DeWitt Spells Double Trouble for Trojan Hoops Teams

Above: Aaliyah Nye scored 23 points for East Lansing in a 58-46 loss to DeWitt - the Trojans' first setback of the season. Photo: Jim Pivarnik.

A holiday trip to DeWitt on Monday proved to be doubly disappointing for the East Lansing basketball teams, as both the boys and girls came up short against the host Panthers.

DeWitt won the boys game 47-37 and then proceeded to hand the Trojans girls their first loss of the season, 58-46, in the nightcap. The loss snapped a 44-game regular season win streak for East Lansing, dating back to Jan. 31, 2017.

The East Lansing and DeWitt girls are now tied for the lead atop the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue Division with identical 10-1 records in league play. East Lansing will play its final CAAC Blue game Friday at home vs. Everett, while DeWitt travels to Okemos.

Above: Head coach Rob Smith draws up a play during a timeout Monday night in DeWitt. Photo by Fletcher Wyble.

“Two great teams going at it,” said East Lansing coach Rob Smith, whose teams have won 14 of the past 15 CAAC Blue titles. “We got them at our place, which was huge, and they turned the tables on us at their place.

“If it turns out that we end up sharing the conference title, it won’t be as appealing. But it certainly won’t diminish what we’ve accomplished to this point.”

The Trojans, now 17-1 overall and ranked No. 1 in Division 1 by the Associated Press, led 36-33 after three quarters but could muster only two points through the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. By then DeWitt had taken a 45-38 lead despite back-to-back offensive fouls on senior forward Annie McIntosh.

“Let’s give (DeWitt) credit,” Smith said. “They’re a senior-dominated team, playing at home with a big crowd behind them. Not an easy environment for us, especially when we didn’t get the leadership we needed from some our more experienced players.

“We knew they’d come out punching hard, and they did, and I was proud of my kids for punching back. But you have to take care of the basketball, and you have to make layups at the end (of the game).”

Junior forward Aaliyah Nye, who led the Trojans in scoring with a game-high 23 points, dropped in a trey with 1:55 remaining to cut the lead to 51-43, and she followed up by making three consecutive free throws to reduce the margin to five points with 1:40 to play.

Above: East Lansing junior guard Ahlura Lofton looks for an opening between two DeWitt defenders during Monday night's game. Photo by Fletcher Wyble.

DeWitt, which improved to 16-1 overall, sealed the victory by making 20 of 25 free-throw attempts. Senior forward Annie McIntosh led the winners with 18 points while fellow senior Sydney Mills scored 15. A third Panther senior, Maddie Peterson, contributed 11 points to the victory – which avenged a 45-41 loss to East Lansing on Dec. 14.

DeWitt outscored East Lansing 25-10 in the fourth quarter. The Panthers out-rebounded East Lansing 28-17 and converted nearly 60 percent of their two-point field goal attempts.

East Lansing made only five of its 20 attempts from three-point range, and just eight of 22 inside the arc.

“It’s tough to come back against a good free-throw shooting team when you’re in scramble mode, and especially one that is well-coached like DeWitt,” Smith said.

The Panther boys capitalized on a 14-0 run in the second quarter en route to their victory. East Lansing, now 10-9 overall, scored the first seven points of the third quarter to trim the margin to nine (24-15) but could not get any closer.

The Trojan boys close out the regular season Friday – Senior Night – against Everett; tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the girls game to follow. The Trojan girls will play their last regular season game Tuesday, Feb. 26, at home against Heritage High School, the team that defeated East Lansing in last year’s Division 1 state title game.

Check out the girls box scores here.