Surging Canton upends Hartland to earn Sweet 16 spot
Canton’s LJ Jelks splits two Hartland defenders during the second half of Tuesday’s MHSAA Division 1 regional semifinal.
Hartland clearly owned the pace of Tuesday night’s low-scoring MHSAA regional semifinal duel against Canton.
At the end of the day, though, the Cobras owned something much more valuable: the scoreboard.
Fueled by timely three-point makes by senior guard Jake Newman and a big second half from Drew Putnam, Canton outlasted the Eagles, 41-33, at Ann Arbor Skyline High School to win for the first time in three tries this season against Hartland.
With the win, Canton advanced to Thursday’s 7 p.m. regional final against Ann Arbor Pioneer, which knocked off Detroit Catholic Central with a last-second bucket.
Cobras adjust to slow-paced game
“That was absolutely not the pace we like to play at,” said first-year Canton Head Coach Jordan Nobles. “That’s Hartland’s pace. We had to make some adjustments through the flow of the game. We had to slow it down a little and execute.”
The Cobras will take a four-game winning streak into Thursday’s game against the Pioneers.
Nobles said there was not a flip-the-switch turnaround moment in his team’s crazy-good season.
“To be honest, I think we’ve been a tough team to beat the entire season,” he said. “It’s all about being consistent like we’ve been lately.
“I think a little of it has to do with it playing in do-or-die games, too. Our players are gravitating to the urgency needed to win in the post-season. I’m very proud of everyone.”
Tramble’s buzzer-beater a momentum changer
After Hartland built a 12-6 first-quarter lead, things started to flow in the Cobras’ direction when senior guard Jaylen Tramble buried a contested drive to just beat the first-quarter buzzer.
The halftime score was a 1950ish 18-18 deadlock as Newman scored eight of his 14 points in the stanza.
“Jake played his butt off and kept us afloat in the first half with some big threes,” Nobles noted. “Drew Putnam was our unsung hero. He didn’t have the best first half (0 points) because of foul trouble, but we told him at halftime that we was going to be dominant for us in the second half — and he was. Liam Wilson played really well, too.
Excellent execution
“Our first two losses to Hartland this season came down to some bad bounces and self-inflicted mistakes. Tonight we executed when we had to and minimized the mistakes.”
The score was within two to four points throughout most of the second half. A Putnam put-back knotted the game at 24-all late in the third quarter before Wilson gave Canton the lead for good on the next possession when he swished a triple.
Canton extended its lead to 31-26 in the fourth before Hartland’s Brad Essenbacher’s knocked down a trey to bring the Eagles to within 31-29.
Newman countered with a three for Canton to make it 34-29. The Cobras finished strong, outscoring the Eagles 7-4 down the stretch.
Putnam scored seven points (all in the second half), while Wilson and Noah Tarquinto both finished with five points. Tarquinto was 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
‘Should be fun’
The Cobras and Pioneers have not faced off this season.
“Playing in Ann Arbor, we’re kind of in enemy territory,” Nobles quipped, eluding to the Pioneers’ huge crowd. “It should be a fun game, for sure.”
Canton’s fan support was immense Tuesday night as its student section filled up at least one-third of the bleachers behind the Cobras’ bench.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
