West Bloomfield Falls to Lahser in MHSAA Basketball Districts

The Lahser Knights’ combination of quickness, dominating defense and depth was on full display Monday as they beat West Bloomfield High School 73-34 in the opening round of the MHSAA district playoffs Monday night.

The Knights, co-champs of the OAA Blue, jumped out to an 18-10 lead after the first quarter and were in full control of the game by halftime 39-19. The Lakers (8-13) could never recover.

Lahser junior Yante Maten finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks in somewhat-limited playing time due to the lopsided 60-24 lead late in the third quarter. They were was among 10 Knights to score in the game. West Bloomfield player stats were not immediately available.

Junior guard Armand Cartwright also shined with 16 points and 5 assists, and junior guard Khalil Gracey stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 7 steals. Unfortunately for West Bloomfield, there wasn't much drop-off in play when Lahser's talented-trio was out of the game.

“We were very focused tonight,” Lahser head coach Duane Graves told Miprepzone.com. “These guys knew they had a job to do and they went out there and did it. What was most impressive about the win to me was that every time we brought in our reserves, we expanded the lead."

The team finished with 25 assists and out-rebounded West Bloomfield 38-22.

The convincing victory kicked-off a busy week of playoff basketball at Andover High School, host of the MHSAA's 27th District. The Knights (15-6) advanced to Wednesday's showdown with Brother Rice (8-11) at 5 p.m. at Andover. The Warriors drew a first-round bye along with Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (10-9), which is considered by many a favorite to advance from the competitive district field. The Eaglets will play Birmingham Seaholm at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Andover.

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