Bloomfield Hills – Pride and vengeance.

Behind all the pomp of Sunday’s Catholic League Boys Basketball Championship at the University of Detroit Calihan Hall, those two emotions will be in the minds and hearts of the players and fans of the last four remaining teams in the 2010-2011 CHSL season.

The C-D Division game at 1 p.m. will pit defending champion, Detroit Loyola, who turned back a scrappy Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes team in last night’s semi-final at Bloomfield Hills Marian, against Madison Heights Bishop Foley – the team that Loyola beat by six points in last year’s C-D finale and the team that Loyola squeezed past by one point in a regular season game just a month ago.

Which will prevail: Loyola’s pride to repeat as champ or Foley’s desire to avenge the two losses, and in the process win the C-D crown for the first time since back-to-back in 1998 and 1999?

Then, at 3 p.m., Warren DeLaSalle and U-D Jesuit clash for the A-B Division crown. The Cubs fought off Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in last night’s other semi-final game to advance to the championship game, which the Pilots have won the last two years and U-D Jesuit has not since 1992.

Here’s why "clash" is the operative word in this confrontation: DLS’s record is 16-2 – with both of those smears on an otherwise sterling season made by the Cubs – first time by six points in two overtimes, and the second by two points.

Which will prevail: DLS’s motivation to avenge the two losses or U-D Jesuit’s pride to beat DLS a third time, and thus deprive the Pilots of a three-peat while winning the A-B title for themselves?

It promises to be some exciting basketball, even more so than last night’s semi-final games.

A-B: Cubs 64, Eaglets 58



U-D Coach Pat Donnelly used the victory as an example of his assertion that "basketball is a game of runs."

Fueled by memories of two regular season defeats to St. Mary’s, the Cubs broke an early 4-4 tie to go on a five-minute, 15-0 run for a 19-4 first quarter lead. Junior guard Cameron Fowler slashed through the Eaglets porous defense for eight points, while 6-foot-7 junior Chris Jenkins hit a pair of jumpers to close the quarter. St. Mary’s didn’t help its cause with eight turnovers.

The Eaglets responded with a 32-10 run that covered the second quarter and the opening 90 seconds of the third quarter. Senior forward Allen Robinson, who was questionable if he’d play because of lingering flu symptoms, led the charge with 13 of his team-high 18 points, including a an eight-point flurry on a basket, a three-point play and a triple that gave St. Mary’s a 36-29 lead.

"The boys didn’t buckle," said Donnelly. He inserted a zone defense, forcing St. Mary’s offense to the perimeter and giving U-D control of the backboards (20-8 edge in rebounds in the second half).

The Cubs went on a 17-4 run in the last six minutes of the third quarter followed by a 10-4 run in the opening four minutes of the fourth quarter to take a commanding 56-44 lead.

As he did at the start of the game, Fowler found his shooting eye for three baskets, including the one that tied the game at 40-40 and erased St. Mary’s lead. He ended the game with 20 points.

The Eaglets would get no closer than 60-55 on a three-point play by sophomore guard Sam McClendon with 52 seconds left in the game.

When asked what he thought was the difference in the game, St. Mary’s Coach George Porritt didn’t hesitate: "Free throws" and he added: "Our foul trouble."

Of the last 33 points U-D scored in the game, 19 came from the free-throw line (including a pair, "compliments" of a technical on Porritt). All together, U-D had 32 free-throw attempts (they made 23) compared to nine-of-12 free throws for the Eaglets.

Jenkins was particularly accurate at the free throw line, sinking 12 of 14 (all but one in the key second half U-D surge). He wound up with 20 points to share game-high honors with Fowler.

C-D: Bulldogs 51, Lakers 46



Loyola’s John Buscemi will get his coaching preference for Sunday’s C-D final. "It’s easier to prepare for a championship game," he said after the Bulldogs withstood a frenzied fourth-quarter rush by the Lakers.

"I’m dealing with reality. These are 15-, 16-, 17-year-old kids. They thought the game would be an easy one. These scare me."

The Lakers’ coach, Sean Wightman, praised his team’s "hard work," having to play catch-up all night, trailing by as much as 12 points in the middle of the second quarter to trail by only two points, 48-46, with 1:44 left to play.

"We wanted to make a statement that we’re not easily defeated."

Loyola sprinted to a 15-8 first quarter lead and enlarged it to 27-15 before the Lakers scored eight unanswered points to end the first half trailing 27-23.

Senior guard Austin Karbowski sparked the Lakers run with a triple and basket, despite sitting out half of the second quarter with a bloody nose and then playing the rest of the game with one nostril stuffed with gauze. He ended up with 12 points.

Junior Montel Cooks had a pair of baskets and one each by junior Justin King and Matthew Gold, the only senior on Loyola’s roster, to restore the Bulldogs’ lead to ten points midway in the third, a margin they more or less maintained until a 10-3 run by the Lakers reduced the deficit to 44-42 with 3:09 to play.

Sophomore forward Garrett Ross scored 14 to lead the Lakers.

Cooks and Devonte Jones had 12 each and Justin King 10 for Loyola.

The win raised Loyola’s record to 14-5, the fifth year in a row that the Bulldogs have won 14 or more games, said Buscemi. "I believe we are building something special here."