With a robust Canton cheering section behind his target, Plymouth's Brennen Beyer fires up a shot Friday night (John Kemski photo)

Crowd Pleasers

Large gathering watches Chiefs
hold on to upend host Wildcats

ED WRIGHT
Jan. 16, 2010, 10:55 p.m.

  The architect who designed the Plymouth High School gym over a decade ago no doubt envisioned nights like Friday, when the hundreds of seats he drew into the floor plan were packed with screaming, enthusiastic fans, exalting their team's every positive play.

  Both sets of fans -- and there were plenty for Canton and Plymouth -- had a lot to cheer for during the boys game Friday night, but in the end, the biggest and final ovation went to the Chiefs, who prevailed, 47-38, in a cross-campus barn-burner.

  Senior forward Kevin Weisz was the catalyst for the winners, draining a trio of triples -- two in the pivotal final quarter -- to finish with 22 points.

  Weisz's biggest trey came with approximately 1:40 left when he tickled the net with a rainbow jumper to counter a Mike Nadratowski triple and put the Chiefs ahead, 43-35.

  "It took me a while to get going with my jump shot tonight, but my teammates kept getting me the ball," said Weisz, whose 6-foot-7 frame can do damage beyond the arc and within the paint. "Sometimes, in big games like this, I have too much adrenaline, which can affect my shot. Tonight, I just let it go and hope."

  Canton won its second straight game to pull to 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the tight as a glove KLAA South standings. Plymouth, also 4-4, slipped to 1-2 in the South.

  "We can be a great team when we play hard," Weisz said. "If we don't play hard, we're an average team. Tonight, we picked it up in the second half. We had to because Plymouth is a great team and we knew they could come back."

  Paul Baumgart was solid down low for the Chiefs, racking up eight points and seven rebounds. Dietrich Lever, Canton's electrifying point guard was limited to seven points (although he did register five assists) in part to a serious defensive effort from Wildcat point guard Dion Johnson.

  Junior forward Brennen Beyer was outstanding for Plymouth, displaying a series of inside moves -- everything from spin to straight-up power -- that resulted in 22 points and seven rebounds.

  Nadratowski canned seven points for the Wildcats.

  "The atmosphere was great and Canton was obviously well-prepared," said Plymouth coach Mike Soukup. "Hat's off to coach Reddy. They played with more energy than we did tonight; I don't have a good answer for why.

  "We have to meet that intensity level in order for us to compete every game and come out on top. The bottom line is -- we didn't do it tonight."

  On a night to forget, Soukup gave significant props, his high-energy post player.

  "Brennen was Brennen," said Soukup. "Unfortunately, no one followed his example.

  "We're an average basketball team right now -- 4-4 and 1-2. We've got to keep working hard and get better."

  Judging by the early moments of the game, Canton was going to run and away and hide after jumping ahead, 10-2, on Brandon Duffey's steal and layup.

  Canton coach Jimmy Reddy wasn't fooled by the start.

  "After our run in the first quarter, I knew Mike would get his kids up and they'd get back in the game," said Reddy. "The key is not to get too high or get too low when teams are making runs. We just made a few more plays than they did down the stretch.

  "I thought Paul Baumgart was very solid tonight in the post. He rebounded the ball, played good defense and made good decisions when he passed the ball."