Ethan Walsh, who finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds, looks for an open teammate.

Playoff Drive

Salem earns berth in KLAA tourney with do-or-die win over Northville

BY ED WRIGHT
Feb. 12, 2010, 9:55 p.m.

  The atmosphere was playoff-caliber during Friday night's Salem-Northville regular-season boys basketball game -- and for good reason.

  The winner would advance to next week's KLAA tournament while the loser would earn a ticket to the "rat's tail," the name Salem coach Bob Brodie has affectionately given the non-tournament round-robin event.

  Fueled by a 39-13 advantage in rebounding and a slew of clutch performances from players young and old, the Rocks are going to the KLAA's "Big Dance" thanks to a Rock-solid 67-53 victory.

  Salem, which improved to 8-8 overall and 4-6 in the KLAA Central Division, will play at Canton on Friday night in the first round of the tournament. The Chiefs took the first meeting between the two "Park" rivals, 45-37, on Jan. 26.

  "Tonight was a good game for the kids because all of a sudden they're in a 'If you win you're in, if you lose, you're done' situation," said Salem coach Bob Brodie. "They all stepped up and won it.

  "It was a good game overall. I'm proud of the guys who came off the bench as well as the starters. We made some adjustments offensively that I wasn't sure how the kids would handle, but they did a great job. They took Northville out of their defensive scheme and caused them some fits on the defensive end."

  The Rocks bolted to a quick 20-10 lead less than 10 minutes into the fast-paced contest when Paul Classen finished a slick fast-break after receiving a pass from Tyler Stewart.

  Unlike several games earlier this season, the Rocks protected the advantage the rest of the way, never letting the Mustangs get to within five points.

  "I don't think our decision-making was very good and we had some breakdowns on defense really for no reason," said Northville coach Todd Sander, whose team slipped to 6-10 overall and 3-7 in the division. "Salem did a nice job of exposing and executing what they wanted to do. They had a great game plan."

  Stewart continued to play with composure that defied his sophomore status. The 6-foot-2 swingman nailed his final four shots -- including a trio of triples -- and was perfect on his six trips to the free throw line to finish with a team-high 20 points.

  Senior Jake Peterson also shined, accumulating 18 points and seven boards.

  Although a reserve, junior banger Ethan Walsh put up starter's numbers, compiling 12 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Chris Dierker added eight points and six boards while junior center Paul Classen chipped in with four points and six rebounds.

  "Ethan did a tremendous job coming off the bench," raved Brodie. "Rebounding was critical tonight. We didn't give them any second shots and we got a ton of second shots."

  Northville stayed in the game thanks in large part to the efforts of junior Andrew Baldwin, who torched the nets for 30 points. The sharp-shooting guard drained five treys. Bryce Groshek contributed 14 points to the Mustangs' cause.

  It appeared Northville was going to take just a five-point deficit into the half after Baldwin hit a three with 0:05 on the clock to make it 26-21, but the Rocks hurried the ball up the court and swung it to Stewart, who coolly swished a 22-footer as the buzzer sounded.

  The third quarter was an offensive fireworks show as Salem outgunned their visitors 21-19, to boost its lead to 50-40 with eight minutes left.

  Northville chiseled its deficit to 59-52 on Tim Hasse's triple with 1:49 to play, but Salem connected on six of six free throws (four from Stewart, two from Peterson) down the stretch to pull off its biggest win of the season.

  Salem his 21 of 48 field goals (43.7 percent) and 20 of 28 free throws (71.4). Northville was 19 of 49 from the field (38.7) and 10 of 12 from the line (83.3).