↓ WEEKND HARDWOOD wrapUP

By: Matthew A. Anderson

For a 'wrapUP' of Friday's and some of Saturday's action from around the hardwood for both boys and girls, Hop on over to the Legends High blog for a summary of last night's big games, top performances and links to other content on Legends and across the media stratosphere!

Check out tonight's Hardwood wrapUP @ The Legends High Blog here. Jan. 29&30 wrapUP

#4 (8-4) Saginaw High 62 #1 (9-2) Arthur Hill 81 - For about 3 quarters the game was about everything is was supposed to be in terms of 2 great teams going shot for shot, board for board. The river wasn't the only thing that separated Saginaw High and Arthur Hill on Saturday afternoon, it was the 3rd quarter as well. The Jacks came out with a bang in the 2nd half, going on a 16-1 run and increasing their 5 point halftime lead to 22 points at 58-36. With 54 seconds left in the third quarter, the Trojans only had accounted for 1 point. Arthur Hill also accomplished their 3rd quarter burst with Maurice Jones only getting 2 points, as the Mr. Basketball favorite took charge in other ways, such as distributing the ball. Part of it also had to do with Maurice picking up his 3rd foul with 6:34 to go in the quarter. Dell Simon had 9 points during the game changing run with big performances by Soph. big man Jordan Hare and Senior Kwincy Tucker.

Even with the huge run and 20 point lead with 20 seconds to go in the 3rd, it still wasn't over. Ta'Ron Boose converted on a 3 point play to finish the 3rd quarter scoring, cutting the lead to 60-42. The High then came out with 2 three balls that hit nothing but net to open the 4th and now the lead was just 12 in a matter of moments. It was cut check time for the Lumberjacks because momentum was swinging hard to the side of the Black & Gold. Then Arthur Hill turned it over on a jump-ball. The Jacks held on defense however and starting to get back the attack and found themselves at the line for 3 straight 1 and 1 situations. Miss the front end and lose the opportunity. During the 3 trips, they nailed all 6 shots in a stretch that brought momentum back to Arthur Hill and ultimately won them the game. Simon had 4 of the FTs and Tucker 2.

Halfway through the 4th, Jones put home a lay-up over and around the 'trees' and extended the lead back up to 17 points at 69-52. A few moments later, the game could of gotten out of control and not in a good way. Arthur Hill's Tyler Dwyer had a break away wide-open lay-up as he was coming down the court but was knocked down from behind to prevent the guaranteed bucket. The technical foul sent tempers flaring but cooler heads on both sides quelled the situation. I give a lot of credit to Dwyer for taking it in stride and looking at the bigger picture. Both Coach McMath and Dawkins intervened as well to make sure it didn't go any further. These teams may not like each other on the court but they have a lot of respect for each other. A lot of the guys have been playing with and against each other for over a decade. Coach Dawkins came over to Dwyer and shook his hand to make sure he was good. After a technical free throw, the lead was pushed to 16 at 70-54. Greg Hayes answered with a bucket to cut it to 14 but the Trojans would not get any closer than that. 4 free throws from Simon and Jones including buckets from Dwyer and Simon put the game away and the lead out of reach, with the final 81-62. Now, Arthur Hill stands alone at the top of the SVL standings and primed for a repeat of the SVL crown in which they shared with the High last year. This year they want it all to themselves. Midland High and Midland Dow are now the only 2 things standing in their way of that goal.

Saginaw High started the game up 4-0 before Jones answered with a 3 ball. Jordan Hare then gave Arthur Hill their first lead of the game at 5-4. The first quarter was a back and forth game. Down 5-4, Greg Hayes answered with a three ball for the High, followed up by another basket by Hayes the next time down. Hare then answered with 2 unanswered buckets. The Sophomore with skills that seem to grow daily and potential that goes through the roof led all scorers with 6 in the opening quarter. Hare is really developing his shot, dribble and rebounding, as he is learns to play with his 6' 7" frame. As he adjusts to his size weekly, who knows how good he can be, even by season's end. The Trojans answered with 4 straight point to answer Arthur Hill and were up 14-13 after 1 quarter of play.

After a Christian Vaughn-Dawkins made it 18-15 early in the 2nd quarter for Saginaw High, the Lumberjacks answered with a huge 15-3 run to go up 9 points at 30-21 with 4:10 left in the half. Jones had 9 of the 15 points during the run in an 11 point 2nd quarter. The Trojans then countered with a 14-8 that trimmed the lead down to 3 points. Hayes got the run started with a three pointer and basket, back to back. DeAnthony Arnett also had 5 points during the run. Jones ended the scoring in the first half, sinking 2 free throws and giving Arthur Hill a 40-35 lead heading into the break.

A couple of things stand out right away in this game. Saginaw High is still learning and growing with an abundance of talent but a lot of growing pains to go with it. I believe we are going to see sort of a Jekyll and Hyde type of game from the young Trojans until we hit March. If they iron out the mistakes by then, they will be scary good. That's the biggest difference between the two city powers right now. Arthur Hill has more experience and they have Maurice Jones, who when not lighting up the scoreboard is doing just about everything else he can to help his team get the W. Jones led all scorers with 21 but it was his ability to get his teammates involved such as Hare that made the difference today. Simon had a monster game in his own right, with 18 points and also did a great job of getting his teammates involved an the open look. Hare finished with 16 point and 15 boards. Kwincy Tucker had 13, Tucker's game and confidence has been improving each week, which is crucial to Arthur Hill's success to get more Senior leadership on the court. Greg Hayes was the only Trojan in double figures with 15. Arnett finished with 9 and McCune had 8 points to go along with 11 rebounds. McCune like Jones, got into foul trouble and it had an effect on the stat sheet.

Basketball is an unpredictable game and it's possible one or both of these teams could be eliminated before they meet up for a third time in district play but I doubt it. Even after today's loss, Saginaw High is still an elite team and Arthur Hill is making their case as the state's best. 3 out of the last 4 years, one of these teams remained alone at the top in East Lansing holding the Class A hardware. There's a lot of pretty good teams out there but making it 4 out of 5 is certainly obtainable. Look no further than the schedule both of these teams play to get them playoff tested. Saginaw High was just the first game in a 28 day stretch of 'killer' games for Arthur Hill. They will now face Muskegon Heights, Belleville, Romulus and Country Day over the next 4 weeks. While none of those wins can be carried over to March, the experience and confidence that can be built up over the next month can be. Until then, we have a lot of basketball left and the enjoyment that goes with it.