Canton resident helps Belleville sideline Chiefs, 61-23
Belleville freshman and Canton resident Sydney Savoury hits a shot against the school she would have attended had she chosen not to enroll in the Van Buren School District, which is an open district.
In a quirky twist of fate, a resident of Canton was the catalyst in Belleville’s 61-23 victory over Canton in Wednesday’s MHSAA Division 1 regional final at Westland John Glenn High School.
The setback ended a splendid resurgent season for the Chiefs, who finished with 21 wins and the school’s first district championship in 10 years.
The Tigers were led by freshman Sydney Savoury, who lives in Canton and played travel basketball with a few Canton players before deciding to take her talents south to the Van Buren School District, which is an open district.
Savoury pumped in a team-high 24 points. She had plenty of help from Secrette Carter, who netted 22 points — 18 the result of net-finding three-point makes.
That the ninth-grader is playing for a school outside her city of residence is not against the MHSAA’s rules; it’s just a sign of the times of Michigan high school basketball, where home-grown teams like Canton are often derailed by regional squads.
Tough times for home-grown teams
Many of the dominant Division 1 teams in the state tournament are now populated by players drawn to a particular school by travel coaches — or simply because they want to play with teammates they excelled with at the AAU level.
Community loyalty, in some cases, has gone the way of the peach basket.
To their credit, the Chiefs were built the old-fashioned way, drawing players from the district’s middle schools who may be slightly less-dynamic compared to the Bellevilles of the world, but compete at an extremely high level.
Canton competed with the Tigers dribble-for-dribble over the first nine minutes Wednesday, trailing just 11-10 early in the second quarter.
For just a moment, an epic upset appeared at least remotely possible.
Talented Tigers
But the pressing, trapping, lightning-quick Tigers quickly put a headlock on the game’s momentum, reeling off a 22-3 run to end the half and pretty much turn the lights out on the Chiefs’ season.
Belleville kept the pedal to the metal in the third quarter and most of the fourth, leading at one point 40-13.
The game marked the high school finale of Canton star Justice Tramble, who scored 12 points despite repeated double- and triple-teams.
While the Tigers rarely missed from beyond the three-point arc, Canton was stone cold, failing to convert a long-range shot. The inaccurate shooting from outside allowed Belleville to continue to give extra attention to Tramble.
Two Chiefs — senior Maya Joiner and freshman McKinsey Berlin — suffered second-quarter injuries that forced them to leave the game for extended time — a scenario that didn’t help the underdogs’ cause.
Canton lost to a better team Wednesday night, but there is no shame in that — especially considering the Chiefs won 21 games the old-fashioned way, with girls who play for the school in their hometown school district.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
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