Login
Rebuilding Novi falls short at home to Plymouth, 48-42
NOVI — Towards the end of last season, Novi head coach Chris Housey told his team after a loss to Canton, “We still control our own destiny.”
While this year’s record looks a lot different sitting at 6-15 after Monday night’s 48-42 defeat to Plymouth, the message is eerily similar.
“I just told them that next week everybody is 0-0,” Housey said. “We have to get ready to go. Playoffs are a new birth, a new beginning for everybody. We have to learn from the mistakes we made but not dwell on them and get ready to go next Monday.”
It has been a difficult year for the Novi Wildcats coming off a 19-5 record, a KLAA West title, and a KLAA Championship by way of a victory over Wayne Memorial in the league championship last winter. While they are still a senior dominated team, only two of the seven played significant time last season. The losses by way of graduation have been tough to overcome.
Novi made it a challenge when it was the visitor of the two Wildcats a couple weeks ago, forcing overtime before losing in Plymouth, 50-42, but there was no bonus basketball in the rematch despite a few closely contested quarters.
The first quarter saw Plymouth come out strong and quickly build a 12-8 lead by its conclusion. As the game went on, Novi began to come together and managed to pull within a single point of Plymouth headed into halftime at 20-19.
After intermission, Novi continued to push Plymouth (8-13, 6-8 KLAA West), trading the lead back and forth before eventually knotting things up 36-36 at the end of the third quarter on a breakaway dunk. But that was as close as it would get the rest of the night as Plymouth took the lead at the start of the fourth quarter and never looked back.
“The last few minutes we made some mistakes, had some turnovers,” Housey said. “We had some good looks all night that we missed that would have changed momentum. We can’t dwell on that, and we have to keep fighting, go back down and play defense.”
In regards to how Monday’s loss is reflective of others this year, Housey explained, “We have to keep going, keep fighting, and we are almost there. We’ve just got to now focus in and lock up, fix those little things. I feel like 80 to 90% of it has gotten better, and as you know with anything, it is that last 10 to 20% that is often the toughest.”
Photos of Novi vs. Plymouth in a KLAA West boys basketball contest
“I think one of the disappointing things for us tonight, when we did put ourselves in great positions to make shots, we couldn’t make them. You miss four or five layups in a game that you lose by six, that makes the difference.”
Novi’s attack on the night was incredibly balanced with nine out of the 10 players who saw action getting into the scoring column. The hosts, 3-11 in the league, were led by Drelen Lillard, who finished with nine points, and sophomore Bladen White, who picked up seven.
The majority of Plymouth's scoring came from Chayse Calvin, who recorded 13 points and Isaiah Hooks, who dropped in nine.
In addition to the seniors who have that championship experience from last year, Housey has some talented underclassmen that he is working into the mix. “We have two sophomores up, one of them started tonight, Trent McGowan," he said. "He played really well tonight, probably his best game of the year. It has been a balance, though.”
When asked about how he balances staying true to his seniors and getting the underclassmen the work they need, Housey replied, “Sometimes we play those guys together (the four underclassmen), sometimes we mix them with the seniors, but they are going at each other in practice every day, learning and getting better. I am proud of them and proud of the work they have put in and they are getting better as the year is going on.”
Both teams finish the regular season on Thursday night as Livonia Churchill will travel to Novi and Westland John Glenn will visit Plymouth in the KLAA crossover games.
For the playoffs, Novi’s draw will be Northville, who the Wildcats have played twice and split those games with, the most recent being a 60-36 loss on February 13. Despite that lopsided score line, Novi won the initial meeting with the Mustangs in OT, 54-45.
“We started off relatively inexperienced," Housey said. "At the beginning of the year, it was gaining that experience of being varsity basketball players, learning what it takes to do all the stuff that is required to win at this level and in this league, and that is really tough. Now, as the season grinds on, we have gotten better. Our record may not show it, but we have gotten a lot better as a group, and we are starting to come together.”
