HARTLAND — After missing out on a KLAA tournament berth last year, the Hartland boys basketball team is more than ready for tonight’s KLAA tournament semifinal clash at Belleville.
“It feels great,” said Hartland’s Carson Conrad, who had 24 points in Tuesday’s 52-38 win over Northville. “We feel we have something to prove. I feel we can go in there and turn it up and hopefully win.”
Tuesday’s win clinched the No. 2 seed in the West for the Eagles (14-4 overall, 11-3 KLAA West). That earned them the matchup with the Tigers (13-5, 13-1 KLAA East).
Today’s game will be broadcast on The Livingston Post, starting at around 6:50 p.m. Click here for the link.
Conrad had a key role in Tuesday’s win, scoring 12 of Hartland’s first 14 points to start the game, then adding 10 more down the stretch.
“We’ve had games where we started of slow, and I kind of figured it would be good to get some buckets and get that lead going in the first quarter,” he said.
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The game was close until Hartland coach Kevin Blouin called a timeout early in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we had been doing a good job defending the whole game, but we were giving up a lot of second-chance baskets,” he said. “Northville was crashing the boards hard on us, and they outworked us in the first half. In the fourth quarter, we kept playing good defense but limited them to one-and-done (on offense). I was proud of the way we responded.”
“When we were at Northville we built up a lead and fumbled it a little bit,” Conrad said. “We ended up winning by one, but it shouldn’t have been that tight. So (Blouin) called a timeout, we regrouped, and we slowed it down. Take it easy, show some poise, and we did that the rest of the game.”
The Eagles needed a win to ensure their spot in the championship tournament. Canton plays Dearborn in the other semifinal. If both Canton and Hartland both win or both lose tonight, they would play on Tuesday at Canton. Otherwise, Tuesday’s games will be at either Belleville or Dearborn.
“We’re super excited about it,” Blouin said of bering in the KLAA tournament. “We want to be in these meaningful-type games. The guys have earned the right to be in the mix and be in the conversation. We’re really excited about it.”
