The Novi Wildcats hosted crosstown rival Detroit Catholic Central for the District Final. The two teams are separated by 4 miles, and you can tell how much each team and their fans couldn’t stand each other. The student sections were throwing chirps back and forth, and even at one point near the end of the first half that boiled onto the court as two of the players got into a scuffle that resulted in a technical foul. Catholic Central would walk away with the title of District Champions as they would win it 77-67.
Novi Wildcats
Clawing Back
While they played a close first half, the Wildcats of Novi would see Catholic Central’s lead in the game expand to 20 points in the third quarter. They saw a six-point lead at the half expansion to 20 in less than three minutes. However, they found a way to battle back and make it a seven-point game with two minutes left to play in the third. They played the best basketball of the night when their backs were up against the wall, but they just couldn’t get over that last hump to help them win a district title to keep the best basketball season in school history going.
Detroit Catholic Central
Energizer Bunny
The energy in the game came from Malachi Clayton. If the name isn’t familiar to you, don’t worry. Clayton really took over his role for the Shamrocks of Catholic Central midway through the season when Asher Suardini left the team. Clayton was phenomenal in the game as he finished with 11 points and two steals. While the stats aren’t eye-popping, he brought the energy in the district final. You could see how much the game meant to Clayton, and he brought the swagger and energy his team needed to edge out Novi.
Second Chances
The Shamrocks got plenty of second-chance looks, as they got 12 offensive rebounds. Of those 12 rebounds, six came from Onimisi Sadiq. Sadiq was a beast on the boards, and all of his points came from within the paint. Gideon Gash was also a menace on the offensive glass, pulling in three offensive rebounds. Their ability to get so many second chances helped give them the edge they needed.