Friday's preps: Whitford, King edge Cass Tech

David Goricki
The Detroit News
Cass Tech and King fought it out for the second time this season.

Detroit — Jordan Whitford’s 15-footer with three seconds left proved to be the difference in No. 10 Detroit King’s 50-48 PSL win over No. 7 Detroit Cass Tech Friday afternoon before a packed house of nearly 1,500 at King.

Whitford, a front-runner for the Mr. PSL Award, made the jumper and was mobbed by his teammates and fans who went on the floor to celebrate after King (11-1, 7-1) avenged its earlier season loss (55-41, Dec. 18) at Cass Tech.

And, while the officials put 1.1 seconds back on the clock, a riot almost took place with fans again coming out of the seats, but school officials, coaches and security acted quickly to avoid a problem.

After a delay of nearly 10 minutes, Cass Tech (9-2, 7-1) — which needed to go the length of the floor — had its inbounds pass stolen near midcourt to end the game.

“I knew all along if they left me open it was going up,” said Whitford, who finished with 13 points. “Coach (George Ward) told me to get the ball and he told me whatever happens after that, he wins with me or he loses with me and that’s what I like about Coach.

“Our bigs played a big role. We kind of got beat a little bit in the first half. Coach told them to step it up and that’s what they did. It feels so good (to beat Cass Tech). It feels so good.”

King is known for its strong defense and it had four blocks in the opening quarter and 11 for the game, the final one coming when John Massey Jr. rejected Daniel Autry’s layup  at one end, leading to a transition basket by Whitford at the other end for a 48-46 King lead with 41.1 seconds left.

“Coach told me to keep going after it and when they went up for the layup I had to go up and get it,” said Massey who finished with six points and three blocks, including one in the opening quarter when his teammate Kayshawn Cowan blocked two and sophomore Omar Zeigler blocked Kalil Whitehead 1 1/2 minutes into the game.

Zeigler scored nine for King and Whitehead scored nine for Cass Tech which also received 10 from Autry.

Cass Tech junior point guard Tyson Acuff scored 17, making a driving layup with 22 seconds left to pull his team even at 48.

In the end, it was King’s rebounding at the offensive end which played a key role in the win.

With King going cold from the perimeter — missing five of its last six 3-pointers, Massey and Keith Tate Jr. each scored off of putbacks to turn a 42-40 deficit into a 44-42 lead with four minutes left.

And, it was important that King was able to take the lead since Whitford had picked up his fourth foul with 5:13 remaining.

Acuff was outstanding, scoring eight during a 18-5 run to end the half to turn a 17-11 deficit into a 29-22 halftime lead.

Then, Acuff opened up the second half with a runner to give Cass Tech its largest lead (31-22) before Whitford answered to keep King in the game.

King freshman guard Chauncy Willis Jr. scored 12, making a 3-pointer in each quarter, including his final one to pull his team within 42-40 with 5:20 left.

“Coach (George Ward) told me to keep shooting so that’s what I did,” said Willis, who was 4-of-6 from deep range.

King will face No. 12 Clarkston (12-2) in Saturday's Horatio Williams Foundation tournament at 6:30 at Warren Fitzgerald.

More boys basketball

Canton 63, Plymouth 47: D.Artis White scored 32 and Vinson Sigmon 16 for Canton (9-1, 6-0 KLAA West). Ryan Berger had 11 points for Plymouth (4-6, 1-5).

Cornerstone Health/Tech. 71, Warren Michigan Collegiate 62: D’Angelo Speed had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Rayvon Black 16 points, six steals and six rebounds and Kyonis Mason 15 points and 10 rebounds for Cornerstone (6-6, 2-2 Charter). Collegiate is 3-6, 2-2.

Dearborn Edsel Ford 75, Melvindale 66 (OT): Jalal Baydoun had 30 points, six rebounds and six assists, Hakeem Fitahey scored 14 and Yousef Hussein 10 for Edsel Ford (11-2, 5-1 Downriver). Marcus Riley scored 25 with 14 rebounds and Markail Riley 16 for Melvindale (7-5, 3-3).

Dearborn Heights Annapolis 70, Livonia Clarenceville 42: Avery Ismail had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Roderick Campbell 16 points and three assists for Annapolis (7-6, 4-4 Western Wayne). Clarenceville is 4-8, 1-7.

Dearborn Heights Crestwood 69, Redford Thurston 65: Mustafa Almuna had 17 points, Zach Jawad 16 and Saif Al-Samhouri 13 for Crestwood (5-5, 3-3 WWAC). Jamar Boyd scored 18 for Thurston (7-4, 6-1).

