Canton's Dietrich Lever sliced through the Northville defense for 29 points Wednesday night.

On A Mission

Surging Chiefs hold off late Northville rally to move into District title game

BY ED WRIGHT
March 10, 2010, 11:45 p.m.

  Mohawks plus momentum are proving to be a potent combination for Canton's surging boys basketball team.

   Sporting distinctive haircuts and riding a six-game winning streak, the Chiefs withstood a furious three-point-shot-fueled Northville rally to capture Wednesday night's Class A District semifinal game, 68-55.

  The Chiefs will take on the host school Novi in Friday's 7 p.m. District final. The Wildcats defeated Plymouth, 66-45 in Wednesday night's second semifinal clash.

  Sparked by a huge first half from Kevin Weisz and Dietrich Lever, Canton constructed a seemingly indestructible 34-10 halftime lead, but the sharp-shooting Mustangs clawed back to within eight with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter.

  "When Northville was making its run, I didn't call a time-out because we have a veteran group, this is game number 22 and I wanted to see them fight their way through it," said Canton coach Jimmy Reddy.

  The Chiefs did just that, hitting some clutch free throws down the stretch while amping up their pressure on the Mustangs' sizzling perimeter shooters.

  Lever followed up a 27-point performance on Monday with a 29-point gem against Northville. The 5-10 guard was a thorn in the Mustangs' side all night, draining a trio of treys, dishing out four assists and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.

  He was also clutch from the line, connecting on 10 of 14 free throws.

  "Dietrich was amazing again tonight," said Reddy.

  Weisz, a senior forward, registered 10 of his 14 points in the first half.  His two first-quarter threes were instrumental in Canton seizing a 14-5 lead after one quarter.

  Brandon Duffey was his always-reliable self, netting 11 points while contributing lock-down defense.

  And four of sophomore center Paul Baumgart's eight points could be classified as spectacular.

  With just a half-second left in the third quarter and the Chiefs taking the ball out of bounds on the side, Baumgart utilized a back-screen from Lever then soared high to grab a perfect in-bounds pass from Duffey and lay it in at the buzzer to extend Canton's lead to 49-27.

  Baumgart then started the fourth quarter with an electrifying dunk to push the Chiefs' lead to 51-27.

  Northville wouldn't quit, roaring back to within eight thanks in large part to the long-range heroics of Tim Hasse, who swished five triples on the way to a team-high 21 points.

  The Mustangs put up an NBA-like 28 fourth-quarter points, but it wasn't enough against the team with the slick lids.

  Friday night's encounter with Novi will be a first for the Chiefs, who improved to 16-6.

  "Tonight was the first solid look I've had of Novi and they're really, really good," Reddy said. "They have four or five guys who can make the three and their big guy (Samir Ozier) is a lot like Kevin Weisz in that he can hurt you from the perimeter or inside."

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.