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King rallies from 3-point halftime deficit to defeat Cass Tech and advance to PSL quarterfinals
By Kevin Moore
Detroit – Coach George Ward’s Detroit King Crusaders were able to edge out rival Detroit Cass Tech, 62-55, in a well-contested game Friday.
The Technicians were looking to get revenge against King as the Crusaders won the previous matchup in the season, 50-43.
Both Cass Tech and King were neck a neck from the start of the first quarter to the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Only 25 points were scored in the first quarter as the Technicians had a 13-12 advantage over the Crusaders. Senior guard Mascio McCadney led the Crusaders with seven points at the end of the first and those would be his only points of the game as he left the game with an injury but returned in the third.
Cass Tech was able to keep their lead going into halftime, 29-26. Randy Gilbert of Cass Tech led all scorers with eight points at halftime.
The third quarter saw many lead changes as both teams were going back and forth trading buckets. Though the Crusaders are a very young team with only three seniors, they were able to build some momentum in the last two quarters.
Ward said that his team knows what winning is all about.
“I just wanted my team to go out there, stay the course and follow the game plan. We’re a young team but we are very talented,” Ward said.
Cass Tech (6-10) gave up their third quarter lead and allowed the Crusaders to have a one point lead going into the fourth.
The fourth quarter saw a lot of scoring between both teams, however a few missed opportunities and costly turnover for the Technicians allowed the Crusaders to come out victorious.
The Crusaders played very smart in the last quarter it did not show any sign of giving up when things did not fall their way.
“If you play the game 32 minutes hard but yet play it smart, you will have a chance down the stretch and my boys are talented enough to keep us in games and that is what they did today,” Ward said.
King’s junior guard Jesse Scarber led the team in scoring with 16 points and most of those points coming in the fourth quarter and also hit a clutch three pointer in the fourth to give momentum to the Crusaders.
“My team told me that they needed me to step up and make big plays, so that’s what I had to do,” Scarber said.
Scarber was able to knock down crucial free throws to seal the game.
Gilbert of Cass Tech led all scorers with 17 points and collected five rebounds.
