Howell boys look to clinch West against tough Pirates squad — with broadcast link

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Asked if he’s talked about the possibility of his team clinching its first regular-season title in more than 20 years tonight, Howell boys basketball coach Nick Simon goes silent for a few seconds.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” he says. Then laughs.

The Highlanders (9-3 overall, 6-0 KLAA West) are well aware that a win tonight would clinch the division title. But Simon insists they worry more about Pinckney, the team they’ll face tonight in a game that will be broadcast on The Livingston Post.

Click here for the broadcast link.

“Pinckney’s always tough to play,” Simon said. “We’ll have our hands full, for sure. They’re more guard-oriented than everyone else in the KLAA. They’re going to put five guards on the court and challenge us that way. We have to defend their driving ability more than anyone else we play.”

The Pinckney guards are led by Kyle O’Donohue and Evan Fackler, while Kolton Pavlicek plays both inside and outside.

“We have to make sure O’Donohue doesn’t go off,” Simon said. “He’s a fantastic player who can drop 25 (points) in a hurry.”

The Pirates’ ability to drive the lane presents another challenge for the Highlanders: Avoiding foul trouble.

“They’re good at drawing fouls, and once they get to the free-throw line, they’re good there, too,” Simon said. “It’s important we keep them off the free-throw line.”

The Highlanders have Jake Lothamer inside, with Johnny Shields and Josh Palo their leading threats on the inside. But Dan Zolinski and Sean Samples should provide challenges as well.

The Pirates are all but out of the race at 3-4 in the division, but are 8-4 overall. One of those losses was a 56-38 defeat at Howell on Jan. 13.

“I don’t think they shot the ball that well that night, and a few of their kids were sick,” Simon said. “I’m sure that played into it, and we played pretty well, too. Plus, we were at home. It’s nice to have beaten them one time, but I don’t think that does anything other than give them more motivation to play well this time, though.”

The Pirates also have a boisterous student section, which helps Pinckney’s home-court advantage.

After his initial claim of not knowing what’s at stake tonight, Simon admitted he and his players have talked about the possibility of winning a regular-season title for the first time in 21 years.

“We all know about it, and I think it’s motivation for us to play hard,” Simon said. “When you’re in the districts, you’re playing for a championship, and this is good preparation for something like that.

“We’ve talked about it a little bit,” he said, adding, “Not to death.”

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