Detroit Henry Ford 57, Detroit Central 39: Jarvis Brown scored 14 and Davion Norman 10 for Henry Ford (8-4, 6-2). Robert Davis led Central with 10 points.

Detroit Pershing 58, Detroit Denby 57: Tharren Hill had 20 points and five assists and Turk Woodland 11 points for Pershing (12-1, 8-0 PSL East). Denby is 6-6, 4-4.

Detroit Renaissance 75, Detroit CMA 38: Kaylein Marzette had 22 points and eight rebounds, Chandler Turner 17 points and 11 rebounds and Kylin Grant 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Renaissance (9-3, 8-0 PSL West). CMA is 5-5, 3-5.

Detroit University Prep 65, Detroit Community 61: Malcolm Cain scored 19, Jarreau Gonville and Ian Jones 12 each and Zion Cooper 10 for University Prep (6-4, 3-0 MMAC Black). Kesuan Sanders scored 17 for Community 7-1, 3-1.

Gibraltar Carlson 69, Brownstown Woodhaven 65: Josh Warren scored 21 and Marcus Brown 19 for Woodhaven (10-3, 6-1 Downriver League). Carlson is 8-3, 5-1.

Harper Woods 67, Detroit Voyageur 48: Ken Thomas had 21 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and three assists, Curtis Jackson had 10 points, 12 assists, three steals and four rebounds, Logan Garner scored 16, and Daniel Briggs had 10 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks for Harper Woods (9-2, 3-1 Michigan Metro Blue). Voyageur is 3-5, 0-4.

Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy 98, Ferndale University 34: Andre Bradford had 21 points and seven assists and Derrick Bryant Jr. 20 points and six assists for Chandler Park (9-0, 4-0 Charter). Ferndale is 2-5, 1-3.

Marine City Cardinal Mooney 56, Royal Oak Shrine 48: Larry DeDalis had 29 points and 17 rebounds for Cardinal Mooney (6-7). A.J. Massucci scored 21 for Shrine (9-3).

North Farmington 63, West Bloomfield 45: Yusuf Jihad scored 30 and Justus Clark added 15 for North Farmington (8-3, 3-2 OAA Red). Robert Johnson finished with 12 points for West Bloomfield (4-5, 3-3 OAA Red).

Novi 58, Hartland 44: Jiovanni Miles had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Aryan Verma scored 11 for Novi (6-4, 5-1 KLAA West). Collin Arnold scored 12 for Hartland.

Novi Christian 73, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 17: Braelon Green scored 13, Blake Goodman 12, Mackenzy Blackwell 11 and Blake Banks 10 for Novi Christian (6-5, 2-1 MIAC Blue).

Okemos 41, DeWitt 35: Noah Pruitt scored 19 for Okemos (12-1, 6-0 CAAC Blue). Nate Flannery scored 10 for DeWitt (9-2, 5-1).

Orchard Lake St. Mary 52, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 40: Lorne Bowman scored 22 for St. Mary (8-3) and Jack Hannon 18 for Notre Dame Prep (6-6).

Quincy 65, Concord 37: William Dunn scored 37 and Caleb McCavit and Jordan Nelson six each for Quincy (10-0, 6-0 Big 8). Marley Sprague had 17 points for Sprague (1-9, 1-5).

Redford Union 78, Romulus 69: Nahseer Cossom scored 24, Ahneer Cossom had 18 points and nine rebounds and Nate Brown Jr. had 16 points and 11 assists for Union (8-4, 6-1 WWAC). Mohammad Ceesay scored 26 with 10 rebounds and Terrance Broughton scored 13 for Romulus (6-3, 5-2).

River Rouge 68, Ecorse 34: Nigel Colvin had 33 points, hitting 11 3-pointers, with seven coming in the second quarter for River Rouge (9-1, 4-0 MAAC Black). Bralin Toney added 14 points and seven assists. Ecorse is 5-3, 3-1.

Romulus Summit North 61, Dearborn Henry Ford 21: Orlando Lovejoy had 30 points, seven assists and seven steals for North (5-5, 2-2 Charter).

Saginaw 75, Detroit Country Day 59: SirReal Smith scored 32 and Freddie McIntosh 16 for Saginaw (8-2). Julian Roper scored 20, Darrin King 13 and Caleb Tiernan 10 for Country Day (4-7).

