Canton's Paul Baumgart soared to block this Rodney Butler shot. (Ed Wright photo)

Canton does itself proud in 11-point setback to PSL power

  For 31 minutes Friday night, Canton's basketball team out-dunked high-flying Detroit Public School League power Martin Luther King.

  But in the end, the Crusaders' superior quickness, length and moon-walking leaping ability prevailed on the scoreboard, 66-55, in a rare KLAA-vs.-PSL match-up in the Phase III gymnasium.

  The Chiefs fell to 0-2, but they earned some much-deserved respect from King and their head coach, Jimmy Reddy.

  "I was proud of the way our guys fought tonight," said Reddy. "They didn't give up. They played the whole 32. We just couldn't get over the hump. We'd get it down to five or six and then we'd miss around the rim, or we couldn't get a loose ball.

  "I thought our effort was good tonight and our energy was really good. King has a very good team. They're athletic and long. Number two (Dennis Norfleet) and number thirty-two (Malik Albert) really hurt us tonight."

  The Chiefs led throughout much of the first half before taking a 21-18 deficit into the half.

  The highlight of the opening 16 minutes was Canton junior Paul Baumgart's spectacular dunk off an alley-oop pass from Dietrich Lever mid-way through the second quarter.

  However, the play finished No. 2 on the Plays of the Game chart thanks to a combined effort by King's Calvin Foster and Albert with 40 seconds left.

  Running ahead of the pack on a fast-break, Foster under-handed the ball off the back-board. Albert then swooped in, cradled the ball with his right hand and slammed it home to put an exclamation point on the Crusaders' victory.

  King used an 8-3 spurt at the beginning of the third quarter to open up a 29-21 lead, but the Chiefs wouldn't go away.

  The hosts scrambled back to within 36-33 on a Josh Mayberry triple with 3:10 left in the third stanza, but King countered with a 6-0 run to maintain its cushion.

  Canton would never break the six-point barrier again.

  Following a cold-shooting beginning, Lever rebounded nicely in the second half and finished with a game-high 26 points.

  Baumgart more than held his own in the paint, netting 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

  Terrell Sewell also played well for the Chiefs, scoring five points to go with 10 rebounds. Ben Spreitzer added five points and Kyle Adams chipped in with four.

  Albert led the Crusaders with 22 points. Norfleet canned 17 points and six rebounds, while Foster finished with 14 points and six boards.

  King was cooking from the free-throw line, burying 16 of 20 attempts. Canton made just 13 of 24 freebies.

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

Canton's Dietrich Lever drives to the basket against King's Dennis Norfleet. (Ed Wright photo) 

Canton's Terrell Sewell attempts to tie up King's Dennis Norfleet. (Ed Wright photo)

Canton's Kyle Adams defends King's Malik Albert. (Ed Wright photo)

Canton's Josh Mayberry goes all out to save a ball from going out of bounds. (Ed Wright photo)