(photo courtesy Gretchen Maska)
Onsted starts strong, rolls past Adrian 67-40 to claim Class B district title
By Mike Moore
Staff Writer
Brooklyn – In a figurative, and almost literal sense, this was David taking on Goliath.
And when March rolls around, fairy tales often find ways to play themselves out on the hardwood.
Well, this wasn’t going to be one of those nights.
Austin Davis was a man among boys Friday night, as the Onsted senior poured in 42 points while guiding his squad to a 67-40 victory over Adrian in a Class B district final at Columbia Central.
And it really wasn’t even that close.
“It’s great. We’ve worked a lot, all year, for this,” Davis said of the district crown. It’s the second in a row for Onsted. “It’s a tremendous feeling. We started a little slow, but once we fought through it and got going, everyone had a great night.”
“We talked all week about focusing on one game at a time,” coach Brad Maska said. “We wanted to go 1-0 on Monday, 1-0 on Wednesday and 1-0 tonight. To go back to back with these districts is a great accomplishment.”
There was little secret to Onsted’s plan, especially early on. Davis was going to see the ball in the post, and since he was often single covered, he dominated.
The University of Michigan bound center scored nine in the first quarter and Onsted led 13-9.
Davis had 13 more in the second quarter as the Wildcats built a 29-16 advantage.
The Maples on-again, off-again shooting started the second half with a deep 3-pointer to pull within 10.
And that was as close as it would be the rest of the night.
Davis scored 12 more in the third as Onsted poured in 21 in the frame, putting the game out of reach for good.
By the time the night was up, Davis had 42 points, 19 rebounds, six blocks and three assists.
“If teams are going to allow us to throw it inside to him he’s going to dominate,” Maska said, adding how surprised he was that Adrian didn’t double Davis or provide help. “He finished at the rim. Our guards handled the pressure well and got him the ball where he could do something with it.”
Davis shot 16-of-18 from the field. Dallas Heidbreder finished the game with nine points, while Skyler Lipinski added eight.
Onsted, now 22-0, will face Grosse Ile (15-7) Monday night at 7 p.m. at Dundee.
“We’re going to hang our hat on defense,” Maska said about the regional. “We played a five-gaurd team tonight and did a good job. If we keep playing defense like we have been, with these seniors and this group, you never know what we could do.”
Mike Moore is a play-by-play commentator and Sports Writer for JTV Sports. You can reach him at mjm12@albion.edu. He’s also the author of ‘Love, Defined; A Dedication to the Love, Sacrifice, and Magic of Motherhood.’
Love, Defined is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Tate Publishing or by contacting Mike directly.