Things weren’t looking good for the Fitzgerald Spartans on Monday afternoon when undefeated Waterford Mott opened up a 10-0 lead on them in the Motor City Roundball Classic.
“We (weren’t) bringing the intensity,” said Fitzgerald head coach Vito Jordan. “They were a step quicker to the boards. We (were) a step late the loose balls, rebounding.”
But after a talking to from leaders Cyrus Mpeba, Lydell Sewell and Rob Williams, the Spartans got back to who they were; And that “Fitz” brand of basketball helped them hand the Corsairs their first loss of the season, 57-45.
After being down 10-0 in the first, the Spartans drew even at 20- and 23-all in the second quarter but trailed 25-23 at halftime.
Their knock-down, drag-out style of defense held Waterford Mott to just 20 points in the second half, and strong scoring efforts from Mpeba and Marcellus Phelps got them their first lead in the third quarter.
Fitzgerald led 42-39 going into the fourth quarter and never trailed again. They held the Corsairs to just six points in the fourth quarter.
“Fitzgerald did a good job,” said Mott head coach Jeff Jayson. “They took us out of our stuff. We started playing Fitzgerald basketball, not Mott basketball. And that’s credit to them. You know, they took us out of what was working early. We had a little adversity, and we kind of succumbed to Fitzgerald’s pressure and defense.”
Mpeba, one of Fitzgerald’s seniors, scored just six points in the first half. He topped that effort in the third quarter along – all on free throws, going 7-for-8 from the stripe – and finished with 17 points.
But it was Phelps, the junior, who really helped exhaust Mott. While the Spartans played a hard-nosed, muddy defense, Phelps’ speed and ballhandling on the opposite end often shredded the Corsairs’ defense before it even got set to the tune of 22 points.
“I said that college (caliber) players got to be college players,” Jordan said. “We could draw up as much stuff as you want to, but we’re going to watch seven games today. And the rest of all these guys, the best players got to show up. (U of D Jesuit guard) Leroy Blyden, they show up. Whoever your guys are, only so much I could do. Bring it home for us. Give us a play.
“They did that.”
Keandre Burtin was a force for the Spartans, too, getting a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. He brought consistency alongside Phelps and Mpeba, with all three players scoring at least once in all four quarters.
Sewell added five points and Quenten Graham scored two for Fitzgerald.
One of the Spartans’ goals has been not only to win in Macomb County – they’ve done plenty of that – but also to extend their reach by beating quality teams elsewhere. Each of their last four games, all wins, qualify: They’ve beaten Detroit Edison (61-48), Harper Woods (59-31) and Avondale (48-26) to go along with their win over Waterford Mott.
“You know, (we’re) saying we can win the MAC Blue or the MAC Gold and the MAC White, but we want to follow the path like Warren Lincoln’s and try to beat some teams where we could really, really be at that level,” Jordan said. “So a good win today. (Mott’s a) Well-coached team. I know Jeff. They (were) tough.”
Jayson said that his Corsairs, now 8-1 with two non-league games left before starting their Lakes Valley Conference slate, aren’t strangers to the brand of ball Fitzgerald plays.
“We see it every day in practice,” he said. “We press, we play hard. We just struggled against it today. I’m not exactly sure why. You know, typically we don’t. And you know, that’s credit to Fitzgerald and Coach Jordan over there. He does a good job.
“I’m hoping we can learn from it. (I’m) hoping it’s a blessing to kind of just learn, realize, ‘Hey, we got more that we can accomplish. Get better.’ So (we’re) hoping we just build off of it and get ourselves ready for what comes in 2025 and league play, and get us playing championship level basketball.”
Gavin Ort led the Corsairs by scoring 22 points, including 10 in the first quarter. Damari Stephens had 11 points, Kobe Mayweathers had five, Tory Robinson had four and MJ Long scored three.
Mott will visit Anchor Bay on Friday, Jan. 3 and Notre Dame Prep on Tuesday, Jan. 7 to open the new year before kicking off LVC play against South Lyon East on Jan. 10.
