Thursday's high school basketball: Wilson leads U-D Jesuit over Ypsilanti Lincoln

Ypsilanti — U-D Jesuit coach Pat Donnelly has something special going on and his name is Sonny Wilson.

Wilson showed why Donnelly had compared him to former U-D Jesuit and Michigan State star point guard Cassius Winston on a couple of occasions, using his quickness and playmaking ability to lead his team to a 91-79, season-opening win over Ypsilanti Lincoln Thursday night.

Wilson has a lot of options to work with, too.

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teams have played since Lincoln defeated U-D Jesuit in the Division 1 championship game in 2019 with Emoni Bates leading the way.

The Bates Era has come to an end with Emoni joining his father’s newly formed school, Ypsi Prep Academy.

With Bates gone, it was 6-foot-3 sophomore Braelon Green’s turn to lead and he made sure he would take center stage against Wilson, a lightning quick 6-foot sophomore point guard.

Wilson is a slender version of Winston, but then again he is just a sophomore and the comparisons will be fun to watch as the games continue in the weeks, months and years ahead.

Wilson finished with 24 points and eight assists, helping U-D Jesuit open a 69-53 lead after three quarters while helping his team shoot 65% from the field.

Senior JonMarcus Roland scored 20; junior Charles Turner, 15, making four 3-pointers; and sophomore Zavier Banks, 13 points for U-D Jesuit.

Wilson was busy getting his teammates involved in the opening quarter, dishing out four assists to help U-D Jesuit take a 20-18 lead.

Then, after Green scored five, including a 3-pointer early in the second quarter for a 25-23 Lincoln lead, Wilson went on the offensive and scored 11 during an 18-6 run to turn the deficit into a 41-31 lead.

“This was our first game of the season and it felt great, just fun to be out there playing again,” Wilson said. “We have a lot of options, everybody on our team plays hard and can score. We look to score in transition, just make sure that everyone runs their lanes the right way. We just play unselfish. We have a lot of guys who returned from last year, so we feel good about things.”

And, about his second-quarter scoring?

“I just look to see what the defense gives me, just coming off the screen and if I got a shot, I’ll take it, but if not, I’ll just create for my teammates and see what’s open,” Wilson said.

After the pivotal 18-6 run, U-D Jesuit led the rest of the way with a 28-point third-quarter resulting in a 69-53 advantage with a number of U-D players showing their ability, including Turner, who scored nine in the quarter, making a pair of 3-pointers, Roland, eight and junior guard Chris Mutebi, seven.

While U-D Jesuit should challenge defending Catholic League champion Orchard Lake St. Mary’s for the league title, Lincoln should make some noise in the SEC Red, moving up to the top division this season.

Green (23 points) has multiple options to work with in junior shooting guard Gabe Damey (26 points, 12-of-17 shooting) and 3-point threat 6-5 senior Jaylen Broyles (21 points, three 3-pointers).

More boys basketball

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 65, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 59: Cam Garner scored 23 points for Cranbrook (2-0). Cameron Strong and Michael Clark both scored 16 for Liggett (0-1).

Ferndale 78, Oak Park 41: Jason Drake scored 19 points, Chris Williams had 17 and 10 rebounds, Trayvon Lewis had 14 points, and Jack Kennedy had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Ferndale (1-0). Oak Park is 0-1.   

Okemos 57, Saginaw Heritage 43: Will Young scored 21 points with 10 rebounds and KJ Rai had 10 points for Okemos (1-0). Izzy Smith had 12 points and Tyler Ode and Braylon Isom both scored 10 for Heritage (0-2).

Orchard Lake St Mary’s 78, Flint Beecher 63: Will Smythe scored 23 points and DeCorion Temple had 15 for St Mary’s (2-0). Keyon Menifield scored 27 points for Beecher (1-1).

Troy 78, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 70 (2OT): Brody Parker and Ethan Emerzian both scored 20 points for Troy (2-0, 1-0 OAA). Trevor Smith scored 27 and Zac Jones had 13 for Stoney Creek (1-1, 0-1).

Warren Fitzgerald 34, Dearborn Advanced Tech Academy 31: Isaiah Sewell scored 19 points for Fitzgerald (1-0). Kyle Germany had 17 points for ATA (1-1).

More boys basketball scores

Bay City Western 58, Bay City Central 57

Berkley 54, Oxford 47

Clinton 64, Dundee 50

Dearborn Fordson 43, Wayne Memorial 31

Detroit Southeastern 50, Warren Michigan Math & Science 38

Detroit U-D Jesuit 91, Ypsilanti Lincoln 79

Pontiac 51, Royal Oak 46

Rochester Adams 50, Southfield  Arts & Technology 42

Royal Oak Shrine Catholic 51, Riverview Gabriel Richard 43

Westland Huron Valley Lutheran 51, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 40

Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 54, Livonia Clarenceville 38

Girls basketball

Detroit Cass Tech 63, Detroit Osborn 3: Taylor Williams scored 14 points, Desiree Jackson had nine, and Mackenzie Kyles had nine for Cass Tech (1-0). Osborn is 1-0. 

Detroit Denby 33, Detroit East English 23: Taylor Sullivan had 19 points and four steals, and Iyana Love had 11 steals for Denby (1-0). English is 0-1.

Detroit King 34, Detroit Southeastern 16: Jaden Alexander scored 15 points and had six steals and Marche Borden had 14 points and 10 rebounds for King (1-0). 

Grosse Pointe South 59, Utica Ford 35: Kamryn Richards scored 28 points and Alexa Downey had 13 and seven rebounds for Grosse Pointe (2-0). Olivia Kubik scored 13 for Utica (1-1).

Macomb Dakota 41, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley 31: Ella Burger scored 15 points with four assists and three rebounds and Jackie Monoso had six points and two rebounds for Dakota (1-0). Chippewa Valley is 0-2.

Riverview 62, Monroe Jefferson 13: Elyssa Kincaid scored 13 points with 13 rebounds and Kylie Skidmore had 11 points for Riverview (1-0, 1-0 Huron League). Jefferson is 1-0, 1-0.

Roseville 49, Clitondale 20: Olivia Vanderham scored 13 points with five rebounds and five steals and Saniah Love had 11 points with five rebounds and eight steals for Roseville (1-0). Autumn Trotter scored 12 points for Clintondale (0-1).

St Clair Shores Lakeview 51, Romeo 29: Trisha Sankiewicz scored 15 points, Kayla Austin had 14, and Ari Wlodeck had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Lakeview (2-0). Romeo is 0-1. 

More girls basketball scores

Almont 30, Algonac 26

Bay City Western 50, Bay City Central 46

Clarkston Everest Collegiate 49, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart 35

Detroit Country Day 55, Detroit Collegiate Prep 37

Dexter 57, Pinckney 40

Farmington 57, Birmingham Seaholm 47

Macomb L’Anse Creuse North 49, Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse 22

Macomb Lutheran North 44, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 30

Monroe St Mary Catholic Central 49, New Boston Huron 46

New Baltimore Anchor Bay 65, Fraser 35

Port Huron Northern 49, St. Clair 34

Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 40, Allen Park Inter-City Baptist 35

Royal Oak Shrine Catholic 55, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 40

South Lyon East 54, Walled Lake Western 21

St Clair Shores Lake Shore 45, Warren Woods Tower 30

St Clair Shores South Lake 53, Eastpointe 41

Sterling Heights Parkway Christian 27, Lutheran Northwest 25

Warren Cousino 54, Sterling Heights 27

Wayne Memorial 71, Dearborn Fordson 26

david.goricki@detroitnews.com

Detroit News staff contributed.