Salem's Josh Perrin plays hands-up defense against Churchill's Stephen Foster Wednesday night.

Churchill outlasts Salem to advance to Kensington Conference title game

BY ED WRIGHT
Feb. 24, 2010, 10:30 p.m.

  In Wednesday's KLAA Kensington Conference semifinal game, Salem's basketball team didn't get frazzled by Livonia Churchill's twin-tower forwards, but the Rocks did get "Frezzelled" by the Chargers' 6-foot shooting guard.

  Senior Tony Frezzell  scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead Churchill to a 49-44 victory over Salem.

  The Chargers advanced to Friday night's conference final contest at Wayne Memorial, a team they've lost to twice this season.

  Salem, which slipped to 9-9, will travel to Novi on Friday.

  "Tony's a great athlete, but he's a very emotional kid," said Churchill coach Jim Solak. "When he settles down and focuses on his shot selection, and he harnesses his emotions, he become a really good player.

  "I thought in the first half he was forcing some things, but that was all of our fault. We weren't really in the flow; we were forcing things. In the second half, Adam (Bedell) and D'Juan (Cooks) made some plays and Tony let the game come to him. He's able to take over when he does that."

  Salem trailed 31-27 after three quarters, but cut the gap to two 40 seconds into the fourth when freshman Chris Dierker stole the ball and dished a pass to junior Devonta Riley, who unleashed a sweet reverse layup.

  Frezzell then scored the Chargers' next eight points -- six coming from a pair of triples -- to stake his team to a 39-33 advantage with 4:30 left.

  The Rocks pulled to within four with 4.6 ticks to play, but couldn't pull off a miraculous ending.

  "Churchill is a very good team, but we were pretty bad tonight I thought," said Salem coach Bob Brodie. "We just couldn't get in sync. We were shooting airballs at times, missing layups and we didn't shoot very well from the free throw line (7 for 12).

  "Give Churchill credit though. They're a good solid team. They have an inside force, Frezzell's a good player outside and you always have to watch Bedell."

  Salem entered the game with a boat-load of momentum after confidence-building victories over Northville and Canton.

  "Coming into tonight, we were worried about Salem's size and their ability to rebound," Solak said. "(Jake) Peterson has gotten better and better every year. He's a load down there. For the most part, I thought we did the best we could against him."

  Peterson, the Rocks' 6-6 senior center, was solid all night, recording 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Junior forward Ethan Walsh also excelled for Salem, notching 10 points and seven boards.

  Riley scored six points and Paul Classen chipped in with four.

  Cooks, who returned recently from an injury, tallied 11 points for the Chargers. Raynord Allen and Bedell (who missed a good chunk of the game due to foul trouble) contributed eight points each.

  Salem's last lead of the night came with 12 seconds left in the first half when Walsh muscled in a layup to put the Rocks up, 18-16.

  However, Cooks gave the Chargers a lead at the half when he swished a 23-foot jumper at the buzzer.

  Churchill opened the second half with a 9-2 run. Seven of the points were scored by Bedell, who provided a serious spark after sitting out most of the first half with two fouls.

  The 6-6 senior sat out the final 3:55 of the third quarter after committing his third foul, but Salem failed to picked up much ground before he returned with five minutes left in the game.

  Churchill will be looking to redeem a pair of setbacks to the Zebras in Friday night's KLAA Kensington Conference title clash at Wayne.

  "Wayne has been the best team in the conference throughout the year," Solak said. "But you have to beat the best to be the best."

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.