St. Clair Shores

South Lake, Lake Shore to meet in MAC Silver battle

By Jason Carmel Davis
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Patricia O’Blenes South Lake’s boys basketball squad will go for a sweep of Lake Shore when they square off Feb. 1 at Lake Shore. Pictured is Cavs junior Damaris Heard during a Jan. 22 matchup with Madison Heights Lamphere. Photo by Patricia O’Blenes South Lake’s boys basketball squad will go for a sweep of Lake Shore when they square off Feb. 1 at Lake Shore. Pictured is Cavs junior Damaris Heard during a Jan. 22 matchup with Madison Heights Lamphere.

ST. CLAIR SHORES — The first time they met Dec. 20, the St. Clair Shores South Lake boys basketball team built a 20-point lead on St. Clair Shores Lake Shore only to see the Shorians battle back to take the lead before the Cavaliers eeked out a one-point-59-58 win.

The two teams are set to face off again at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at Lake Shore in a Macomb Area Conference Silver Division battle. This marks the first season Lake Shore and South Lake have played in the same division since 2003-04 — when the Cavs won their second straight division title.

“Any and all divisional games are important, but the South Lake game is twice as important because not only is it a divisional game, but it’s a city rivalry game,” said Shorians coach Todd Stevens, in his ninth year at Lake Shore.

“We just ran out of gas down the stretch last time, and they hit a couple of big shots to pull away at the end. I know that my guys want to play them again and show what they can do for all four quarters.”

Both the Cavs (2-5, 2-3 MAC Silver) and Shorians (4-7, 2-4 MAC Silver) are looking up at Clinton Township Clintondale in the MAC Silver standings. South Lake and Lake Shore are three and three-and-a-half games, respectively, out of first place in the league.

St. Clair Shores Lakeview (8-2, 4-2 MAC Silver) is 1.5 games out of first.

The Cavs bring a new coach with them to the Silver. Kurt Wilson takes over after leading Mount Clemens to three straight MAC Gold titles. Wilson coached the Bathers for six years.

Both teams have struggled a bit thus far. South Lake averaged 42.5 points at press time, but allowed 55.7. Lake Shore was tallying 47.1 points per contest, but allowing 58.7.

Wilson could not be reached for comment. The Cavs’ coach is already making progress, as South Lake already has more wins in league play this season (two) than it had, combined, from 2010-12.

It’s often said that records don’t matter in a rivalry. Stevens said he knows his Lake Shore players will be fired up for the matchup with the Cavs, but said the Shorians must stay even-keel.

“We try and stress that it is great to play with emotion, but you can’t let the extreme highs lead to extreme lows,” Stevens said. “The game of basketball can swing quickly, in a matter of moments, and we need to rely on our preparation and hard work leading up to those moments to help us succeed and push through.”

Huskies in action
The St. Clair Shores Lakeview boys hoops team hits the road for a matchup with Marine City, set for 7 p.m. Jan. 31.

The Huskies were 8-2, 4-2 MAC Silver. Marine City at press time had a mark of 4-5, 2-3 in the MAC Silver.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Jason Carmel Davis at jdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1107. Follow Jason Carmel on Twitter.