Sam Kuhna ’13 | Staff Writer

Despite tremendous shooting from forward Ethan Duffield ’13, the Blue Devils lost their MAC white crossover to Roseville by a final score of 48-36 on Tuesday, Feb.26.

The boys followed up their best effort of the season against Fitzgerald with a disappointing effort against the Panthers. A dismal first quarter effort left the Blue Devils trailing by a score of 14-2. However, there were many upsides to the loss.

The bright spots in the game continued to be the seniors. Duffield is on a roll scoring 12 points, following up his eight point performance against Fitzgerald. Joe Becker ‘13 has also had a big impact collecting rebounds in key situations, especially on the offensive end. Senior guards Josh Mays, Gerard Smith, and Dan Handilah also have been sparks off the bench providing good defense and rebounding.

The all senior lineup was the only thing going for the Blue Devils as they cut the lead to single digits late in the third thanks to four three pointers in the quarter by Duffield.

Going into the playoffs which start March 4, the boys do have some things to work on. The two biggest problems have been free throw shooting and turnovers. If the Blue Devils made half their free throws against Roseville, the game would have been tight in the fourth quarter. The other problem has been turnovers. Entry passes into the post need to get cleaner, which they can work on in practice throughout the next week, said Duffield.

The boys get a bye in the first round of districts and will play the winner of Lakeview and North next Wednesday, March 6, at East Detroit.

As for the girls, they take on Lakeview tonight, Wednesday, Feb. 27, at home in their first playoff game.