Young, Running & Gunning

KNIGHTS BOYS HOOP SQUAD SQUEAKS PAST LINCOLN ON SHOULDERS OF SUPER SOPHS

The Bloomfield Hills Lahser young baller brigade made another loud statement Wednesday night with its play.

That statement was; We're FOR REAL, we're here to stay for a while, so GET USED TO IT!!!!

Behind clutch outings from the sizzling sophomore trio Armand Cartwright, Yante Maten and Khalil Gracey, the host Knights weathered the fatigue of playing on consecutive evenings to rally for a pulse-pounding 54-50 victory over a speedy and spunky Ypsilanti Lincoln team.

Battling rubber legs as a result of a hard-fought defeat of crosstown rival Bloomfield Hills Andover on Tuesday, Lahser trailed 24-22 at the break and fell behind by as many as six points late in the fourth quarter.

That's when, per standard operating procedure for the season, Knights head coach Duane Graves, turned to his youth contingent to close things out.

With the score 50-46 in Lincoln's favor with a minute left, Cartwright, Graves' fearsome floor general, converted a rare four-point play, taking contact while in the process of drilling a long 3-ball from the left wing and then sinking the ensuing free throws to knot it all up at 50-50.

Following a stop on the other end, Maten, Lahser's explosive 6-foot-7 big fella, got fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws with 34 seconds remaining that proved the game-winners. Gracey, a smooth and agile small forward hit two free throws in the final moments of the contest to close out the win for the Knights, who moved their overall record to 8-3, 1-0 in league play.

Thanks to the leadership and structure that has been implemented by Graves, in his second year at the helm, Wednesday's victory gives Lahser more wins this campaign than they had all of last season, when the Knights finished 7-14.

Cartwright led Lahser in the scoring column by registering 15 points to add to his six assists and three steals. On the heels of a colossal effort on Tuesday against Andover where he put up 17 points, 18 boards and 8 blocks, Maten scored nine points, snared 12 rebounds and swatted away four Lincoln shots.

While Cartwright and Maten started on varsity last year as freshmen, Gracey (5 points, 6 rebounds) played JV and is in his first year in the starting lineup this season.

Competing in the brand new OAA Gold, Lahser's performance in the first half of the year has established the Knights as one of the frontrunners in the race for the league crown along with Oxford and Royal Oak.

Lahser hits the court next on Friday night against Royal Oak. Back on Tuesday, the Ravens lost 73-68 to Oxford at home. Royal Oak is 5-4, 1-0 in league action, Oxford is 6-3 overall, 1-0 in the OAA Gold.

The Knights are seeking their first league title in five years. The last time Lahser captured a district crown was in 2000.