St. Mary's crowned district champs in win over Raiders

After a season to forget in 2010, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s can make some more room in its trophy case for a district championship.

The Eaglets avenged last year’s district loss to North Farmington by defeating the Raiders, 43-38, in a Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) district final at Farmington on Friday, March 11.

“We’re playing well and we’ve gotten better,” St. Mary’s Head Coach George Porritt said. “I’m pretty pleased with our team.”

The win marked the Eaglets’ fifth district title in the past six seasons, with last season’s 5-16 record as the only blemish.

St. Mary’s (13-9) found itself trailing 7-4 at the end of the first quarter. But, the Eaglets went on an 11-7 run in the second quarter and took a 15-14 lead at halftime.

North Farmington (13-10) took a 25-24 lead in the third quarter before the Eaglets would come back to build an 8-point cushion in the fourth quarter and go on to win.

Allen Robinson finished with 22 points for St. Mary’s while Justin Barrows had 10.

“The play of Robinson and Barrows was key, and Shaun Covington helped us at point guard and handled the pressure,” Porritt said.

Urbane Bingham finished with 17 points for the Raiders, who saw their long-time coach, Tom Negoshian, coach his final game last Friday, as he will now retire with more than 500 wins.

Prior to the district final, St. Mary’s easily defeated host Farmington, 82-37, in an MHSAA district semi-final on Wednesday, March 9.

Robinson scored 24 points while Sam McClendon had 16, Barrows scored 13, and Corey Lucas had 11.

The Eaglets played in an MHSAA Class A Regional semi-final at Ann Arbor Pioneer on Monday, March 14 after press time against Hartland, which defeated Walled Lake Central and Walled Lake Northern to win its district playoff last week.

The winner will face either Ann Arbor Huron or Novi Detroit Catholic Central in an MHSAA regional final tonight, Wednesday, March 16.

“We have to do what we do well and can’t have a bad night,” Porritt said.