Six boys hoops teams remain standing, or shall I say dancing, in the OC after the regional semi-final round of the state tournament was completed late-Monday night. Clarkston, Southfield, Birmingham Detroit Country Day, Birmingham Roeper, Novi and Madison Heights Bishop Foley all used Monday to boogie their way into the Sweet Sixteen..er….the regional finals, and will each have the chance to two-step into the Elite Eight….er……the state quarterfinals on Wednesday night.

A few thoughts from Monday night's action:

BREAKING UPDATE, BREAKING UPDATE: CINDERELLA REFUSES TO LEAVE THE BUILDING. PLEASE CALL SECURITY IMMEDIATELY! Fierce and fiery head coach Marc West and his Bishop Foley Ventures refused to fold up tent and go home until next winter on Monday and pulled what seemed like an improbable 71-60 OT upset of state ranked-Detroit Allen. Andrew Shango made sure Foley (11-13) would continue to tango by drilling a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to send things into the extra session at which point, role player, Mike Oravetz took over and scored all 12 of his points (a career high) in the 4^th quarter and OT combined. Shango netted a game-high 24 points. Junior Jordan Walker went all JORDAN WALKER and put up a double-double of 19 points and 11 boards.

Clarkston's Tyler Scarlett, the Wolves two year-starting point guard on the hardwood and all-state quarterback out on the gridiron in the fall, is playing the best basketball of his career over this past month. Scarlett continued displaying his masterful skills as a floor general, by popping in a game-high 19 points and dishing out six assists in C-Town's 55-42 take down of Birmingham Brother Rice in the final game of the night at the Lake Orion regional.

On the subject of continuing to do things on the basketball court, Roeper's senior cage colonel Ryan Zinser continued to show he's the best small school point guard in the state by getting nice for 19 points, seven dimes, four rebounds, and four steals in the Roughrider's 43-27 victory over arch rival- AH Oakland Christian.

Okay, so everybody knows about Southfield's "Big Three" of Brundidge, Barnes, and Onwenu, but one of the main reasons for the Bluejays success this season has been the play of the 'Jays complimentary corps of dangerous guards. I'm talking about my main underappreciated homeboys, Trent Ware, Joshua Brown, Xavier Cross, and William Lyons. These guys spell CB and Pee Wee in a major way and don't let the squad miss a step when either or both of their highly-recruited teammates are out of the game. Ware had 11 for Southfield (19-5) in its 68-55 defeat of Pontiac in the first game of the night at the Lake Orion regional. Brown had five points and in addition to playing superb defense, this kid will stuff in your face if you don't respect his drive to the hoop on the fast break. Cross is rock steady handling and passing the ball and Lyons – going to Wayne State next year on a football scholarship and a crucial part of the 'Jays back-to-back district titles on the football field in '08 and '09 – is a just an all-around pest on defense, usually muscling up and matching-blows with the opposing team's better offensive threats.

Burney wishes salutations to one of the county's true greats of the past decade, Kyle "The Natural" Vinales, as his North Farmington Raiders bowed to AA Huron 60-41 in the first game at the Hartland regional. "Nat, It's been a pleasure to watch u play these past few years and good luck at the next level. Oh and by the way, when u drop your first 40 spot in college, don't be surprise and just remember it was only natural, 'cause you're "The Natural."

Overheard:

"If we can hold Vinales under 30, we're gonna win this game" –  a coach on the bench for AA Huron in the moments before squaring off with Vinales and the Raiders in the regional semi-final.

Verdict – He was right. Vinales busted the nets for 28 points and NF still lost by nearly 20.