FeedsGlenn sails through Lakes, 10-0
It’s official.
The John Glenn is the best basketball team on the Lakes side of the Western Lakes conference.
The rockets finished division play last week, blasting their way through the regular season conference schedule undefeated, 10-0. They were 13-4 overall—winning 11 straight games.
“We feel pretty good,” said first-year Glenn Coach Dan Young. “We just have to be ready for the playoffs this week. We have to step it up and keep it going”
The quest for the Western Lakes Activities Association conference tournament championship crown kicked off on Tuesday. Glenn faced off against Walled Lake Western at home in the first round but the results were unavailable at press time.
Glenn finished off the regular season with a 68-55 victory over host Livonia Stevenson on Friday.
It was business as usual.
The two teams were knotted at 11 after the first quarter. Glenn raced ahead by 10 at the half and pulled away in the third to secure the win.
The Rockets dominated from the perimeter, hitting nine triples.
Junior forward Stefan Marken accounted for five of them. He finished with game-leading 25 points and 11 boards. Sophomore Austin Anderson hit two and senior Cordarryl Jones and junior Earl Hardison each knocked down one.
Glenn’s outside game has been the team’s most improved area the last few weeks.
“That’s without a question,” Young said. “A lot of different guys are able to make the shots. We’ve been patient, moving the ball well and shooting well. Stevenson came out and wanted to take away our drivers so we pushed the ball outside. We basically took what the defense gave us.”
Junior Keshawn Martin added 13 points on the night and Anderson, 12.
Young also got production inside from his big 6-foot-8 junior Jordan Manier and 6-foot-3 sophomore Dorian Prahter.
“They gave us great match-ups inside,” Young said. “Rob Jones has also been solid for us like he was all year.”
The Rockets saw similar success from the perimeter when they beat host Salem, 61-53, last Tuesday.
The Rocks battled the Rockets to a 26-26 half-time score. Then Glenn stepped back and opened fire, hitting five triples in the second half to pull away. Marken drilled three of them. He led the team with 16. Martin added 14 and Hardison, 12.
“They were zoning us a lot and we just hit our shots,” Young said. “We had to play good defense, too. We got a lot of offense from our defense.”
It’s playoff time and any team can beat any team and that’s how Young looks at it.
“We’re going in with the idea that we’re the underdog,” he said. “We’re excited but we know that there are a lot of good teams out there.”
