OAA Picks Feb 11, 12.

Written Wednesday February 10th at 1:45 PM

Girls.

Red.

Clarkston at Harrison: The Hawks lost at home 57-48 to Stoney Creek where Harrison turned the ball over numerous times on Tuesday. The Hawks looks like they are out of the league race while the Wolves bounced back after a humiliating loss to Adams 66-51 last Thursday by beating Oxford 49-36 on Tuesday behind 18 points and 13 rebounds from Kayla Luchenbach. In the last meeting it was 54-45 Harrison at Clarkston but the difference in this meeting will be is that Luchenbach will get a measure of revenge against the Hawks. PICK: CLARKSTON BY 5.

Adams at Stoney Creek: The Highlanders saw their February unbeaten streak snapped by Lathrup after getting destroyed 61-22 on Tuesday. The Cougars beat Harrison 57-48 and have appeared to gotten back to the basics. Adams lost at home to Stoney Creek 50-28 in December but Maggie Rogers and Hannah Simard did not play in that game. Both players will make a difference in the game but it won’t be enough as the Cougars are starting to get it together. PICK: STONEY CREEK BY 8.

Lathrup at Oxford: The Chargers destroyed Adams 61-22 and is still upset after losing 56-52 to Birmingham Detroit Country Day over the weekend. The Wildcats are much better now than they were in the first meeting when they were destroyed 56-17 in January at Lathrup Village. It will be a rough night for Bill Service and the crew of Oxford Community Television as Lathrup could be the best team they have ever seen. PICK: LATHRUP BY 45.

White.

Troy at Orion: The Dragons have won six of their last seven games which got them to one game back of Bloomfield Hills and North Farmington. Maddie Novak had a career high 35 points on Tuesday in a 60-50 win over West Bloomfield. Tessa Nuss has also gotten going herself scoring 13 points each in two of her last four games while Evelyn Wischmeyer has been in double figures in four straight games. The Colts scored 24 total points in a 36-24 loss to Royal Oak on Tuesday and have lost two straight games since winning 60-14 over Ferndale. Orion won the first meeting 61-37 at Troy. It’s Senior Night at Orion and the Seniors led by Wischmeyer, Cheyenne Sterling, Taylor Warstler, and Lauren Thorne will be going home happy. PICK: ORION BY 20.

North Farmington at Royal Oak: This is a big game for the Raiders after losing a 45-44 heartbreaker to Bloomfield Hills. North Farmington is tied with the Blackhawks for the league lead with Orion lurking. The Ravens meanwhile since the 42-39 win at Orion has been surging going 3-1 in their last four games with its only loss to Clarkston. The last meeting Royal Oak would love to forget as they were blown out by the Raiders 42-17. This will for sure be a much closer contest being at Royal Oak, North Farmington better be careful because the Ravens are peaking at the right time. PICK: ROYAL OAK BY 2.

Bloomfield Hills at West Bloomfield: The Blackhawks got a huge win at North Farmington on Tuesday 45-44 behind a Victorie Franklin uncontested three-pointer. Bloomfield Hills hasn’t lost a road game this season but they still do not have Amanda Sape which could open the door for Taylor Pierce and the Lakers. Pierce had 15 points and 17 rebounds along with Charlika Stubbs whom had 18 points in West Bloomfield’s 60-50 defeat against Orion. This will be a heck of a game even though the last meeting was a Blackhawks 60-25 rout over the Lakers. It will be much different though, West Bloomfield has nothing to lose and has lost five straight games and would love to do nothing more than disrupt Bloomfield Hills’s league title hopes. PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD BY 1.

Blue.

Seaholm at Southfield: The big game in the league as the Maples and Blue Jays play each other in a rematch. It was Southfield that gave Seaholm their last loss 48-35 and they have had a lot of success in shutting down Mackenzie Harbort. Harbort had 14 points in the loss to the Blue Jays. The Maples will have a lot of problems with Southfield’s athleticism in this game. PICK: SOUTHFIELD BY 12.

Avondale at Rochester: This is a matchup in which the Yellow Jackets have a size advantage but this is also the only team that Avondale has scored 40 points against as they beat the Falcons 40-32 in the first meeting. The Yellow Jackets lost 59-35 against Southfield while Rochester has been struggling all season long as they haven’t been healthy all season. I like the Falcons in this one because of Tori Hawkins penetration. PICK: ROCHESTER BY 3.

Oak Park at Farmington: The Knights have been rolling in league play but haven’t been the same team out of league. The Falcons have been just awful, only scoring 17 points against Seaholm. This will be a blood bath. PICK: OAK PARK BY 21.

Gold.

Groves at Ferndale: The Eagles just won’t have an answer at all for Shea Carter like the first meeting where she torched Ferndale at home. PICK: GROVES BY 35.

Troy Athens at Berkley: This is the best matchup in the league as the Bears and Red Hawks square off. The last meeting went to Troy Athens 36-34. The game is at Berkley which will be a huge advantage to the Bears but the Red Hawks have played better in league. Expect this game to be close as always. PICK: BERKLEY BY 1.

