Momentum is crucial in sports, and that was the deciding factor in a regional championship game between Belleville and Wayne Memorial.
Wayne Memorial’s girls team defeated Belleville in a regional championship last week, but Wednesday night was a different outcome for the boys.
A packed house inside the gym at Dearborn High School witnessed Belleville win this year’s Class A regional championship, 66-54.
With the victory Belleville advances to take on Novi at 7 Tuesday at Detroit Mercy’s Calihan Hall in a quarterfinal matchup.
Belleville (20-5) was able to keep its composure the entire game. Whenever Wayne Memorial went on a run, Belleville countered with its own run.
Senior guard Rashad Williams had 14 points, senior guard Terrance Williams 11 points and junior forward Keshaun Hayes came off the bench to score 18 points, but that was not enough for Wayne Memorial.
Head coach Adam Trumpour praised his team after the victory.
“Our guys fought hard tonight,” Trumpour said. “They stuck together as a team and relied on each other.”
Senior guard Davion Williams (Michigan State football) stepped up big, finishing with 21 points and fellow senior Gabe Brown (MSU commit) had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Belleville.
“This win is big for us,” Brown said. “I believe in this team and we have a shot to go all the way.”
Belleville had others step up to help contribute. Sophomore forward Connor Bush had 10 points and gave it all he had.
“Man, I went out there tonight and did all I can do to help us win,” Bush said.
The second half was when the game got intense. With about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Wayne Memorial (17-8) went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 53-48. Belleville called a timeout with 4:19 left to play. Coach Trumpour stayed calm.
“When they (Wayne Memorial) went on that run, we needed that timeout to regroup and get ourselves together,” Trumpour said.
Afterward, Belleville went on a 5-0 run to extend its lead to 58-48. From there, Belleville was able to shut down Wayne Memorial to secure the win.
Though Belleville came out on top, Trumpour wants his team to improve in one area.
“We need to control the ball a lot better,” Trumpour said.
“We need to get better on defense for sure,” Bush added.
In the third quarter, both teams were going back and forth trading buckets. Senior guard Rashad Williams who was quick in the first half for Wayne Memorial stepped up offensively.
But whenever Wayne Memorial made a comeback, Belleville had an answer.
Belleville got off to a hot start in the first half. The senior duo of Brown and Williams in the first quarter combined for 12 of the teams 16 points.
Wayne Memorial struggled early, but was able to get things going late in the first quarter. Senior guard Terrance Williams took the offense into his own hands with four easy buckets, and junior forward Keshaun Hayes contributed with four points off the bench to give Wayne Memorial an offensive spark.
Belleville held a 16-12 lead at the end of one.
More boys regionals
Class A
Warren De La Salle 56, Macomb Dakota 51: Luke Pfromm scored 16, Justin Fischer 15 and Jordan Winowiecki 11 for De La Salle (18-7). Ryan Rollis had 12 for Dakota (17-8).
Class B
Dearborn Divine Child 72, Flat Rock 58: Quinn Blair had 42 points and 10 rebounds and Parker LePage scored 12 for Divine Child (18-6). Connor Neal had 13 for Flat Rock (18-6).
New Haven 92, Detroit Country Day 74: Romeo Weems had 21 points, 16 rebounds, 12 assists, 10 steals and seven blocks, Ronald Jeffery III scored 22 and Tavares Oliver Jr. 19 for New Haven (25-0), which is on a 51-game win streak. Julian Roper scored 25 for Country Day (17-7).
River Rouge 50, Detroit Old Redford 43: Nigel Colvin scored 21 and Jayvien Torrance-Jackson had nine points and five assists for River Rouge (22-1). Mark Watts had 18 for Old Redford (17-6).
Kevin Moore is a freelance writer; Detroit News staff contributed
Regional finals scores
Wednesday’s games
Class A
At Macomb Dakota
Warren De La Salle 56, Macomb Dakota 51
At U-D Jesuit
U-D Jesuit 48, Detroit King 36
At Mount Pleasant
Flint Carman-Ainsworth 61, Traverse City West 38
At West Bloomfield
Clarkston 58, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 35
At Battle Creek Lakeview
East Lansing 50, Okemos 42
At Grandville
Holland West Ottawa 46, Muskegon 42 (OT)
At Dearborn
Belleville 66, Wayne Memorial 54
At Salem
Novi 61, Ann Arbor Skyline 59
Class B
At Coloma
Benton Harbor 67, Dowagiac 57
At Fowlerville
Williamston 48, Marshall 40
At Carleton Airport
Dearborn Divine Child 72, Flat Rock 58
At Livonia Clarenceville
River Rouge 50, Detroit Old Redford 43
At New Haven
New Haven 92, Detroit Country Day 74
At Goodrich
Bridgeport 86, Flint Powers Catholic 72
At Grand Rapids West Catholic
G.R. Catholic Central 61, G.R. South Christian 51
At Gaylord
Boyne City 56, Standish-Sterling Central 52
Class C
At Madison Heights Bishop Foley
Detroit Edison 83, Detroit Loyola 73
At Burton Atherton
Unionville-Sebewaing 59, Flint Beecher 55
At Pewamo-Westphalia
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 58, Dansville 48
At Beal City
Sanford Meridian Early College 54, Mason County Central 43
At Constantine
Kalamazoo Christian 61, Cassopolis 48
At Petersburg-Summerfield
Monroe St Mary CC 61, Hanover-Horton 56
At Houghton Lake
Maple City Glen Lake 75, Whittemore-Prescott 46
At Marquette
Iron Mountain 56, Calumet 44
Class D
At Sault Ste Marie
Cedarville 58, Brimley 49
At Negaunee
Dollar Bay 65, Carney-Nadeau 64
At Marine City Cardinal Mooney
Southfield Christian 87, Sterling Heights Parkway 46
At Deckerville
Flint International Academy 74, Fulton 62
At Battle Creek Harper Creek
Marcellus Howardsville Christian 58, Bellevue 46
At Lansing Christian
Hillsdale Academy 56, Adrian Lenawee Christian 49
At Cadillac
Buckley 66, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 44
At Gaylord
Hillman 48, Mio 44
Quarterfinals, March 20
Class A
At Detroit Mercy
Warren De La Salle vs. Detroit U-D Jesuit, 5
Belleville vs. Novi, 7
At Grand Blanc
Flint Carman-Ainsworth vs. Clarkston, 7
East Lansing vs. Holland West Ottawa, 7
Class B
At Ionia
Benton Harbor vs. Williamston, 7
At Chelsea
River Rouge vs. Dearborn Divine Child, 7
At Corunna
New Haven vs. Bridgeport, 7
At Big Rapids
Grand Rapids Catholic Central vs. Boyne City, 7
Class C
At West Bloomfield
Detroit Edison vs. Unionville-Sebewaing, 7
At Fremont
Grand Rapids Convenant Christian vs. Sanford Meridian Early College, 7
At Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
Kalamazoo Christian vs. Monroe St Mary Catholic Central, 7
At Petoskey
Iron Mountain vs. Maple City Glen Lake, 6
Class D
At Escanaba
Cedarville vs. Dollar Bay, 7
At Goodrich
Southfield Christian vs. Flint International Academy, 7
At Portage Northern
Marcellus Howardsville Christian vs. Hillsdale Academy, 7
At Gaylord
Buckley vs. Hillman, 7
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