Wayne clinches KLAA East after repelling Dearborn rally
Wayne and Dearborn players hustle after a rebound during Monday’s tension-packed game.
As Wayne Memorial exploded to a 17-2 lead in the opening minutes of Monday’s game against visiting Dearborn that would determine the champion of the KLAA East Division, the pre-game drama the match-up promised seemed to evaporate into thin air.
At one point in the third quarter, the Zebras extended their cushion to 42-23, further lessening the chances of a memorable, down-to-the-wire encounter.
Moments, later, however, things got interesting.
The Pioneers defense started to manufacture stops at the same time their shooters began raining threes on the Zebras.
Epic rally
With 50 ticks left on the clock, Wayne’s once-monstrous lead had been cut to 47-46 — setting up the kind of tense ending observers were hoping to see.
Entering the game, Wayne was 13-0 in the division; Dearborn was 12-1. The first game the two teams played this season finished with the Zebras on top, 68-65, meaning the Pioneers needed to win Monday’s game by four points to win the first-place tie-breaker.
A three-point Dearborn win would have necessitated a coin toss to determine the division champion.
Wayne’s Jaylohn Allen — who had been honored during a pre-game Senior Night ceremony as the school’s all-time leading scorer — made sure the coin toss wouldn’t be necessary.
Allen provides exclamation points
With ice water seemingly flowing through his veins, Allen filled the net with a triple to give the Zebras a 50-46 lead. Seconds later, the Pioneers missed a three and Wayne got the ball into the hands of Allen, who was fouled and sank two free throws to put the finishing touches on a 52-49 Wayne victory.
The win catapulted the Zebras into Friday’s 7 p.m. KLAA championship game At Northville against West Division champion Hartland.
You can rest assured Wayne won’t take the Eagles lightly. In last year’s KLAA title game, the state-ranked Zebras –who would ultimately advance to the MHSAA Division 1 championship game against East Lansing — were upset by huge underdog Novi.
Allen was phenomenal against Dearborn, scoring a game-high 25 points on a night when he buried four treys and knocked down all four of his free throws.
Goins gave Zebras potent 1-2 punch
Senior Zebra Cyrus Goins was Robin to Allen’s Batman, contributing 18 points to go along with a team-leading eight rebounds and multiple blocks.
Dearborn’s balanced attack was led by Adam Haidar’s 15 points — two more than teammate Ali Ramsey’s 13.
Adam Mashhour (eight points), Ousmane Caulibaly (seven) and Hassan Makki (six) all made contributions, especially during the epic comeback that fell just short.
Dearborn will face Brighton Friday night at 5:30 p.m. in the a game featuring the two divisions’ runners-up.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
