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Detroit Henry Ford advances to the semifinals again
St. Clair Shores – James Towns is a four-year starter at Detorit Henry Ford and he’s taking the Trojans back to the state semifinals for the second consecutive season.
Towns had 14 points, five assists and five rebounds as Henry Ford ran past New Haven, 62-40, in a Class B quarterfinal at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore on Tuesday.
The 5-9 point guard played an all-around game and has his team is position to reach the state final for the second straight season.
The Trojans surprised a lot of people by making it this far in the tournament and they were on a mission to head back to East Lansing.
Henry Ford (18-6) will play Williamston (21-3) at the Breslin Center on Friday at 6 p.m.
Freshman Romeo Weems led New Haven (22-3) with 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
These teams also met in last season’s quarterfinal.
Henry Ford coach Kenneth Flowers said that his team has hit their stride at the right time.
“My team has been playing really well down the stretch and that’s what you want to see as a coach,” Flowers said.
At the start first quarter the game was halted with about five minutes to play due to a fire alarm. The delay lasted six minutes before play continued.
It was the only thing that held the Trojans back.
New Haven led 8-6 lead on a bank shot by Weems but the Trojans (18-6) finished the quarter strong as they took a 15-12 lead.
Towns wasn’t settling for the jump shot and drove to the basket time after time, and had seven points in the first quarter.
Henry Ford went on a 5-0 run to take a 20-12 lead early in the second as the Trojans defense kicked into another gear as they held the Rockets to five points in the second and led, 32-17.
Weems, a 6-6 guard-forward, was doing all that he could do as he had six points at halftime.
Henry Ford kept the pressure on in the second half. Senior forward Kavon Bey (6-4) stepped up this game for the Trojans as he finished the game with 13 points. He helped to hold New Haven’s Jerry Ben (6-9) and Innocent Nwoko (6-11) to six points combined.
The Rockets tried to make a run in the second half with the help of junior guard Eric Williams, Jr., who finished with 13 points.
The Trojans’ reserves played well, too, as sophomore guard Deanta Ulmer made four 3-pointers for a total of 12 points.
Ulmer said he believes his best contribution to the team is his shooting ability.
“The way I can shoot it can really help the team and it showed today,” said Ulmer. “It’s a great feeling.”
New Haven had no answer for Henry Ford though the Rockets had a significant height advantage. That did not stop Henry Ford from achieving one of its goals – get back to the semifinals.
“We just have to believe in ourselves, we play so well when we do,” said Towns. “We’re always there for each other.”
Flowers said that the experience from his veterans really helped them make it back to East Lansing.
“We have seven guys from last year who were on that team who made it to the Breslin, so they knew what it would take to be back there again,” said Flowers.
