Sophomore's 5 blocks lift Country Day

Birmingham Detroit Country Day center DaShonte Riley will sometimes botch an uncontested dunk. That's the sophomore in him.

He'll sometimes poster-ize a defender. That's the prodigy in him.

He'll sometimes miss free throws in crunch time. That's the sophomore.

And he'll sometimes swat away an opponent's shot in the lane. That's the prodigy.

DaShonte Riley, a 6-foot-11 sophomore dubbed "the Prodigy" by teammates, was all of that Wednesday night.

He missed a dunk and went 0-for-4 from the foul line. But his momentum-changing jam and five blocks were too much for Detroit Renaissance to handle.

Country Day came away with a 56-48 victory in a Class B regional semifinal at Warren Woods Tower. The Yellowjackets will play Detroit Crockett at 7 p.m. Friday for a regional championship.

DaShonte Riley helped turn around a stagnant Country Day (18-6) in the second quarter.

His dunk -- and only two points of the game -- capped an 8-2 run that brought his team within 24-22 early in the third quarter. Renaissance (19-4) never regained momentum.

"I loved that one dunk," DaShonte Riley laughed. "I didn't start, but I tried to come out with a lot of energy."

DaShonte Riley altered almost every Renaissance shot in the second half, and Country Day outscored the Phoenix, 39-26.

"I tried to tell them to stop short and pull up," Renaissance coach Randy Henry said. "You can't attack that guy. He's too good a center."

But Country Day coach Kurt Keener knew that wasn't Renaissance's style.

"They like to attack the hoop," he said. "DaShonte was able to be like the Great Wall of China, protecting our territory back there."

Country Day has won seven in a row after a five-game losing streak late in the regular season. Darnell Brown led the Yellowjackets with 18 points and six assists. James Nelson added 17 points, and Clayton Beard had eight points and eight rebounds.

Renaissance got 15 points from Stacey Waters and 11 points from Paul Williams.

More Class B

Croswell-Lexington 41, Armada 29: Garrett Grundman had 14 points for Croswell-Lexington (23-0). Shane Averitt scored 11 for Armada (13-11).

Class A regional

Orchard Lake St. Mary's 65, Plymouth Canton 31: Kalin Lucas and Jon Tassin each scored 12 for St. Mary's. Neil Sharma had 14 points for Canton (17-7).

Class C regionals

Kalamazoo Christian 65, Saugatuck 47: Kelvin DeVries scored 20 for Kalamazoo Christian. Jeff Mocini had 15 points for Saugatuck.

North Pointe Christian 56, Holton 54 (2 OT): Tyler Emmorey (15 points) drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to force a second overtime for North Pointe (14-8). Joe Wasnich hit the game-winning basket with two seconds left. D'Andre Smart (21 points) hit a three-pointer to force overtime at the end of regulation for Holton (16-6).

Unionville Sebewaing 60, Sandusky 52: Taylor Cramer scored 17 and Tim Holland 15 for Unionville Sebewaing (17-7). Matt Loding scored 24 points for Sandusky (15-8).

Class D regionals

Bear Lake 55, Marion 46: J.J. Randall scored 26 points for Bear Lake (23-1). Daniel Michell scored 18 for Marion (11-13).

Cedarville 85, Engadine 50: C.J. Paquin had 24 points and Jordan Duncan 22 for Cedarville (20-0). John Troyer scored 20 for Engadine (16-7).

Sterling Heights Parkway Christian 65, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 48: Zurlon Tipton had 19 points for Parkway (22-2). Joe Williams had 18 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Scott Conyers scored 18 for Our Lady of the Lakes (14-9).

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