NOVI FALLS OFF TRACK, LOSES TO STEVENSON FOR SECOND TIME THIS SEASON

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

LIVONIA

With very few exceptions, the Novi Wildcats have made mince meat of their opponents so far this boys basketball season. One of those exceptions, specifically bearing the name of the Livonia Stevenson Spartans, reared their ugly head Tuesday night and knocked off Novi, 56-49, in front of a spirited home crowd and in the process dashed any hopes of its being able to claim a league title this year.

The defeat drops the Wildcats' overall record to 11-3, 7-2 in league play in the KLAA Central. This is second time this season the Wildcats have given-up a game to Stevenson – Novi lost to Stevenson (8-1 in league play) by 16 points at home back in January. Stevenson improves its record to 11-3 and with the win clinches at least a share of the conference crown.

Spartans' head coach, Mike Allie, effectively focused his team's defense against stopping Samier Ozier, Novi's scintillating 6-7 "inside-outside" threat. Ozier, who had 22 points in the two squads' first meeting last month, was held to just 12 points on Tuesday. Averaging 24 points and 13 rebounds per game, Ozier is one of the best junior forwards in the Metro area.

Allie's defensive scheme worked to perfection and Ozier was frustrated and saddled with two fouls a mere two minutes into the game. Novi was down 29-20 at halftime and Ozier only had three total points (while only attempting two shots).

Getting down by as many as 14 in the third quarter, the Wildcats fought back to make it a game late. A basket by Ozier brought Novi to within a single point at a score of 42-41 with just over four minutes left to play.

Coming out of a timeout, Stevenson quelled the Wildcats rally with the combination of its dazzling backcourt of senior Bobby Naubert and junior C.J. Mwila. Naubert, one of the best players in the entire KLAA, connected on a pair of free throws and then Mwila went on to the scored five straight – a lay-up off a feed from Naubert and a long 3-pointer – to give the Spartans an 8-point cushion with two and a half minutes remaining. The pair of Spartan guards combined for 41 points, 10 assists, and seven steals in the win. Headlining the Stevenson stat sheet was Naubert with a game-high 26 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Mwila, a transfer from Orchard Lake St. Mary's, finished with 15 points, five assists, and four steals.

Jeremy Mims, the Wildcats scrappy and steady point guard on his way to play football at Michigan Tech next year, led Novi in the scoring department tallying 13 points and five assists. Mims is set to be joined by Clarkston's All-State quarterback, Tyler Scarlett, at Tech next season.

Novi gets back to work on Friday as the Wildcats are set to host South Lyon East. What is most impressive about the job head coach Corey Heitch has been doing since arriving at Novi is the program's ability to consistently demonstrate extreme resiliency. In each of the last two seasons, the Wildcats have lost top tier, all-state caliber talent, and it hasn't affected their success or overall win-loss records at all. Last season, with the departure of Caleb Dean, Chris Bellamy stepped up. This season, with Bellamy gone, it's been Ozier, Mims, Justin Upton, and Brandon Rzdnewski.