#HLMBB Recap: #MotorCityMadness Day One
Joey Yashinsky
No. 7 Green Bay 93, No. 10 Detroit Mercy 81
In the opening game of the 2018 Little Caesars Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship, it was the No. 7 seed Green Bay Phoenix - on the shoulders of a virtuoso performance from Kam Hankerson - securing a 93-81 victory over the No. 10 seed Detroit Mercy Titans on Friday night at Little Caesars Arena.
The sophomore from nearby Novi (MI) exploded for a career-high 36 points on 12-of-17 shooting, including 7-of-9 from downtown. After Hankerson apologized for a rare miss late in the game, Green Bay head coach Linc Darner said, “He can’t pass that up. He’d been hitting them all night long.”
Early on, it appeared Green Bay would take this first-round affair going away. The Phoenix sprinted out of the gate, knocking down 7-of-8 from 3-point range and taking a 37-16 lead on a jumper by All-Horizon League First Team selection Khalil Small. But the resilient Titans would not go away.
Paced by Josh McFolley’s 10 first-half points, Detroit Mercy was able to cut the lead to 47-33 at the break.
The Titan momentum carried right into the second half.
All-League second-teamer Kameron Chatman caught fire for Detroit Mercy, raining long 3s and whipping the Little Caesars Crowd into a frenzy. Sophomore Cole Long got in on the act, shaking loose for a breakaway dunk and an inside basket to give the Titans their first lead at 58-56.
But there was no stopping Hankerson.
He buried a triple to give Green Bay back the lead. The Titans scored to go ahead 60-59, only to watch as Hankerson drilled another 3. Then it was a steal and breakaway jam. And another from long range. And one more for good measure.
When the onslaught was over, Hankerson ripped off 14 consecutive points and the Phoenix had regained their double digit advantage at 70-60.
All five starters for Green Bay scored in double figures, with Small (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Sandy Cohen III (15 points, 11 rebounds) recording double-doubles. PJ Pipes and David Jesperson chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Detroit Mercy was led by Chatman’s 20 points, 17 in the second half. Corey Allen added 18. The Titans’ reserves outscored their Phoenix counterparts 23-0, but it was not enough to overcome the Hankerson fireworks.
Green Bay capitalized on an excellent night at the foul line, converting 22-of-24 (92%). Detroit Mercy was just 12-of-20 on free throws (60%).
Detroit Mercy completes its season with an 8-24 overall mark.
Green Bay (13-19) advances to play No. 2 seed Wright State (22-9) in the Motor City Madness quarterfinals Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
No. 8 Cleveland State 72, No. 9 Youngstown State 71
In the fourth and final game of Motor City Madness’ opening day, it was the No. 8 seed Cleveland State Vikings advancing with a pulse-pounding 72-71 victory over the No. 9 seed Youngstown State Penguins on Friday night at Little Caesars Arena.
Leading by a point with under seven seconds left, Cleveland State All-Freshman guard Tyree Appleby stepped to the line with a chance to extend the Vikings’ lead. But both shots rolled off the rim and Penguins’ senior guard Cameron Morse wound up with the ball and a chance to win.
Morse drove all the way down the floor and tossed up a difficult floater, but could not convert. A putback opportunity from the Penguins also went begging and Cleveland State had escaped with a nail-biting first-round win.
The loudest and perhaps most critical play of the game occurred when, with 1:34 left and the Vikings ahead by two, senior forward Anthony Wright rose high above the crowd and slammed home a vicious putback dunk. It gave Cleveland State a critical four point lead that they would not relinquish.
The back-and-forth affair was all Vikings out of the gate. Dennis Felton’s team built a quick 15-5 lead, but they could not put Youngstown State away. Penguins’ sophomore Braun Hartfield buried a 3-pointer and drew a foul to close the first half, finishing the four-point play to slice the Viking advantage to 38-33.
The second half saw wild swings, lead changes, and clutch plays by both teams.
The game’s leading scorer was Cleveland State senior guard and Detroit product Kenny Carpenter (22 points). Carpenter also sank 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Vikings’ freshmen Appleby (14 points) and Stefan Kenic (12) also enjoyed double-figure outings.
Youngstown State was paced by its own Horizon League All-Freshman standout, Naz Bohannon. He was an efficient 7-of-11 from the floor, ending the night with 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Penguins also got an unexpected boost from freshman Michael Akuchie. Entering the game with averages of 3.2 PPG and 1.8 RPG, the rookie Akuchie exploded onto the Motor City Madness scene, flying all over the court and finishing with 12 points and eight boards.
These evenly matched clubs also played one week ago, with that game needing two overtimes to declare a victor. The Vikings won 99-94.
On this night, it was the thinnest of margins, a missed tip-in at the rim, that determined the final result. Felton was understandably nervous as the clock ticked down.
“Probably about 90 percent of the time at the college level, it’s not the first shot that beats you -- it’s the second,” said Felton. “We preach to our team, ‘Don’t watch the shot. Box out and finish the possession.’ But they got that second look and that was really the one that made my heart jump out of my chest for a second. Fortunately, it didn’t go in.”
Youngstown State’s first-year coach Jerrod Calhoun was able to put into perspective just how competitive this 40 minutes of basketball truly was.
“You’ve got to give the kids on both these teams a lot of credit,” said Calhoun. “Because they just played their hearts out.”
Youngstown State concludes its season with an 8-24 overall mark.
Cleveland State (10-22) advances to play top-seeded Northern Kentucky (22-8) in the quarterfinals of the Little Caesars Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship Saturday at 8:00 p.m.