Mar. 6—RIVER ROUGE — It’s rare when a team comes into River Rouge and runs the home team out of Lofton C. Greene Gymnasium.
But, that’s exactly what happened with Grand Blanc running out to a 36-24 halftime lead, extending it to 48-29 and going on to earn a 77-61 win Friday night.
The game showcased two outstanding players in 6-foot-6 junior forward Ty Rodgers (21 points, four dunks) for Grand Blanc and 6-8 senior forward Legend Geeter (15 points) for River Rouge.
It’s not that Grand Blanc came out playing its best basketball, nor should it after recently returning from a 10-day quarantine due to COVID-19.
Grand Blanc — 7-1 and ranked No. 12 in The News Super 20 — missed eight of its first 11 shots while No. 8 River Rouge (6-2) was knocking down 3-pointers to have an expected closely contested 13-13 game late in the opening quarter.
It was near the end of the first quarter when Grand Blanc converted three turnovers into baskets to shift momentum, including a Rodgers’ dunk.
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Grand Blanc went on to score multiple transition baskets off River Rouge turnovers or long rebounds to take the 12-point halftime lead, making 13 of its final 18 shots in the half.
And, it was Grand Blanc’s 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Tmonte Boyd (17 points) who was the catalyst during the pivotal 21-11 second-quarter, scoring nine, starting with a 3-pointer for an 18-15 lead, then scoring off a putback and adding two transition baskets.
Grand Blanc opened its biggest lead of 19 points (48-29) on a Rodgers transition basket to end a 7-0 run, which included a basket by Andre Ridley off an inbounds pass, one of a few coming that way in the game for Grand Blanc.
Grand Blanc slowed the Providence-bound Geeter by getting in his way.
“We just tried to front him, just put bodies on him, make him move more, not let him get anything easy,” Rodgers said. “We started out slow and they came out hitting some threes.
“Basically, when we went into that huddle at the end of the first quarter we said, ‘Let’s pick it up or we’re not going to win this game.’ We had to pick it up, run fast and score on transition and get stops.
“We were out for 10 days, practiced the last two days. Ten days off is a lot. It felt great to get back out there, get our legs loose and get a W.”
How bad did things get for River Rouge?
Keyshawn Devlin missed a layup off a steal and Boyd responded with a transition basket for a 56-40 cushion.
River Rouge cut the deficit to 60-51 on a four-point play (3-pointer, free throw) by Zion Cooper with seven minutes left, but Rodgers answered with a reverse layup to start an 11-5 run to open a 71-56 lead with three minutes remaining.
Jalen Holly scored 15 for River Rouge, senior guard Keyshawn Devlin, 14 points and Cooper, 13.
More boys basketball
Allen Park 48, Gibraltar Carlson 42: Adrien Putnam scored 15 and Max Slate 13 for Allen Park (5-6). Carlson is 5-7.
Dearborn 89, Livonia Churchill 49: Nassim Mashhour scored 18 and Jamil Hamade had 14 for Dearborn (9-2). Jordan Garcia scored 21 for Churchill (0-10).
Dearborn Edsel Ford 52, Lincoln Park 31: Kevion Irby scored 19 with seven assists and Bennie Thompson scored 16 for Edsel Ford (4-7). Dwaine Watkins scored 14 for Lincoln Park (4-8).
Detroit Cass Tech 76, Detroit Northwestern 11: Lorris Upshaw scored 20, Mekhai Walker had 10, and Derek Walker had 10 for Cass Tech (10-1). Northwestern is 0-5.
Detroit Douglass 80, Detroit Pershing 75: Pierre Brooks II scored 37 and had 10 rebounds and Javantae Randle had 35 and 14 for Douglass (9-3). Squally Hill scored 39 and Matt Bartley had 16 for Pershing (4-2).
Detroit Mumford 65, Detroit Henry Ford 61 (OT): Devon Howard scored 16, Julius Anderson had 14, and Kamajia Darden had 14 for Mumford (5-1). Henry Ford is 5-5.
Ecorse 69, Melvindale 29: Malik Olafioye scored 21 and had five rebounds, Dakar Valentine had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Derek Kemp 12 points and 10 assists for Ecorse (9-3). Antheis Bolden scored 10 for Melvindale (3-6).
Hamtramck 75, Harper Woods 54: Amari Allen scored 18 and had 10 rebounds and Kamariom Green had 15 and 11 for Hamtramck (9-2). Willie Deal scored 16 for Harper Woods.