Pontiac at Hazel Park: The Vikings suffered a 42-13 loss to Berkley on Tuesday but have won three of four games in that stretch led by Trinity Benton. The Phoenix lost 69-29 to Groves on Tuesday. The last meeting was 40-28 Hazel Park over Pontiac. The Phoenix have played much better as of late, expect this game to be close. PICK: HAZEL PARK BY 6.

Boys.

Red.

Clarkston at North Farmington: This will be yet another intense matchup at the NoGo Dome between two State ranked powers. The Wolves lost since December where they lost to Macomb Dakota 46-35. Clarkston has been riding the Loyer express as he had 38 points against Avondale in a 77-45 beat down of the Yellow Jackets. The Raiders meanwhile have been taking people by name since losing 60-47 to the Wolves in early January at Clarkston. Billy Thomas has carried the load for North Farmington going over 30 points three times this season. The Raiders won 56-43 over Bloomfield Hills on Friday and have been waiting to get another shot at the Wolves. This will be a good one. PICK: NORTH FARMINGTON BY 1.

Southfield at Adams: The Highlanders are rolling high after beating Pontiac 35-33 on Friday. The Blue Jays lost 68-64 to Oak Park. Adams though is a much different animal though than Oak Park. It could be a long night for Southfield. PICK: ADAMS BY 14.

Troy Athens at Lathrup: The Red Hawks lost a tough one to Harper Woods 73-63 on Tuesday while the Chargers haven’t played since losing 71-60 to West Bloomfield. The last meeting went overtime as Troy Athens beat Lathrup 50-46 at Troy. This one could go overtime again but this time in the Chargers favor. PICK: LATHRUP BY 2.

White.

Oak Park at Troy: The Colts have been heartbroken by the same player and the same Knights team. It was that same player that hit a three pointer to force overtime last season and Troy lost and it was that same player that broke their hearts again in a 52-51 Oak Park win in Knight Valley. With the Knights having their full squad back it could be a long night for the Colts. PICK: OAK PARK BY 5.

West Bloomfield at Avondale: The Lakers led by Tristian Jackson appear to be back on track after beating Lathrup 71-60 on Friday snapping a two game losing streak. The Yellow Jackets have lost six of their last seven games. In the last meeting Avondale outplayed the Lakers in the second half only to lose 73-70 at West Bloomfield. If the Yellow Jackets can fix their issues, then they would be fine but the Lakers are the better team here. PICK: WEST BLOOMFIELD BY 10.

Blue.

Oxford at Farmington: The Falcons are in turmoil after losing four of six games along with some internal issues surrounding them. Farmington was humiliated after losing 72-45 to Troy on Friday. The Wildcats suffered a humiliating loss to Ferndale on Friday 65-55. When these two teams played last Oxford used a 31 point fourth quarter to beat the Falcons 71-54 in January at Ian Smith Gym. This game will be whom will respond best to when dealing with adversity. PICK: OXFORD BY 10.

Seaholm at Stoney Creek: The Maples pulled off a huge upset by beating Royal Oak 56-48 on Friday. Seaholm has not won a league game yet but if they can upset the Cougars, a team that beat them 52-33 in Birmingham in January then it could go a long way to turning its season around. Stoney Creek only beat Berkley 72-66 on Friday. If the Cougars three-point shooting is accurate then they will win games and they should win this one. PICK: STONEY CREEK BY 17.

Orion at Rochester: The Falcons needed 11 three pointers to beat the Dragons 58-47 at Orion in January. Rochester has been inconsistent lately losing 64-58 to a very good Hazel Park squad. Orion has won four straight games including a 66-50 win over Harrison on Friday. The Dragons were without Jaylen Wiggins in the first meeting due to ineligibility. He could be a difference maker in this upcoming meeting. PICK: ORION BY 4.

Gold.

Ferndale at Harrison: The Hawks have been consistent this season in which they are using the lack of respect factor but they lost to Orion 66-50 on Friday but the 3-2 record in league has Harrison in the thick of the race. The Eagles shocked everyone by upsetting Oxford 65-55 on Friday and appear to have turned its season around a bit. In the first meeting the Hawks beat Ferndale 69-44. This will be an interesting game but Harrison should come out on top. PICK: HARRISON BY 15.

Hazel Park at Royal Oak: The Ravens have been rolling along in league but a bad 56-48 loss to Seaholm kind of derailed the progress under first year coach Aaron Smith. Royal Oak can’t get the Maples loss back but they can get back at Hazel Park. The Vikings were the only team to beat the Ravens in league 79-65. Both Hazel Park and Royal Oak have one loss and the winner will take sole possession of first in the league. PICK: HAZEL PARK BY 2.

Groves at Berkley: The Falcons are the most complete team of the four schools in the league race and is coming off a 58-47 win over Farmington on Friday. Groves has not had a lot of success against Berkley though. The Bears have struggled this season but have managed to play teams tough including a 72-66 loss to Stoney Creek on Friday. Berkley lost to Groves 61-60 the last time they meet so expect this game to be like the first one, very close. PICK: GROVES BY 2.