Canton's Kai Walther (left) and Yussef Bazzy defend Salem's Ethan Walsh (photo by John Kemski).

No Denying
Dietrich
Lever pours in 27 to lead Chiefs to 54-42 District victory over Salem

BY ED WRIGHT
March 8, 2010, 10:10 p.m.

  Whether  picking off passes in the open court or executing ESPN Sportscenter-caliber plays in the Land of the Giants, Canton junior Dietrich Lever put on a show Monday night in the Chiefs' Class A District-opening game against Salem.

    The 5-foot-10 point guard not only scored exactly half of his team's points (27) in Canton's 54-42 victory, he nearly pulled off an unheard of double-double, recording eight steals.

  Lever's most electrifying play unfolded with six minutes left and the Chiefs in charge, 48-34. After dribbling into the paint, he eluded a pair of 6-foot-3-plus post players with a cross-over dribble before defying a third towering defender with a left-handed scoop shot while getting fouled.

  "I was just trying to make something happen," a smiling Lever said, reflecting on the crowd-pleasing three-pointer. "I got by my guy and another guy came up, so I made a move. It's not something I practice; it's just the nature of the game."

  With the victory, Canton (15-6) advanced to Wednesday's 5 p.m. District semifinal game against Northville (9-11), which closed the season strong.

  "We wanted to be aggressive defensively tonight and we wanted to get out in transition," Canton coach Jimmy Reddy said. "I thought we did both of those things well. The last two times we played Salem, we walked the ball up too much. The guys did a good job of getting the ball up the court quicker tonight.

  "Northville's a good team. They have some really good shooters, so we're going to have to guard the three. If we don't play as well as we did tonight, we're not going to be playing on Friday."

  The Chiefs made exactly half of their 40 shots, thanks in large part to Lever's fast-break igniting steals.

  "You have to anticipate where they're going with the ball," he said, when asked to explain his high steal rate. "If a guy gets the ball on the wing, he more than likely is going to give it back to the point guard. I just have to figure out when.

  "It feels good (when he sees nothing but open court ahead of him after a steal). It feels like two points racking up in my head."

  Seniors Kevin Weisz and Brandon Duffey, and sophomore Paul Baumgart played strong supporting roles for the Chiefs. Weisz and Duffey both contributed eight points while Baumgart chipped in with five points and a team-high six rebounds.

  Salem senior Jake Peterson closed out his outstanding high school career with a solid game, netting 17 points and game-high seven rebounds. Devonta Riley and Tyler Stewart both scored six points for the Rocks.

  Salem outrebounded the Chiefs, 30-18, but was done in by 21 turnovers and shaky shooting (11 of 36).

  Canton bolted to a 15-2 lead 4:50 into the game before Salem closed the first quarter with a 6-2 run.

  The Rocks carried a manageable 29-21 deficit into the half after Riley swished a triple with a minute left before intermission.

  The Rocks trailed 38-30 when Stewart drained a trey with 1:30 to play in the third quarter, but Canton put together a 6-2 burst late in the stanza to regain control.

  The Chiefs' lead never dropped below 12 points over the final eight minutes.

  Canton hit 12 of 22 free throws (54.5 percent)  while the Rocks were 16 of 23 from the line (69.5).