It wasn't necessarily late, but Cass Tech withstood a run from the Detroit Renaissance and won 72-70 in the Public School League title game Sunday at Wayne State Fieldhouse, defeating the city's He remained in the first team.
Castec held a 14-point lead near the midway point of the fourth quarter, but a late run cut the lead to three points with a minute left due to turnovers and missed free throws against a full-court press. . But after four consecutive misses at the line, sophomore Corey Sadler and senior Derrick Miller stepped up in quick succession and separated the pair from the charity stripe in front of a deafening crowd. Won the public school league championship for the second year in a row.
“Sometimes teams run, but basketball is all about the run,” Sadler told the Free Press. “So we stuck together, stayed calm and were able to get the win.”
The Division I state champions were led by Miller and Sadler with both 18 points and Lee Harris with 18 points as well. Sadler was solid in the third quarter, scoring six points, while Miller exploded for 11 points in the third quarter. He helped Castec build a 16-point lead. Turns out, we needed that margin. Harris got most of his points from the line, including five free throws in the final quarter.
A big reason why Cast Tech was able to build a lead was because of its defense, which outscored Renaissance 22-10 in the third quarter. After giving up 14 points in the first half to Renaissance junior Lance Stone, who was named Mr. PSL at halftime, he held the league's best player to five points in the third quarter and just three points in the fourth for a total of 22 points. And so. Sophomore Jordan Sigmon scored 17 points, including four nine-point innings, and sophomore Marcellus Phelps had 12 points.
Girls PSL Final:Detroit Renaissance defeats Cass Tech 66-27 in Women's PSL Championship Game
Cass Tech head coach Steve Hall said this win was one of the happiest of his career, as those outside the program didn't have such high expectations for the defending champions. said. Castec had to replace all five starters from last year's title team and promote players to new and bigger roles. Yet they continued to hoist the trophy in the center of Wayne State Stadium without missing a beat.
“The feeling was that this year's team didn't have enough people to get it done,” Steve Hall said. “That's motivation for us. … I'm very proud of this team and I feel like this team is really good.”
After both teams were even for the first four minutes of the game, Castec built a lead in the first quarter. Harris made two free throws on a Stevie Hall steal, and Stone answered with a three in front of Cass Tech's bench. After three points, Renaissance coach John D. White received a technical foul on the opposing team for “unsportsmanlike conduct,” and Castec held on for four points to extend the lead to 15-9. At the end of the first quarter, the Technicians led 22-14.
Stone continued with a layup and an and-one, sandwiched by a 3-pointer from Cass Tech's Miller to pace the Renaissance and cut the lead to 25-19. Stone, who was named Mr. PSL at halftime, finished the first half with 14 points. The Renaissance answered with a jumper from Mathew Collins and a free throw from Harris, converting all layups on a 6-0 run to make it 34-32 before cutting the lead to four points by halftime. Miller added a layup with 10 seconds left to make it a two-possession game. Harris was Castec's leading scorer with 11 points in the first half.
“Our standards and the letters on our hearts are the same,” Steve Hall said of replacing last year's production. “We've made a lot of progress since December. We always said we'd shoot for late January, early February, but now we're on track. As a coach, I'm very happy.”
The Technicians were able to close the gap in the third quarter, outscoring Renaissance 22-10 and leading 58-42 heading into the fourth quarter. Cast Tech started the second half with a 12-2 run in the first half of the quarter. Miller converted an and-one with a floater during that stretch, drained a three and added a layup to continue his personal 8-0 run. After Miller ended the quarter with a layup with seconds left, Cast Tech built its largest lead of 16 heading into the fourth set.
Miller said he focused on being more patient in the second half. That's a message Hall also conveyed, where he said the shots will come because part of the offense is going through him.
“We were forcing our shots in the first half,” Miller said. “So in the second half, I let them come to me. I let them take control of the game.”
However, Castec could not maintain their advantage in the final quarter as Renaissance fought back. The Technicians led 68-54 with over three minutes left, but were unable to score over the next two minutes, with Phoenix leading 10-0 to make it 68-64. Sadler went to the free throw line and split a pair, ending a streak of five straight missed free throws and making it 69-64. Sadler wasn't satisfied with his subsequent free throw slump and vowed to practice hard before the state tournament.
“We were just together and we were brothers,” Sadler said. “Our teammates know each other very well. They fight for each other and protect each other. (We) just stayed together and stayed calm.”
Renaissance freshman Alfonzo Harris hit the first bucket 3 of the game from Top of the Key to make it 70-67 with a minute left. Cass Tech split a free throw with 30 seconds left until Miller was fouled, then a defensive stop and another free throw from Sadler to end the game and repeat as PSL champions.
“Our program is currently at an exciting stage,” Hall said. “There is pressure on the current group to achieve what the previous group has achieved, which is good pressure, but still, it is to be expected that there will be pressure. We’ve had some close games this year and guys have stepped up.”
