Grosse Pointe News

Sean Cotton, Owner • Anne Gryzenia, Publisher • Jody McVeigh, Editor In Chief • Meg Leonard, Senior Editor

16980 Kercheval Pl. • Grosse Pointe, Michigan 48230 • 313.882.6900 • Monday-Friday 9am-4pm

South trounced by St. Mary’s PrepFree Access


South guard Anthony Benard scored 25 points against St. Mary’s on Sunday just days after scoring 36 against Detroit Loyola. Photos by Mike Adzima

The Grosse Pointe South boys basketball team is not shying away from tough tests during the early part of its season. After an 81-66 loss to Detroit Loyola on Thursday, during which junior Anthony Benard scored 36 points for the Blue Devils, South entered Calihan Hall Sunday with another strong opponent on tap.

In the closing game of Sunday’s CHSL vs. MAC Challenge, the Blue Devils faced an uphill battle against a talented squad from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep. South struggled to keep up with the Eaglets for much of Sunday evening as St. Mary’s cruised to a 72-48 win.

The opening minutes of Sunday’s game showed a bit of promise for South. An early three-pointer by Benard got the Blue Devils’ crowd on its feet, but the energy and momentum did not seem to last long.

St. Mary’s was able to pull in front and stay ahead down the stretch of the opening quarter. After the first eight minutes of Sunday night’s contest, the Eaglets managed a double-digit lead at 23-12.

Already trailing by double digits after the first quarter, South was left playing catch-up for the rest of the evening. It would take the Blue Devils the entire second quarter to reach the 23-point mark the Eaglets scored in the first eight minutes and by then, St. Mary’s found itself up by nearly 20 with a 41-23 lead going into halftime.

The second half was much of the same, with the Eaglets firmly in the driver’s seat on their way to a victory. St. Mary’s held a 58-32 lead at the end of the third and continued dominating in the final quarter until the clock reached zero with the scoreboard in favor of the Eaglets 72-46.

Benard once again led the Blue Devils in scoring in Sunday night’s losing effort. The junior guard tallied 25 points and nine rebounds to follow his 36-point performance from a few days before. Karter Richards scored seven points and Alex English had six.

The Blue Devils head across town Thursday night for a rivalry matchup with Grosse Pointe North. After that, South hosts Warren Lincoln in an exhibition game Tuesday before taking a holiday break.