Fast start leads Ypsilanti to a 54-25 victory over Dexter
Ypsilanti's Marcus Palmer (22) sinks a layup that Dexter's Haden Quinn (10) attempted to block on Friday night at Ypsilanti High School.
Chris Asadian | AnnArbor.com
The Ypsilanti High School boys basketball team continued its winning ways Friday night with a wire-to-wire, 54-25 victory over visiting Dexter.
An 11-0 run to open the game set the tone early for Ypsilanti, which is now 12-3 overall and 9-0 in Southeastern Conference White Division play.
While the scoring run to open the game was nice, it was the defense that helped Ypsilanti open such a big lead.
“We’re trying to get better for the state run, so we just gotta pick it up and defend,” said Ypsilanti’s Tristan Simmons. “We gotta get the young guys ready and get them going on track and make a run.”
Dexter did not score its first basket until after the midway point of the first quarter and managed only seven points for the entire quarter. The Phoenix used their size advantage to alter numerous shot attempts and to keep Dexter off the offensive glass.
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“They’re very good. The few shots we got, we didn’t make any of them,” said Dexter coach Randy Swoverland. “Once they got a double-digit lead, I think they were comfortable the rest of the game.”
Although everything was going Ypsilanti’s way early, point guard Derrick Richardson injured his ankle at the 4:59 mark of the opening quarter and went to the locker room briefly before returning a couple minutes later.
“He is a real gutsy kid,” said Ypsilanti coach Steve Brooks. “He’s really just getting back into the flow of things.”
Once he returned, Richardson would go on to score 14 points to go along with eight rebounds. Simmons would also score 14.
Down 19-7 entering the second quarter, Dexter (6-10, 3-6) kept fighting and was able to stay with the Phoenix. Michael Mioduszewski led the way for the Dreads with 10 points, six of which came in the second quarter. Dexter would enter the halftime break trailing 29-15.
Although Dexter fought to stay with Ypsilanti, Swoverland knew his team was too deep in the hole to overcome the deficit.
“I don’t think we battled in the first quarter. The second quarter, at least we competed and played them fairly even,” said Swoverland. “But again, when you’re already down double-digits, that’s not enough.”
Ypsilanti would come out to start the second half with an 8-2 run, crushing any chances of a comeback by Dexter. The rout would continue into the final quarter, highlighted by a flashy sequence by Ypsilanti.
After pulling down an offensive rebound, Caleb Baldwin found Simmons in the lane, who threw a no-look pass to Jaylen Johnson for a dunk over a Dexter defender, bringing the entire Ypsilanti bench to its feet.
Even though his team was up big, Brooks kept the majority of his starters on the floor and continued to press Dexter in order to get his team ready for the state tournament. And while Swoverland didn’t have a problem with the starters playing all the way through, he did have a warning for Brooks.
“I just hope that he realizes sometimes he puts those kids at risk,” Swoverland said. “But that’s his decision; I don’t have a problem with that. I have no problem with that at all.”
Brooks said the competition in the Southeastern Conference is a great way to get his team prepared for the tournament run.
“As far as strategy wise, I love the SEC,” Brooks said. “All the SEC teams, every team you have to prepare for. In the SEC, you never see the same thing they ran in the first game. You have to be ready.”
Contact Matt Durr at mattdurr@annarbor.com.
Comments
Truthisfree
Mon, Feb 20, 2012 : 12:58 a.m.
Actually msbrown, I'm very educated & I can read quite well. I can also read between the lines. If the players were removed due to a big lead, they wouldn't have played in the game. The Ypsilanti team was up 17-0 at one point. The Dexter players were not angry, why are you adults? You still have not answered the question of what was Dexter's lineup when they beat Stockbridge by 25 or Willow Run by 48. Parents & fans need to grow up, it's competition, you win some, you lose some. Some you win big because all if your hard work and preparation pays off, sometimes it doesn't. It's competition, not slow down so I can catch up, to take it easy is insulting to anyone that has worked hard to measure where they are. What It doesn't require is spewing negative comments about people you never met and don't know anything about. That's classless. Including your comment about my ability to read.
Truthisfree
Sat, Feb 18, 2012 : 3:21 p.m.
