DETROIT: Football takes the cake when it comes to King and Cass Tech, but the gym was just as packed for the varsity boys basketball game between the two arch rivals. The game was a dog fight between the two schools from start to finish, with King edging Cass Tech, 50-43, in the final seconds. Senior guard, Mascio McCadney, led King with 14 huge points.
"It's King and Cass," Ward said after the game. "Two of the best football programs in the state of Michigan, academically, and two of the top three schools in the city. These kids test to get into these schools: some go to King, some go to Cass. Steve Hall (Cass Tech) is a hall of fame coach, and this was an opportunity to see where we're at. We're going to get better from this."
King (8-4, 4-2) trailed Cass Tech (6-5, 3-3) at halftime by eight, but if you are familiar with George Ward teams, you know that fighting through adversity is their best attribute. The Crusaders opened up the second half on a 7-0 run, led by McCadney, who hit a triple to make it 27-25 early in the third. King would eventually tie the game at 33-33, and then there was McCadney coming up big again in front of his home crowd, hitting another big 3-pointer to take a 36-33 lead into the 4th.
"He's getting better and better," Ward said of McCadney. "He's a very intricate part of this team, and he's really, really starting to take off. He's developed in the last two or three months, he can shoot the ball with anybody, and the more confident he is, the much better we are. Because if we can hit shots, we become very good."
King led 46-40 with 1:09 left in the game, and Cass Tech fighting to the very end. And after a mad scramble for the ball, after it seemed like every player on the floor touched the ball, King junior guard, Jesse Scarber, ended up with the ball, and laid it up to give his team some breathing room at 48-40 with 43.2 seconds left in the game. The game erupted after that basket, and it made you realize how serious this game really was between the two schools that are just minutes apart.
"We had this game marked on the calendar for sure," McCadney said. "We just had a game against Pershing, and we beat them by 20. We played Grosse Pointe (South), and beat them, so we were ready.
"I think we played a good today. We didn't come out with a lot of intensity, and I think we could have played better in that area. But during that stretch, I came down and hit some big shots, and get my team back into the game. Overall, I think we played good."
King also got a lot of production of out its other senior players, Anthony Randall and Eahn Blackwell, who scored eight points and 10 points respectively. The point totals may not seem like a lot, but they were huge to Ward, who coached both Randall and Blackwell when they all were at Detroit Southeastern.
"I've been on Eahn and Future (Randall) since April," Ward said. "At what point do you become a senior mentally, from a leadership standpoint? They're starting to do it, and starting to buy in, and starting to let their girlfriends have a little less time, so the closer you get to the end of your career, the more serious you become. Their energy and focus level has been on the right track."
As for Cass Tech, they are still trying to find themselves. Already with a long bench, they were led in scoring by junior Leonard Silas (10 points), and Rodman Allen's nine points. The Technicians have a talented team, but a young one. This has been a challenging year for first year head coach Steve Hall, but the future promises to get better.
