Chelsea slows Willow Run, advances to Class B boys district final

"We've been competitive all year," Raymond explained. "For 12 games we've played great basketball. Then we got into a rut and we've been working ourselves out of that rut. And tonight we kind of put it together, played well enough to get the victory.

"We're a pretty good team."

More coverage: This story on MLive.com | Boxscore | District Bracket

Chelsea opened the game on an 8-2 run and never lost that lead again as it handled Willow Run's quick, pressure defense and applied a little of its own.

"Our plan was to put a little pressure on them in the backcourt and once they crossed the halfcourt line then we were going to step off at the top of the key and move our wings back," Raymond said. "We really worked hard on denying that wing pass. We forced them to take the outside shot. Fortunately for us they missed a lot of outside shots."

Junior guard Patrick Roberts (nine points) deftly handled Willow Run's pressure, junior guard Charlie McCalla (13 points) kept the Flyers honest with his 3-point shooting and center Jake Steinhauer (team-high 16 points) rebounded well and cleaned up nicely underneath to aid the Bulldogs (12-10).

Raymond said he also liked the way his team responded every time the Flyers (13-9) made a run. Trailing 31-19 at halftime, Willow Run opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run, but the Bulldogs fended off that momentum.

In the fourth quarter, Willow Run's Maurice Jordan (20 points, seven rebounds) fouled out with 3:46 to play. Soon after, senior guard Keyontaye Tubbs hit a wild, circus shot to pull the Flyers within 58-56.

But as Willow Run pressured Chelsea's guards with two and three players, Chelsea's guards used the long pass to find open players and hit easy field goals. One pass found Spencer Mykala, who scored on a 3-on-0 break for a 60-56 lead with 2:32 to play.

With 1:22 to play, senior Brennan Darwin (six points) caught a length-of-the-court pass for a layup for a 63-56 lead and then 33 seconds later was found open underneath the basket for another layup and a 65-59 lead.

"Chelsea did a great job," Willow Run coach George Woods said. "They did a great job changing the flow of the game and they're going to represent the district well.

"We attacked them but they got the long passes. I think they got like 20 points on breakaways. I think that's where we fell short. They execute their offense well. They're a very disciplined team. Again, I take my hat off to them. They played an excellent game."

Chelsea's victory begs one question: Are the Bulldogs the favorite against Milan on Friday?

"We'll tell the kids each game in the tournament you've got to play better," Raymond said. "We played average on Monday. We played pretty well tonight. If we can take it up another notch on Friday then we should be in decent shape."