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Kahlil Felder leads Pershing to an 81-74 comeback win over Flint Beecher
WARREN – The score on the scoreboard at halftime between Detroit Pershing and Flint Beecher read 48-34, advantage Beecher. And it wasn’t turning out to be the game that most expected in this matchup: Pershing was coming into the game as the #1 ranked team in the state at 11-0, and Beecher was ranked as the #1 seed in Class C at 8-0.
And with both team’s fans packing the gym on both sides at the Horatio Williams Freedom Classic, Flint Beecher made the early run, controlling posessions much of the 1st half in route to building up an eighteen point lead in the 2nd quarter. Senior guard Monte Morris led the onslaught with 16 first half points, with help from Emmanuel Phifer who finished with 24 points and Eric Cooper who added 20 for Beecher. That three way dynamo contributed the lions share of Beecher’s first half points and despite a 6-2 run at the end of the period, top Class A leading Pershing went into half time at 48-34 deficit.
However, Pershing came out of the locker room playing more like the top Class A team in the second period, slowly but surely chipping away at the 14 point deficit. And with 3:16 left in the 3rd, Kahlil Felder’s three pointer made the case that Pershing was back in this one, cutting the lead to 56-53. Felder would eventually give Pershing it’s first lead since the 1st quarter at 67-65 late in the third. With guard Martez Walker in foul trouble, and the team struggling as a whole, Felder stepped up and was the spark the Doughboys needed to complete the comeback. But even with foul trouble, Walker stepped back in, hitting back to back baskets to make it 71-65.
Pershing pushed the lead to 77-69 late in the game, but Beecher’s Monte Morris had other ideas in mind as he pulled up from the top of the key for a 3-pointer off the glass to pull Beecher within five at 77-72. However, Pershing senior guard Lorenzo Collier closed it out with four straight points to preserve the 81- 74 comeback win. Collier finished with 20 points, while Martez Walker had just 9 points. Monte Morris scored 25 for Beecher in the losing effort.
