
on February 27, 2015 9:20 PM
MT. CLEMENS -- One of the biggest problems that New Haven boys basketball coach Tedaro France has with Dmonta Harris is not really much of a problem at all.
Harris, a senior star scorer that is averaging 20.5 points per game, is actually thought of as being a little too unselfish with the basketball, according to France.
However, on Friday night in the MLive Detroit Game of the Week, it took Harris until the end of the game to get a bit more selfish against rival Mt. Clemens and it ended up paying off.
It paid off big time.
Scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter, as well as hitting a 3-pointer in the late stages of the third, Harris carried the Rockets to a 51-43 win over their rivals, keeping New Haven's undefeated record in tact at 19-0.
"When it is time to step up and take over the game, he does that," France said of Harris. "He's a guy that's having a great, great year. He stepped up and made some plays, big time. We ran a few plays for him and he stepped up and made some great plays."
Harris finished with a game-high 19 points for his effort. Transferring into New Haven from Waterford Mott this season, this was Harris' first experience with in the Mt. Clemens (13-5) rivalry.
"Being a transfer, I'm not really as used to the rivalry as some," Harris said. "It still means a lot because I know that the community supports me a lot ... Whatever I can do to help and come out and get a victory like this, make everybody happy, that's what really matters."
After the game was tied at 41-41 with 4:06 to play, Mt. Clemens struggled from the field, missing some key layups and fast break opportunities. The Battling Bathers shot just 1-for-8 from the field the rest of the way.
"We should have won that game," Mt. Clemens coach Willie Betts said. "But we're young and we're still learning. We haven't been in a good fight like this. This was our first one. I think we did a damn good job."
After scoring just four points in the second quarter and going 2-for-8 from the field, New Haven trailed just 21-18 at halftime.
"We knew that (Mt. Clemens) was going to come in and they were going to play a great game," France said. "We just had to stay close and stay in the game because we are a team that has a tendency to start slow. In the second half, it was time to stretch out our play ... You could see, in the first half, the nerves. The kids just had to settle down."
Mt. Clemens had to play without senior Josh Mills for the final six minutes of the game after he fouled out.
Key to the Game
- New Haven got as hot from the field as it could get to close out the third quarter and start the fourth quarter. During its 16-0 run in that time period, New Haven shot 6-for-7 from the field while Mt. Clemens was 0-for-4 in the same span, as well as 0-for-2 from the free-throw line.
- Austin Sherrell had 12 points for New Haven while John Galloway added 11 more points to round out the double figure scoring for the Rockets
- Devin Felts had a team-high 15 points for the Rockets while Daniel Miller added 13 points.