BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP — The Brownstown Woodhaven boys hoops team made its return to the hardwood for game action Friday night.
Playing in their first contest since being handed a hard 64-41 loss vs Salem back on Dec 23, Woodhaven in its first home game in nearly a whole month welcomed in Saline for a non-conference matchup.Saline came in sporting a 5-2 record overall as well as a three-game win streak, the most recent of which was a 61-40 victory over Woodhaven’s Downriver League rivals Gibraltar Carlson back on Dec 27.
In what was the first formal head-to-head meeting between the two schools since December of 2019, the local Warriors found themselves in a back-and-forth battle but a late comeback attempt fell short as the visiting Hornets left town with a 57-51 win.
The loss gives Woodhaven back-to-back losses in the regular season since their final two such games in the 2023-24 campaign. An improved second half Friday night unfortunately went by the wayside in the final minute and change of regulation vs the Hornets.
“I thought we played really hard in the second half,” Woodhaven head coach Greg Scheffler said. “We didn’t play very well defensively in the first half. We also weren’t moving the ball well on offense, and that’s been a thing for us all year. It was just very stagnant.
“I was not happy with the end of it but I thought we really battled.”
The end that Scheffler is alluding to is when he saw his Woodhaven bunch, who had trailed for the entire contest and never led once, slowly worked it back to tie things up at 51-all with under two minutes to go. It was just the second instance in which the score was tied and the first since the two teams traded the first two buckets of the game.
After getting a stop vs Saline on the other end of the floor, the Warriors had a chance to take their first lead of the night with under a minute to go. The possession, however, concluded with a missed lay-up followed by a foul transition and a subsequent technical foul.
The pair of infractions gave Saline four free throw chances, two of which they converted on, plus the ball out of bounds. The Hornets were then able to draw another Woodhaven foul under the bucket and earn two more trips to the stripe, which they cashed in on.
The local hosts, suddenly trailing once more in the waning seconds of regulation, could not respond and had to again foul the visitors once more. Two more free throws finished off the night’s scoring and a 6-0 Saline run, all on free throws, over the final minute and change.
Scheffler after the game reaffirmed that the extended time off in between games did not factor into the final outcome.
“I gave the guys off a few days for the holidays,” Scheffler said. “But we had been practicing all week. A lot of it is the routine, kids are getting to stay up late and sleep in. Their whole schedule is messed up.
“That’s not why we lost tonight,” Scheffler continued. “It was just execution, and we need to get better at that.”
Ending aside, Friday’s battle was a textbook seesaw affair. While Woodhaven could never formally garner a lead, Saline could never really create any separation as their largest lead at any point was eight.
To Scheffler’s point, Woodhaven offensively simply could not string together any sort of extended run of their own. At no point did the Warriors collect consecutive buckets or score more than three points without being answered by Saline on the other end.
Scheffler said the offensive woes are twofold but says it is more self-inflicted.
“Part of it is was just us,” Scheffler said. “We have to learn how to share the ball better. Until we figure that out as a team, we’re going to continue to struggle.”
It was primarily a two-man crew for Woodhaven, who saw seniors Bradyn Harrington and Dante Perry combined for 33 of the team’s 51 points. The former Harrington led all scorers in the contest with 18 points.
Junior Jordan Jackson also chipped in with eight points for the Warriors.
Saline had three players in double-figures with Noah Kronberg turning in a team-best 15 points. The sophomore was responsible for four of the Hornets’ seven made three-point baskets.
UP NEXT
Friday was the first of four straight home games for Woodhaven (4-4), who will jump back into DRL play against aforementioned Carlson on Tuesday, Jan 6. The Warriors will then again step out of conference when they welcome in Pontiac Notre Dame Prep on Jan 9.
Result aside, Scheffler expressed a lot of relief for Friday’s game being more or less the start of returning to their regularly-scheduled programming.
“It’s going to be great,” Scheffler said. “The kids will be up right in the morning and then I get them right after school. We’ll be back in league play against Carlson. That’s always been one of our big rivals. you have no choice but to get up and be ready for that one.”
Photo gallery of Brownstown Woodhaven hosting Saline in a non-league boys hoops battle
