‘We’re still in this’ WL Central beats LVC leader Mott in OT to keep league title hopes alive

PREP BASKETBALL

Walled Lake Central’s Jake Nellett (15) fires a jump shot over Waterford Mott’s Tory Robinson. PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY ARRICK — FOR MEDIANEWS GROUP

Walled Lake Central’s Preston Dado (24) blocks the shot of Waterford Mott’s Jacoby Menyweathers (3) out of bounds late in the fourth quarter of a 53-30 Vikings’ OT victory Friday night in Walled Lake. TIMOTHY ARRICK — FOR MEDIANEWS GROUP

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By Michael J Wallwork

For MediaNews Group

WALLED LAKE >> Walled Lake Central survived an overtime thriller against Waterford Mott to claim a 53-50 victory in Friday night’s battle of the top teams in the Lakes Valley Conference.

“We’ve kind of been on a collision course for some time now,” Vikings head coach Chuck Spolsky said. “We had some bumps on the way, both teams. But we knew it ultimately was going to be a big game when we meet up. It seems like every year it is us and them battling it out, a lot of times for the division championship.”

Mott rallied from seven points down with 2:24 to play to force overtime. The Corsairs got a couple of turnovers and ended the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run fueled by the play of Jacoby Menyweathers and Tory Robinson, capped by a tap-in at the buzzer by Robinson that forced overtime.

“Credit to our kids,” Mott head coach Jeff Jayson said. “We made some plays and got a nice tip-in there obviously by Tory at the horn that gave us a chance to play for four more minutes.”

But in the overtime, Walled Lake Central leaned on its senior, Jake Nellett, who led everyone with a game-high 23 points. Seven of those points came in the overtime period when Nellett did all the scoring for the Vikings.

“They ended that fourth quarter great. But the perseverance on our bench was amazing,” Nellett said. “All of us when we were in that huddle going into overtime were just, ‘We’re still in this. We can still win this game.’ And I applaud my teammates for having that mentality.”

The game was a tight contest throughout. For the first three-and-a-half quarters, neither team led by more than four points as momentum went back and forth until Central (17-4, 13-2 LVC) edged out to a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter — at which point Mott immediately began to rally.

“It was a close game, two good teams playing and battling. We knew we were going to be in for a battle. Walled Lake Central had been playing very well, and the first game was a three-point game as well,” Jayson said. “So we knew we had to come in and try to be tough and outlast them.”

The Vikings were led by Nellett, who added a team-leading six rebounds to his 23 points. Preston Dado added 14 points and Asa Clay chipped in nine points for the Vikings.

Mott (18-3, 13-2) was a bit more balanced. Menyweathers led the team with 14 points. Gavin Ort added 10 pionts, while Damari Stephens and Hazaiah Outen each added nine points.

“That’s part of our team, that we try to be balanced and do it as a team. But ultimately, we weren’t disciplined enough. We made too many mistakes to win this game,” Jayson said.

With the win, the Vikings move into a tie with Mott atop the Lakes Valley Conference standings with each team having only one league game left. History could repeat itself after both teams split the league title last season with a 14-2 conference record.

“We were celebrating out there, but the job is far from over,” Nellett said. “We haven’t played them (Milford) since early December, but they’re going to come in fighting. We’re excited, and we’re really happy about this win, but we know the job is not finished.”

Walled Lake Central host Milford on Thursday while Waterford Mott hosts South Lyon on the same evening. The Mavericks (14-5, 11-4) will finish third in the league regardless of the remaining results.

“This hurts, a little bit of adversity for these boys, but we’ve got to bounce back so can still get a piece of the championship,” Jayson said.