The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Tigers take it to Phoenix in third matchup
By Dave Merchant, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 28, 2008
It wasn't quite the outcome that anyone could have predicted Monday night, with the possible exception of Belleville Coach Don Hickman. The Tigers went into the state playoffs Monday facing the Ypsilanti Phoenix for the third time this season and having lost the previous two.
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The third time was the charm for Hickman and company as they rolled over Ypsilanti 62-43 in Class A district action at Wayne Memorial High School.
Ypsilanti's sophomore Connor Heine hit a jumper with 6:36 to play in the first to give the Phoenix a 4-2 lead. Belleville bounced back with a triple from Ricky Smith-Love and put back by Mohamed Conde to lead 5-4 with 5:28 to play in the first quarter.
The Tigers led 8-7 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Belleville turned up the heat on the Phoenix and there was no rising from the ashes this time.
Tiger senior Kyle Gupton got hot from the post and scored seven points in the quarter. He had 10 in the half and led all scorers with 21 points in the game. Kourea Hayes hit a triple at the buzzer for Belleville.
Belleville would outscore Ypsilanti 17-7 in the second quarter and take a 25-14 lead into the lockers at the half.
In the third quarter, the Tigers kept scoring and Gupton hit two more triples as Belleville would outscore the Phoenix 18-10 and lead 42-24 at the end of three quarters of play.
Both teams would play fairly equal with Belleville getting 20 points and Ypsilanti scoring 19 points. Torren Burns would score seven points for Ypsilanti and Smith would have five points he finished the game with 12 points.
Hayes would have 15 points for the Tigers who improve to 13-8 overall. Ypsilanti's Moore finished with 10 points and Marvon Sanders had 11 points.
Hickman said his team didn't even think about the two previous losses to Ypsilanti in the regular season.
"We played them differently this time," Hickman said. "Last time we played them man-to-man and this time we played a one-two zone."
Hickman said he knew that he had two all-league players in Sanders and Burns but felt he could neutralize them.
"Our main focus was stopping Marvon (Sanders)," he said. "I knew one or both of our post players could have a good game. Kyle (Gupton) is a senior and I knew he would step up."
The varsity Tigers will face Romulus Wednesday in the district semifinal game. Hickman is confident despite losing twice to them in the regular season as well.
"Let's do this," he exclaimed. "We are not afraid of them."
Ypsilanti Coach Steve Brooks said this game was typical of what they have been doing all season.
"We were never aggressive in the game," Brooks said. "We have been that way all year. We were not offensively aggressive."
He said his team dug themselves into a hole early and was not able to climb back out.
"We had injuries like (Terry) Lopez," he said. "Our guards didn't step up."
Brooks said he is impressed with the young talent he has coming back from the junior varsity squad and was pleased how some of them stepped up and played well in the playoffs.
"That is the good thing about young players they didn't know enough to get nervous in a big game."
The Phoenix bow out of the state tournament with a final record of 10-11.
Five seniors from the team will graduate this year: Burns, Sanders, Lopez, Greg Gibson and Sam Robinson. Sanders recently signed with Eastern Michigan University to play football. Sanders was a standout wide receiver for Ypsilanti throughout his four years.
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