KLAA North banner goes to Mott after 44-40 win over Vikes

An article by Michael Shelton    No Comments

After a year’s absence, Waterford Mott is back atop the Kensington Lakes Activities Association (KLAA) North Division.

The Corsairs clinched the 2012 KLAA North title outright with a 44-40 victory at home over the defending North Division champion, Walled Lake Central, on Friday, Feb. 10, in a winner-take-all matchup.

“It’s a great feeling to win the division,” said Mott Head Coach Jeff Jayson, who is a division-winning coach in just his first season. “I am so happy and proud of every one of my players. They put the time in the gym in the spring, summer, and fall. All their time paid off.”

The Corsairs (13-2 overall, 9-1 in the KLAA North) had won the first two KLAA North Division crowns in 2009 and 2010, before finishing below .500 last season and ceding the title to Central.

To make matters worse, former Mott Head Coach Derek Wiley resigned before the beginning of this season, while Mott’s leading scorer, Chris Newberry, transferred to Southfield Christian.

Yet, with Jayson promoted from assistant coach to head coach, the Corsairs proved skeptics wrong and put themselves in position to win the division in the final game of the North schedule.

Both Central and Mott entered Friday’s game with 8-1 division records, with Central (12-3 overall, 8-2 in the KLAA North) having won their previous meeting, 49-47, back on Jan. 20.

But Mott seized the moment last Friday night.

Senior DaVonte Daniel scored 17 points and had 17 rebounds in a performance worthy of a division title game, while junior Khalil Malone had 10 points, which all came on free-throws as he shot 10-of-12 from the line.

Senior Brody Losh also scored 8 points for the Corsairs.

“I’m extremely happy for my senior players. They get to hang a banner in our gym,” Jayson said. “The key to our victory Friday was our mental toughness and our discipline. We knew that we had to protect our paint and make them earn every point they got. Each player played within their role for the betterment of the team and it paid off.”

Tai Abola led Central with 17 points in defeat.

“We allowed Daniel to hurt us too much in the first half, which allowed them to build a 19-9 lead,” said Central Head Coach Dennis Butcher. “We held Mott to 5 total field goals in the second half, which speaks to how hard we were playing on defense. The difference late was not making free-throws and some costly turnovers.”

Mott began its week with a 51-38 victory at Walled Lake Western on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Hunter Reiche led Mott with 11 points, while Malone had 10 and Andrew Hovsepian scored 9.

Meanwhile, Central defeated Walled Lake Northern at home, 56-45, on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Chuck Taylor led the Vikings with 19 points. T.J. Warren followed with 17.

Mott was scheduled to play at KLAA West Division champion Huron Valley Milford yesterday, Tuesday, Feb. 14 after press time, while Central traveled to Pinckney.

Both teams will begin KLAA Lakes Conference Tournament play on Friday, Feb. 17, as Central will travel to Howell and Mott will play at Pinckney.

“Our kids our very resilient; it may take a day or two to get over, but I won’t let them dwell on it very long. We have two big objectives ahead of us — the KLAA tournament and districts,” Butcher said.