PHOTO FINISH: Northville downs Canton at the wire, 53-52

Northville’s Marcus Hudson battles Canton’s Teddy Winstel for a rebound.
Just when it appeared either Canton or Northville had put a headlock on a victory late in Friday’s critical KLAA West boys basketball game, the headlock-ee executed a Houdini-like escape.
In a battle for a share of first place in the hotly-contested divisional race, the visiting Cobras surged ahead 44-40 with four minutes remaining on the last of Kessler Blakita’s three consecutive strong-to-the-hoop baskets.
Undeterred, the Mustangs scored eight straight points on clutch threes from Nate-Isiah Imbuzeiro and Brody Grezak and two free throws from Kaden Kuban to seize the lead back, 48-44.

Northville ultimately built a semi-comfortable 53-49 lead in the final seconds before Cobra senior guard Teddy Winstel buried a triple with 9.1 seconds left to bring his team to within 53-52.
Drama-coated ending
On the ensuing Northville inbounds pass, Winstel dove on the floor to secure a loose ball while calling a timeout to set up a potential game-winning bucket with 12 seconds left.
After the Mustangs committed two consecutive fouls (they had only accumulated two up to that point), Canton ran a play with 7.1 ticks left.

Blakita drove to the rack before dishing the ball to Jaylen Tramble, whose contested shot from the left side of the rim bounced off the iron and into the hands of Northville’s Marcus Hudson, who passed the ball out of harm’s way to Simon Sondreal as the buzzer sounded.
(To watch the final frenetic 7 seconds, click here.)
The 53-52 triumph propelled the 8-4 Mustangs into a three-way tie at 4-1 atop the KLAA West along with Novi and Brighton. Canton slipped to 7-2 and 3-2, respectively.
Tight throughout
Breathing room was rare for both teams throughout the game as a five-point lead proved to be a luxury.
The contest was knotted at 14-all after one quarter and 22-22 at the half.
Grezak was a beast inside and out for the winners, finishing with a team-high 17 points. He had a ton of support from Imbuzerio (10 points), Sondreal (8), Hudson (8) and Kuban (7).


Reserve guard Ryan Young chipped in with four timely points in the third quarter.
Cobra contributors
Blakita was stellar for the Cobras, scoring 17 points — many coming in rush hour-like traffic near the basket. Winstel was solid, too, scoring 11 points.
Other big-time contributors for Canton were Nick Hurley (7 points), Tramble (6) and sophomore Liam Wilson (6).
Lemuel Pettway only scored three points, but he was a force on the glass and with his defensive effort.
The high-flying Hudson snatched 12 rebounds to lead Northville.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.