You are correct about the fanbase Regina. Unfortunately, Ypsilanti high school does not have a fanbase that supports the team as they should. So, instead of wishing for a person to knock another player to the floor in you anger at losing, why not wish the best for these young men that are striving for something DESPITE the poor community support. Dexter is a fine team. Don't shame the effort of the boys. The Dexter community deserves better representation than what you speak about Intentional fouls in anger and the Dexter coach alludes to the same. The players on the floor are CHILDREN. If you want to pick a fight, grab an adult, don't wish things against children. You reap what you sow and NONE of the young men deserve to reap negative because of angry adults
Truthisfree
Mon, Feb 20, 2012 : 1 a.m.
See below
Regina
Sun, Feb 19, 2012 : 2:33 p.m.
Sorry I shouldn't have said you can't read... you misinterpreted what Coach Swoverland said.
Regina
Sun, Feb 19, 2012 : 2:02 p.m.
Coach Swoverland didn't allude to any intentional fouls against any player, if you could read you would have seen that he said you put your starters at risk when you leave them in a game when you are winning by that much. The coach of Ypsi is the one in the wrong, the players were just following his direction. Maybe he wanted to pad his players' stats so they look better on paper.
Truthisfree
Sat, Feb 18, 2012 : 3:10 p.m.
Regina, I believe your comments are unmerited and distasteful. You do not know any of the people on that team so to make a character assessment from one game is poor judgement. Was Dexter classless when they beat Stockbridge by 26 points? How about when they beat Willow Run by 48 points earlier in the season? If you looked at the game roster, you would have saw the player that got the dunk is. 6'8" sophomore that actual should be in the ninth grade based on his age. Furthermore, after going up 15-0, Ypsilanti took out their leading scorer and began making subs. Then they worked the ball around running offense instead of tryin to run up the score. The final score was BELOW their season average per game and far below what they were on pace to score given the first 5 minutes being up 19-3. Finally, for their coach to make an indirect statement hoping for players, who are children, to get hurt is classless if anything. That was a classless comment to say. He may be a classy guy but his comment was not. Again, people in glass houses should not throw stones as I'm sure a Stockbridge or Willow Run parent was insulted when they lost by 26 & 48 respectively to Dexter. Their coaches or players didn't make any negative comments however at your teams success. Your team played hard, missed a lot of shots, there is nothing to be ashamed of. There is no reason to assassinate the character of people you don't know. It was a game. Each team worked hard and you know what, each player helped each other off the floor when they fell. The children leading the adults.
Truthisfree
Mon, Feb 20, 2012 : 1:14 a.m.
Do you realize that the two starters that remained on the court were key to spreading the floor in order to run the clock down and not take additional shots? If they were not in the game, younger players that dont play as much are more tempted to shine through taking shots. instead of Ypsi holding the ball for the entire last minute without taking a shot, shots would have been taken because players that are not in the game much think of shooting when they are on the court. So you should actually be happy the 2 starters that remained in the game were there, they provided leadership to avoid additional scoring. There are a lot of reasons why things take place, in this case, the players slowed the pace of the game because they didn't need to score . You argue about a 25 point loss but your team won a game by 48.
Regina
Sun, Feb 19, 2012 : 2:30 p.m.
Sorry, I shouldn't have said you cannot read... you misinterpreted what Coach Swoverland said.
Regina
Sun, Feb 19, 2012 : 1:58 p.m.
Coach Swoverland didn't say he hoped for players to get hurt, if you could read he said the Ypsi coach put his starters at risk by playing them when they had the game in hand. If you are winning a game by that much at the end, take your starters out!
boo
Sat, Feb 18, 2012 : 1:53 p.m.
regina, I wasn't at the game, but I've seen Ypsi play twice this year against Pioneer and Skyline. They are far from what you describe. They are a classy team. In the games I saw, they didn't talk trash, they helped opponents up, they cheered for each other. If Dexter got embarrassed, they could have done something about it during the game, like rebound or pass against better against Ypsi's press. Don't whine and call another team classless because you got your butts kicked. NOW THAT IS CLASSLESS.
Regina
Sun, Feb 19, 2012 : 1:55 p.m.
Coaches leaving there starters in the game with 3 min. left in the game when winning by 25 is classless. The players were just doing what their coaches told them.
Regina
Sat, Feb 18, 2012 : 12:20 p.m.
There is one word to describe Ypsilanti High School basketball... CLASSLESS! 3 minutes left in the game, Dexter has ALL there starters out and not only does Ypsi have theirs in, but they are dunking the ball on the backups for Dexter. Luckily Dexter has more class because back in the day, Ypsi's best player would have been on the floor more than a mop because of Ypsi's lack of class. Even their fans must know this because it looked to me like there were more Dexter fans at the game than Ypsi fans.