Southfield Bradford 62, Detroit Old Redford 51: Daveyon Stewart had 18 points, Percy Redd 14 points, Kenneth Huner 14 points and Romaine McKinney 14 rebounds for Bradford (7-2, 5-0 Charter). Old Redford is 3-7, 1-3.

Walled Lake Northern 47, Walled Lake Western 35: Troy Lattimore scored 13 and Andre Price and Jack McGuire 10 each for Northern (12-0, 6-0 Lakes Valley Conference). Camron led Western (4-7, 1-3) with 13 points.

Wayne Memorial 64, Bellville 45: Dreyon O’Neal had 24 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks, Chris Dobessi 12 points and three steals, Cartier Muse’Shuber 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks and Isiah Lewis 10 points and five assists for Wayne Memorial (8-2, 4-1 KLAA East). Bellville is 5-4, 4-2.

Westland John Glenn 87, Dearborn 63: Joe Moon scored 24 for John Glenn (7-2, 4-2 KLAA East). Jack Melton scored 21 for Dearborn (3-7, 3-3).

Girls basketball

Dearborn 63, Westland John Glenn 37: Emma Obermiller scored 12, Amina Ferris nine and Douaa Daher eight for Dearborn (5-4, 4-2, KLAA East). John Glenn is 4-4, 3-3.

Dearborn Fordson 57, Livonia Franklin 37: Rana Elhusseini had 24 points and eight rebounds for Fordson (6-3, 4-2 KLAA East). Kalin Bates scored 10 for Franklin (3-7, 1-5).

Detroit Country Day 60, Detroit Renaissance 57: Jasmine Powell scored 20, Adrian Folks 18 and Maddie Novak 12 for Country Day (5-5). Renaissance is 8-4.

Garden City 29, Dearborn Heights Robichaud 28: Hayley Shupert scored 13 and Rylan Dolan 10 for Garden City (1-8, 1-5 Western Wayne). Michelle Taylor scored 13 for Robichaud (1-8, 1-5).

Grosse Pointe North 50, Warren Cousino 41: Julia Ayrault scored 21 and Maddie Kohler 13 for North (9-1, 5-0 MAC Red). Mackenzie Cook scored 20 and Kate McArthur 13 for Cousino (6-3, 2-2).

Grosse Pointe South 61, Macomb Dakota 58: Alexa Downey and Kamryn Richards each scored 15 for South (5-4, 1-4 MAC Red). Dakota is 5-6, 0-5.

New Haven 56, Warren Lincoln 27: Dara Capaldi had 11 points and 13 rebounds and Jada Turner 10 points for New Haven (9-1, 4-0 MAC Bronze). Daviana Leonard scored nine for Lincoln (6-3, 3-1).

Plymouth 51, Canton 29: Sydney McCaig had 17 points, Sophie Zelek 15 and Kyra Brandon seven for Plymouth (8-2, 4-2 KLAA West). Emerson Kilgore scored nine for Canton (1-8, 0-6).

River Rouge 67, Ecorse 57: Detorri Hall scored 23, Lamariyee Williams 19 and Curtisey Williams 14 for River Rouge.

Rochester Adams 40, Farmington 28: Lauren Petersmark scored 13 and Abbey Drahnek nine for Adams (4-5, 3-2 OAA White). Lasia Rimson scored 10 for Farmington (1-8, 0-5).

Romulus 50, Redford Union 48: Ciara Hardy scored 25 and Shawn’ta Standifer 14 for Romulus (8-1). Joan Steele had 14 points for Redford Union (6-3).

Roseville 45, Warren Woods Tower 20: DeBraya Edwards had 12 points, five rebounds and four steals and Olivia Vanderham added seven pointsfor Roseville (7-3, 5-0, MAC Silver).

Royal Oak 50, Birmingham Groves 28: Samantha Potter scored 14 and Sarah Soraghan added 12 for Royal Oak (10-0, 5-0 OAA Red). Kaitlyn Quinn had nine points for Groves (2-8, 0-4).

Taylor 52, Southgate Anderson 44: Amiah Thomas had 14 points for Taylor (2-6, 2-4 Downriver) and Courtney Maybery 16 for Anderson (1-7, 1-5).

Trenton 46, Wyandotte 24: Carrie Karp scored 13 and Therese Hebda 10 for Trenton (8-2, 5-1 Downriver). Lillienn Corby scored 12 for Wyandotte (5-4, 5-1).

West Bloomfield 54, Troy 35: Jada Grandy scored 16 for West Bloomfield (9-1, 6-0 OAA White). Kendal Zieter had 19 points and eight rebounds for Troy (5-5, 2-3).