Bench helps vault Okemos to CAAC crossover victory

Next man up.  It's a sports cliche we've all heard a million times.  But sometimes, it rings true.  After Jordan Henry left the game early in the second half, Fabian Leone & Evan Thomas picked up where he left off, leading Okemos to a 64-59 win over Haslett.  The Chiefs (10-3; 7-1 CAAC Blue) led nearly the entire game, but the Vikings (8-5; 6-0 CAAC Red) kept fighting back every time.  It was a contest of runs, with Okemos trying to pull away and Haslett coming back with a counter-punch after each blow.  The first half was a 3-point shooting contest, with the Chiefs knocking down 6 and the Vikings with 5 of their own.  And it was Jordan Henry's 11 points (3-3 from beyond the arc) leading the way, as Okemos held a 32-25 lead.  But Henry departed early in the 3rd, wincing as he left court.  That's when Leone & Thomas took over.  Evan Thomas scored 9 of his game-high 22 in the 3rd.  But Haslett wouldn't go away.  Employing multiple defensive looks, the Vikings forced some tough shots and took care of the ball.  Senior G Patrick Hintz drained two 3's and Sam Laczynski started establishing himself down in the post.  And after not attempting a free throw in the first 16 minutes, the Vikings went 7-8 from the charity stripe, trimming that Chiefs' lead down to four, 48-44 after three quarters.  Then back-to-back steals by Fabian Leone (who took them to the hoop with a couple buckets) turned the tide towards Okemos early on in the possible final stanza.  But yet again, Haslett wound't go down with out a fight.  Trailing by double digits, the Vikings chipped away point by point, as Mitchell Mowid and a 3 by Ty Andrades got it down to a five point lead.  Haslett used every trick in the book (including a delay of game warning to help set up their full court defense) as the lead dwindled.  However, Leone and the Chiefs made just enough of their free throws in the end.  Okemos was led by Evan Thomas who had 22 points & 9 rebounds.  Fabian Leone had 16 points & 3 steals (10 of those points in the 2nd half.)  Haslett was led by Mitchell Mowid's 15 points, 8 assists & 5 rebounds.  Patrick Hintz had 14 points.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS:

Okemos:

EVAN THOMAS: 22 pts, 9 reb

FABIAN LEONE: 16 pts, 3 stl

NOAH PRUITT: 11 pts, 6 ast

JORDAN HENRY: 11 pts

Haslett:

MITCHELL MOWID: 15 pts, 8 ast, 5 reb

PATRICK HINTZ: 14 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast

SAM LACZYNSKI: 11 pts, 8 reb, 3 blk

TY ANDRADES: 10 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast