In what might have been the upset of the season, the Novi Wildcats and the Wayne Memorial Zebras met for the KLAA title at Northville High School. While the Zebras had the firepower, the Wildcats would win the KLAA title by a final score of 66-64.
Wayne Memorial
Big Three Na, it’s Big Me
It wasn’t a typical game for the Wayne Memorial Zebras in the KLAA Championship. A team that normally has a team first mentality looked like each player was about themselves in this game. While Carlos Medlock Jr and Jaylohn Allen each had 26 points, it felt like both players wanted to be the alpha, and they seemed to avoid the other members of their Big Three/Core Four. While Josh Dennis and Austin Tory didn’t do much, it didn’t feel like they needed to, as they never felt like they were in danger of losing the game until the final seconds. They would have walked away as champions if they had their typical ball movement in the game.
Novi
All In This Together
While Aaron Lauer was the frontman of his team’s KLAA Championship, it was a full team effort. Lauer would finish the game with 17 points, but it was his first quarter, hitting three three-pointers and a big three in the fourth, that led his team to the win. Outside of Lauer, Chase LeFevre, Michael Schave, and Brendan Lynch played big roles in scoring in the game. That group, all seniors, have been playing together since they were freshmen, and that is what helped them look like one of the most underrated teams in the state. While Laure was the early scorer for Novi, LeFevre would be the guy who would help ice the game away, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the second half of the game.