoln Park’s Michael Tillmon-Cornett led all scorers with 17 points to go with seven rebounds and three steals. Cage had 16 points and Byner-Simmons added 11 points and five boards.
“We’ve got to get better,” Tobin said. “This is one we wanted tonight, but we’ve got to bounce back Thursday against Woodhaven and finish the first half of the league season 5-4.”
Though happy with the win, Cramton knows his Bears half to improve heading into the second half of the league season and eventually districts.
“I’m trying to find all of the positives that I can, but there are still so many things we need to clean up,” Cramton said. “I just talked about on Sunday that we want to be in this top five because we want another chance to play Truman and we want another chance to play Trenton. If we’re not in that top five, we don’t get a chance to.”
Roosevelt closes out the first half of the Downriver League season on Thursday at Kennedy while the Railsplitters remain on the road that same night at Woodhaven.
BOYS' BASKETBALL: Roosevelt earns much-needed win over Lincoln Park (PHOTO)
Roosevelt held off a game Lincoln Park squad 57-54 to improve to 5-3 in league play. The Rails fell to 4-4 with the loss.
“We needed that win bad,” Roosevelt Coach Dave Cramton said. “We really needed that one and it was a good battle.”
Lincoln Park held a small advantage for much of the first quarter, but Roosevelt’s Tommy Cannon beat the buzzer with a putback to tie the game 13-13 after eight minutes.
The Bears started using its transition game for easy baskets in the second quarter and got behind the Railsplitter defense several times for layups for a 12-6 advantage and took a 25-19 lead into the break.
“First half, I thought we did a poor job getting back on defense,” Lincoln Park Coach Todd Tobin said. “They were sprinting down the floor and we were jogging.”
Roosevelt’s lead remained in the third quarter, but never grew over two possessions. The Rails cut the lead to one point, 32-31, with less than four minutes remaining, but the Bears scored the next five points to hold a 37-31 advantage late in the quarter.
Lincoln Park’s Delvon Byner-Simmons brought the Rails back to within a possession after he knocked down a big three-pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining in the quarter for a 37-34 Roosevelt lead entering the fourth.
The Bears looked primed to pull away early in the fourth after a 7-1 run in the first two and a half minutes, but Lincoln Park refused to go without a fight. Trailing 47-38, the Rails scored the next six points to climb within three points with three minutes left.
The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes, but sloppy Roosevelt play down the stretch allowed Lincoln Park to shorten the gap even further.
Lincoln Park’s Tywan Cage made it 53-50 with a layup with 40 seconds remaining and after a Roosevelt turnover, the junior knocked down a pair of free throws to pull the Rails within one, 53-52.
The Bears averted disaster on the next possession when freshman guard Donnie Corley took a near-turnover and turned it into a Roosevelt layup for a 55-52 lead.
“I’m happy we won, but turnovers we’ve got to clean up,” Cramton said. “That’s why we’ve lost a couple of key games is turning the ball over way too many times. If you do that, you’re just asking to get beat.”
The Rails outscored Roosevelt 35-32 in the second half, but poor shooting from the three-point and free throw lines plagued the visitors and prevented them from getting over the hump.
“I thought we played hard, but we didn’t execute very well,” Tobin said. “When you shoot 3-for-30 from three and 13-for-28 from the line, it doesn’t help.”
The Bears held a significant rebounding advantage throughout the contest with two players in double-figures on the glass and while another had seven.
“In the last six games, five of them we got outrebounded and we lost three of them,” Cramton said. “It comes down to getting more shots and, on the offensive end, it’s all about desire.”
All nine Roosevelt players who saw time on the court scored at least two points and the Bears were led by Stewart with 13 points. The senior also pulled down 11 rebounds.
Damon Singleton had eight points and 13 rebounds, Corley had eight and Cannon, Tyler Thorington and Jacob Lavis each had six.
“Credit to Wyandotte, they played hard and protected their home court,” Tobin said. “I think you see it’s two pretty evenly-matched teams.”
Lincoln Park’s Michael Tillmon-Cornett led all scorers with 17 points to go with seven rebounds and three steals. Cage had 16 points and Byner-Simmons added 11 points and five boards.
“We’ve got to get better,” Tobin said. “This is one we wanted tonight, but we’ve got to bounce back Thursday against Woodhaven and finish the first half of the league season 5-4.”
Though happy with the win, Cramton knows his Bears half to improve heading into the second half of the league season and eventually districts.
“I’m trying to find all of the positives that I can, but there are still so many things we need to clean up,” Cramton said. “I just talked about on Sunday that we want to be in this top five because we want another chance to play Truman and we want another chance to play Trenton. If we’re not in that top five, we don’t get a chance to.”
Roosevelt closes out the first half of the Downriver League season on Thursday at Kennedy while the Railsplitters remain on the road that same night at Woodhaven.
Last Updated: 1/30/2013 12:07:33 PM EST