They stood and cheered on their little brothers.
They stomped their feet and dance wicked jigs of joy as Milford junior varsity players Landon Eslinger and Trent McCaul, who were called up to the big squad, scored their first varsity points in Milford’s lopsided 58-26 Lakes Valley Conference boys basketball victory over discombobulated South Lyon on South Lyon’s home floor.
Early in the fourth quarter starters Dorian Wright, Jake Hess, Caden Johnston-Thompson, Noah Pike and Rex Phillips were given the rest of the night off by head coach Dave Gilbert. He sent in the reserves to finish the job and watched in pride as his starters and prime time players turned from varsity players into a cheer team as the young bucks took over,
“To see our seniors get excited like that was great,” Gilbert said.
So, how did this game get so out of hand?
The Mavericks blitzed the passing lanes and turned tips and steals into easy baskets. Wright led the way with 24 points.
South Lyon (2-16 overall, 2-8 in the conference) is not a great team. But word has spread in the LVC that the Lions are a major pain to play. Recently, they beat first place South Lyon East and Walled Lake Western and were in tight games with Walled Lake Central before fading at the end.
“We wanted to step up this game,” Wright said. “We needed to play four quarters of basketball. We were pissed off. We played our defense and got buckets.”
Gilbert begged his team to play 32 minutes of solid basketball, something the Mustangs (9-9, 5-5 in the conference) has failed to do. Milford didn’t need to play 32 minutes because the Mavericks landed a first-round knockout blow by racing to an 18-5 first quarter lead that was extended to 31-8 in the second quarter behind a 10-0 run to end half.
Now a new challenge awaits. Can the Mavericks push this energy into next Tuesday’s game home game against Northern? Milford is on a frustrating nine-game swing where it has alternated wins and losses. Now the Mavericks hope to secure their first winning streak since victories over South Lyon East, Walled Lake Western and White Lake Lakeland near the New Year.
“I told them we have to flip the switch,” Gilbert said. “We can’t wait much longer. Hopefully, this is the springboard. We have not won back-to-back games in a while. The test will be can we do this Tuesday night.”