Today’s the day in high school basketball.
Half the teams will go home tonight with a win and the right to play on Wednesday.
The other half will simply go home.
Those are facts of life in the postseason, which sees Brighton and Hartland meet in the first round of a Division 1. district boys basketball tournament at Hartland High School tonight. The game will be broadcast by The LIvingston Post starting at 6:50 p.m. Click here for the link.
Add the ancient rivalry to the mix and everything intensifies.
“It’s different,” Brighton coach Mike Griest says. “When you’re playing games thatpossibly end people’s careers and seasons, there’s a lot at stake.”
Brighton ges into the game at 11-11, while Hartland is 12-10. The winner plays defending district champ Fenton (16-6) in the second game of Wednesday’s semifinal doubleheader. Milford (15-7) takes on Howell (12-10) in the 5:30 p.m. opener.
Both Hartland and Brighton won their regular-season meetings on their home floors.
“They’re a tough team.” Griest said. “They’ve got a lot of good players, and that’s why we expect a real big fight (tonight) and hopefully come out on top.”
The teams come ionto the game on opposite tracks. Hartland lost five of seven games in the second half of the KLAA West season berfore downing Livonia Stevenson 60-50 in its KLAA crossover last week. Brighton won six of its last seven division games and led Belleville at halftime before falling in its crossover game, 65-60.
And all of that goes out the window in front of what should be a raucous crowd.
“We’re feeling as well; as you can be feeling this time of year,” Griest said. “There’s a lot of anticipation. We played for things during the regular season, and we didn’t meet all of our goals. But, obviously. the district championship is our goal and beyond. This is the first step in trying to achieve that goal.”
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