Yellowjackets survive scare from Barons

When facing Detroit Country Day a team must prepare for an inside/outside game - the Yellowjackets will play inside while the opponent is forced outside.

The result is usually in the favor of the Yellowjackets, as it was again Friday night when the defending Class B state champions withstood a monumental effort from a scrappy group of Bloomfield Hills Andover Barons to post a hard-fought 62-52 district final victory in Birmingham
Powered by the inside presence of 6-11 junior DaShonte Riley, 6-8 junior Donnavan Kirk and 6-9 freshman Amir Williams, the Yellowjackets were able to offset some incredible early shooting on the part of the Barons and advance onto regional play Monday at Detroit Renaissance.

The Yellowjackets, who cruised to wins in their two previous tournament games against Clintondale and Lamphere, were in a dogfight with the Barons right from the opening tap. Senior forward Lloyd Praedel of Andover set the tone with a banked three-pointer - one of three to carom in in the first half - to give the visitors an early lead, and DaShonte Riley and Kirk stood tall in the paint to pour in points for DCD.

A 17-15 advantage was on the side of the Yellowjackets when the quarter ended, but momentum and confidence were strictly in the Barons' corner.

Senior guard Cameron Bell was a key figure in the Barons keeping the game tight in the second as his two treys and eight points in all saw head coach Jeff Rubin's club head to halftime trailing by three at 31-28.

DCD looked like it might take command early in the third period as three straight buckets down low opened up a 37-28 lead. But again the Barons came back via the three, and when Bell drained his fourth of the game and teammate Joseph Prepolec sank a pair of free throws, the game was tied at 44 heading to the final period of play.

It was in those final eight minutes that the strength and depth of the Yellowjackets took control as 6-6 junior forward Jordan Dumars keyed a 9-2 run and sank any further hopes the Barons had of shocking the basketball world.

"We just ran out of energy,'' Rubin said after the game. "We had to exert a lot of energy to just stay in the game.

"Country Day is a phenomenal team, and Kurt does a great job,'' Rubin went on. "We just had to put so much energy into the first half, and then in the third quarter we put ourselves seven or eight down at one point and came all the way back and tied it. We just ran out of gas.''

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