Valiant
Effort

Youthful Salem nearly derails Novi

BY ED WRIGHT
Jan. 13, 2010, 1:30 a.m.

  At times Tuesday night, Salem's basketball team employed a freshman to break a nasty press; a sophomore to pull down a batch of gutsy rebounds and score a dozen clutch points; and a whole bunch of first-year varsity juniors to battle toe-to-toe with a highly skilled Novi team.

  Yes, the future is bright for the Rocks.

  The present was too Tuesday night -- at least for three quarters.

  When Ethan Walsh softly laid in an offensive rebound one minute into the second half, Salem led the mighty (and tall) Wildcats, 34-24.

  However, Novi prevailed down the stretch to survive a noble Salem effort, 54-51.

  Both teams shared identical 5-2 overall records and 1-1 marks in the KLAA Central following the dramatic contest played in the Salem gym.

  "We gave up too many fast-break baskets in the first half and in the second half we gave up too many offensive rebounds," said Salem coach Bob Brodie. "At our end, they were pressuring us with a man-to-man, straight-up-in-your-face defense that kind of took us out of our game in the second half.

  "We were dribbling too much in the second half and forcing too many shots instead of executing the offense."

  Following Walsh's put-back, Novi reeled off a 23-6 surge to grab a 47-40 advantage with 3:50 left in the game.

  However, as has been its method of operations all season, Salem hung tough, rallying to within 52-51 thanks to a seven-point explosion from junior guard Devonta Riley, a pretty scoop shot from Josh Perrin and a pair of crucial free throws from Jake Peterson, the team's lone senior.

  Novi's Jeremy Mims coolly drained a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds left to extend his team's lead to three.

  Peterson was forced to launch a tough three from the deep corner with a second left. When the shot hit the rim and bounced high as the clock hit zeros, the Wildcats were able to breathe easy for the first time all night.

  Peterson led the Rocks with 13 points. The steady senior also pulled down six rebounds and played stellar defense in the lane.

  Tyler Stewart, the before-mentioned 10th-grader, played like a senior, netting 12 tough points and six boards. He also applied some grade-A defense to Mims, holding the fleet-footed senior to 11 points.

  Walsh scored just four points, but he was the chairman of the boards for Salem, hauling in 15 rebounds.

  Salem's freshman press-breaker was 6-foot-5 Chris Dierker, who finished with three points and two rebounds.

  Samer Ozeir, a 6-8 junior forward, scored a game-high 14 points for Novi despite hitting just six of his 20 field-goal attempts.

  "They're a good team," Brodie said of Novi. "They can shoot the ball, they play good defense and they have some size inside.

  "There aren't going to be any easy nights in our division this year."

  Salem hit 18 of 50 shots (36 percent), but only six of 23 attempts over the final 16 minutes. Novi had a tough time finding the cylinder all night, hitting just 19 of 60 field-goal attempts (31.6 percent).

  The Rocks nailed 11 of 19 free throws while the Wildcats were red-hot from the line, swishing 13 of 17 freebies.

  Salem won the battle of the boards, 38-31, but committed 18 turnovers to the Wildcats' seven.

  Novi broke loose for an early 10-2 lead four minutes into the game, but the Rocks responded with a 16-4 run that was sparked by seven Peterson points.

  Salem took a 32-24 edge into the half thanks to a mid-range jumper from Paul Classen -- his only shot of the night -- and a put-back by Stewart as the buzzer sounded.

  The ultimate key sequence in Brodie's estimation unfolded with just over two minutes to play when the Rocks, trailing 49-47, misfired on a three-point shot. Novi then countered with a dagger when Antwan Batwo hit a triple at the other end.