In Photos: Huskies Boys Surge To Holiday Classic Title

Despite trailing after the opening half of the 2011 St. Clair Shores Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament final Wednesday evening, the Huskies turned things around in the closing half and surged to a 69-61 victory over rival and a tourney title.

"What we talked about at halftime was how we had to stop their transition," coach John Carr said. "I thought we did a nice job with that. We were able to slow them down and not give them so many easy baskets. I really think that was the key for us."

Lakeview's pressure defense was a difference-maker in the contest, forcing Lake Shore into numerous turnovers and creating havoc from one end of the court to the other for the Shorians, particularly in the closing half of the contest.

"We just didn't handle their pressure well at all," Lake Shore head coach Todd Stevens said. "We had over 30 turnovers tonight and you just can't do that. We're really athletic and quick and sometimes I think we can get a little out of control because of that."

The adjustments made at halftime by Carr and his squad certainly paid big dividends - Lakeview outscored their rivals, 38-21 in the second half - and the team's relentless pressure and all-out effort was undoubtedly the spark.

"We work on it (press defense) everyday," Carr said. "We want to pressure the ball at all times. We're getting better at it."

The Huskies showed improvement all around in Wednesday night's contest, the coach said.

"This was the best that we've executed all year," Carr said. "We ran our plays a lot better than we had all year. Our big guys were finishing around the rim, our guards were penetrating and not forcing a lot of three pointers."

The Huskies were paced by Gary Tilney's 19 points, while Lake Shore got 15 points from Chris Bolus.