Fowlerville, MI.- It’s tough to beat a team three times in a single season but that’s what the Williamston Hornets did on Monday night as the Williamston Hornets knocked the Ionia Bulldogs from the MHSAA High school boys basketball playoffs, 62-44. In the other matchups against Ionia, the Hornets dominated both games winning by a point margin of over 20 points both times.
The Hornets started quickly as Sean Cobb scored right off the tip on an Alley Oop play, then Cole Kleiver launched a long 3 but Ionia battled back and after the first period Ionia had a 1 point lead. But the Hornets came back strong in the second playing tough defense and practicing good ball control and were able to take a 7 point lead into the half after a very chippy second period which included matching technical fouls.
Williamston Head Coach Tom Lewis had his boys fired up after halftime as they simply dominated on all areas of the court especially on defense and didn’t give up a shot, let alone a basket, to Ionia for almost 5 minutes of the third. The Hornets held them to 9 points total in the period. In the final frame, the Hornets never let up keeping the pedal to the gas and finishing strong for the big victory.
Williamston Senior guard Kleiver led all scorers in the game with 37 points while the Hornets Sean Cobb tallied 15. The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Alex White with 15 points.
The 21st ranked team in the state of Michigan, the Hornets are on a quest to win their third Regional title game in a row on Wednesday night back at the Fowlerville Gym where they will tip off at 7 p.m. against the Marshall Redhawks. The Redhawks come in with just 6 losses after defeating Parma Western on Monday night.