Onaway 75, Detour 63: Jagger Mix scored 28 points and had 16 rebounds and Kevin Pearson scored 28 for Onaway (7-3). Detour is 6-3.
Posen 68, Au Gres 20: Makayla Kamysek scored 26 and Ella Szatkowski 20 for Posen (8-1). Shea Menard scored 10 for Au Gres (1-8).
Romulus Summit North 72, Detroit Voyageur 24: Orlando Lovejoy scored 17 and had 11 rebounds, James Wright scored 15 with 10 rebounds and Dontez Scott Jr scored 15 with eight assists for Summit North (11-0). Voyageur is 3-6.
Taylor Trillium 66, Ann Arbor Central 51: Damaryon Fishburn scored 22 and Elijahjuan Fishburn 15 for Taylor (7-1). Central is 1-2.
Boys scores
Blue Water Area
Almont 64, Yale 48
Armada 68, Richmond 45
Charter
Romulus Summit North 72, Detroit Voyageur 24
Warren Collegiate 60, Southfield Bradford 48
Detroit PSL
Detroit Western 54, Detroit Cody 42
Downriver
Allen Park 48, Gibraltar Carlson 42
Dearborn Edsel Ford 52, Lincoln Park 31
Southgate Anderson 49, Wyandotte 45
Woodhaven 57, Taylor 55
KLAA
Dearborn 89, Livonia Churchill 49
Livonia Stevenson 55, Livonia Franklin 52
Novi at Brighton 66, Novi 33
Lakes Valley
South Lyon East 46, Milford 40
South Lyon 80, Walled Lake Western 45
Southeastern
Ann Arbor Huron 50, Ypsilanti 32
Saline 53, Monroe 43
Others
Taylor Trillium 66, Ann Arbor Central 51
Girls basketball
Grosse Pointe North 39, Port Huron 32: Annabel Ayrault had 19 points and Maddie Kohler 11 for North (8-2, 7-1 MAC Red). Julia Gilbert scored 11 for Port Huron (7-4, 5-3).
Hartland 37, Northville 26: Lillee Gustafson scored 14 and Leak Lappin 11 for Hartland (11-0). Northville is 3-7.
Plymouth Christian 57, Oakland Christian 30: Anna Fernandez scored 19 with nine rebounds and Morganne Houk scored 19 for Plymouth (8-2, 6-0 MIAC Blue). Angelina Tringali scored 10 for Oakland (5-4, 2-3).
Royal Oak 52, Berkley 40: Sarah Soraghan scored 18 and Lexi Romesburg 11 for Royal Oak (6-4). Ashley Loon scored 21 for Berkley (6-4).
St. Clair Shores Lakeview 43, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley 15: Tricia Sankiewicz scored 20 for Lakeview (9-1). Chippewa is 5-5.
Girls scores
Blue Water Area
Almont 34, Yale 22
Armada 60, Richmond 21
Charter
Romulus Summit North 2, Detroit Community 0 (Forfeit)
Harper Woods Chandler Park 66, Warren Collegiate 11
Downriver
Gibraltar Carlson 49, Allen Park 24
Lincoln Park 50, Dearborn Edsel Ford 21
Woodhaven 36, Taylor 35
KLAA
Brighton 38, Novi 29
Howell 50, Canton 24
Dearborn 70, Livonia Churchill 27
Hartland 37, Northville 26
Plymouth 55, Salem 36
MAC
Clawson 47, Warren Mott 27
Grosse Pointe North 39, Port Huron 32
Hazel Park 44, Clinton Township Clintondale 21
Grosse Pointe South 58, Macomb Dakota 39
New Baltimore Anchor Bay 46, Sterling Heights Stevenson 38
New Haven 44, Eastpointe 35
St. Clair Shores Lakeview 43, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley 15
Macomb L’Anse Creuse North 37, Utica 30
Warren Cousino 39, St. Clair Shores Lake Shore 29
Warren Woods Tower 35, Center Line 30
OAA
Royal Oak 52, Berkley 40
Southfield A&T 53, Birmingham Seaholm 37
Troy 69, Troy Athens 50
Southeastern
Ann Arbor Pioneer 66, Ypsilanti Lincoln 34
Saline 64, Monroe 52
Temperance Bedford 47, Ann Arbor Skyline 20
Ypsilanti 39, Ann Arbor Huron 29
Others
Dearborn Heights Annapolis 53, Canton Prep 30
Farmington 54, Ferndale University 21
Midland 43, Lake Orion 17
White Lake Lakeland 48, Wixom St. Catherine 45
dgoricki@detroitnews.com; Detroit News contributed
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