Poised Cobras earn ‘electric’ win over Belleville in district semis
Canton’s Noah Tarquinto takes the ball to the basket against Belleville’s Adam Coates.
When first-year Canton Head Basketball Coach Jordan Nobles opened his team’s locker room door moments after the Cobras’ impressive 55-44 victory over host Belleville Wednesday night, an explosion of joy could be heard echoing off the space’s walls.
“It was electric,” Nobles said, explaining the atmosphere in the locker room. “I have eight seniors and they’re not ready to go home. To see those guys persevere down the stretch and come up with big play after big play, they deserve this.
“The job’s not done yet, but I’m proud of them. Now we have to get ready for Friday.”
Talented Railsplitters on deck
Canton (14-8) advanced to the MHSAA Division 1 District 16 championship game set for Friday at 7 p.m. at Belleville High School. It will face off against 19-4 Ypsilanti Lincoln, which moved on after holding off Salem, 67-56, in Wednesday’s first game at Belleville.
A Canton victory Friday night would give the school its first boys basketball district title since 2013.
As he often does, senior Jaylen Tramble powered the Cobras’ victory with 17 points and several big rebounds. Canton’s reserves — particularly LJ Jelks (15 points) and Zack Quigley (seven points) — were spectacular in the win.
The biggest shot of the night in terms of momentum came from Quigley, who buried a 35-foot three-point shot as the first-half buzzer sounded, extending Canton’s lead to 26-20 at the intermission.
“Zack doesn’t make a lot of threes, but when he does, they’re timely,” Nobles said, smiling. “The thing with Zack, it doesn’t matter if he plays five minutes or 20 minutes, he plays tough at both ends.
Jelks dynamic in reserve role
“LJ gave us life off the bench, too. He’s great at pressuring the ball on defense and he did a great job tonight of getting into the paint and creating plays for himself or his teammates.”
The Cobras, who trailed 6-0 at the get-go, delivered a dagger with just over two minutes to play when Drew Putnam found nothing but net on a triple to extend his team’s lead to 48-37. The shot seemed to deflate the Tigers, who kept storming back from big deficits only to get stonewalled by the Cobras’ clutch shooting and defense.
Tramble was spectacular, scoring mostly on drives to the bucket or at the free throw line, where he knocked down 6 of 9 attempts.
Tramble keeps Cobras on track
“Jaylen has been our go-to guy all season,” Nobles asserted. “When things get tough, he’s the one who usually makes a play. He rebounds the ball well for a guy his size. He’s 6-1, but he plays like he’s 6-5.”
Belleville’s highlight came in the third quarter when sky walker Adam Coats blocked a Canton shot back toward his own basket. Tyrell Pouncy grabbed the rebound and went coast-to-coast, finishing with an emphatic slam dunk.
Coats led the Tigers with 19 points. Bryce Watts contributed 12.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
