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BOYS BASKETBALL: UofD-Jesuit, MH Bishop Foley snare CHSL title banners at Calihan
DETROIT – The Catholic League crowned a pair of champions on the boys basketball court over the weekend, one new and the other old.
The new was University of Detroit-Jesuit, winning its first CHSL crown since 1992 by walloping Warren De La Salle 58-39 in the A-B final.
The old came in the C-D final, where two-time defending champ, Madison Heights Bishop Foley, rampaged past Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 68-50, to capture its third CHSL title in a row.
Both games were held Sunday afternoon at Calihan Hall on the campus of University of Detroit-Mercy.
Spectacular freshman point guard Cassius Winston continued his fast ascent as a prepster, leading the way for U-of-D Jesuit with 15 points, six assists and three steals. Winston is rated one of the top ninth-graders in the nation by a number of college recruiting services.
The Cubs also got clutch outings on Sunday from senior co-captains Malik Howze and A.J. Horde, who each reached double-figures in the scorebook with 10 points apiece. Howze, a rangy and athletic forward, was the star of the game on defense, holding De La Salle star A.J. Turner to just seven points on a meager 3-of-18 shooting from the field.
As a whole, U-of-D Jesuit’s defense was stellar throughout, limiting De La Salle to under 30 percent shooting for the game.
U-of-D Jesuit, ranked No. 7 in the state in Class A, extends its overall record 16-3 with Sunday’s stomping.
Going in front 30-23 at the half, the Cubbies held a 47-34 advantage entering the fourth quarter and never let De La Salle (15-4) back into contention.
Bishop Foley was forced into the role of “Cinderella” en route to grabbing its third straight trophy. The Ventures (9-10) have been in rebuilding-mode for most of the winter, forced to replace the bulk of last season’s senior-dominated line-up and are below the .500 mark.
It was hard to tell on Sunday, as Bishop Foley ran away with the hardware in the second half. Behind 35-27 with a little more than four minutes to go before the break, the Ventures put together a lightning-quick 12-0 run that catapulted them into a lead on the scoreboard they wouldn’t look back from the rest of the afternoon.
Junior Jimmy Paprocki provided Bishop Foley a boost off the bench, putting in a team-high 13 points. Starting senior floor general, DeAndre Jackson and starting sophomore center Gary Perry aided Paprocki in filling up the stat sheet for Bishop Foley. Jackson, a part of his third consecutive league-title team, notched a team-high 12 points to go with six assists and five steals, while Perry, in his second varsity campaign, scored 11 points, collected nine rebounds and blocked three shots.
Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (11-8) got a double-double from star senior forward Garrett Ross in defeat. A three-time all-league pick, Ross scored 23 points and cleared 10 boards. Sunday was the Lakers’ boys hoopsters first appearance in the CHSL championship game at Calihan Hall in over two decades.
The upcoming postseason will see Bishop Foley attempt to claim a sixth straight Class C district title.
