Early turnovers costly for Northville in setback to Rochester Adams
Rochester Adams junior Lochland Tilletson drives to the basket against Northville’s Nate Imbuzeiro.
The Northville boys basketball team’s incredible streak of winning four consecutive home overtime games was halted by Rochester Adams Thursday night due in part to a first-quarter offensive showing that, at times, resembled an ugly sweater contest.
Irritated by the Highlanders’ in-your-face defensive effort, the Mustangs recorded more first-quarter turnovers (10) than attempted shots (four) — and didn’t score until the 1:29 mark of the first quarter — as Adams rolled to a 59-46 victory.
Adams improved to 5-0 while the hosts slipped to 1-2 in a KLAA/OLAA Challenge clash.
Frigid from the field
Predictably — given its ball-handling woes — Northville trailed 12-3 after the opening eight minutes with all three points the result of Kaden Kuban free throws.
Sparked by a pair of contested three-point buckets from sixth man Nate Imbuzeiro, the Mustangs found an offensive groove with a 13-point second quarter, but they could never cut their deficit to fewer than six points.
Senior Peter Kardasis paced the Highlanders with 23 points.
Junior Trent LaGarde tallied 17 points for the winners — 15 in the final three quarters.
3’s start falling
Imbuzeiro led Northville with 13 points — nine coming on a trio of three-point shots — while Kuban and Nick Helner both netted eight points.
Senior Sonny Rentz was relentless on the boards for Northville, grabbing nine rebounds.
The Highlanders drained a pair of long buzz-beaters from Kardasis that stonewalled Northville comeback bids.
Heart-breaking buzz-beaters
Kardasis’ long heave just inside the half-court line found the net as the first-quarter buzzer sounded. He hit an almost identical shot to end the third quarter after Northville had trimmed its deficit to 38-32 on an and-one scoring effort by Bennett Watson.
The Mustangs return to the court Saturday, Dec. 16, when it hosts Detroit Country Day in the first game (of four) of the Northville Winter Shootout.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
