Park Rivals, the Salem Rocks and Plymouth Wildcats, met in the first round of the KLAA Conference Tournament Friday night. The Rocks, who were favored to win as the one seed, were up until the end of the fourth quarter, when Plymouth made a last second shot in the fourth quarter to tie it up. Kenny Topolovec lead the Rocks in points with a game high 21, adding 13 rebounds for a double-double, and was a big part of why the Rocks held the lead after each of the first 3 quarters (20-14 after 1, 35-26 after 2, and 47-43 after 3).

Allante Wheeler also had a great game for the Rocks scoring 16 points and 8 rebounds, including a slam dunk and a 3 point shot with 6.8 seconds left in the game, two plays that really excited the Salem "Blue Crew". The Rocks are still alive however, as winning the division assured them a spot in the state tournament.

The Rocks also got double digit production from Jacob Lenders (12 points and 9 rebounds) and Jake Stropes (12 points). Jon Swift had 6, Freshman Jeremy Armstead had 4, and Calin Crawford had 3 for the Rocks, while Freddie McGee III, and Joe Miazek were held to zero by a Plymouth defense that seemed to get better as the game went on.

The leading scorer for the Wildcats was Randall Atkins, who got 21 for the Wildcats, tying Kenny Topolovec for the game high. Deji Adebiyi also had a great game for the Wildcats tallying 17, and has been one of the leaders of the Wildcat team this year. Brent Davis (who had 18), Armani Tate and Josh Reynolds also started for Plymouth, and all had very respectable games themselves in the victory.

"It was a team effort. Everyone worked well together, and it resulted in a good win for us," a Plymouth fan said after the game.

There were a lot of tough plays in the game, and there were many fouls called on both sides, especially in the second half, where both teams entered the double bonus, committing over 10 fouls, early in overtime. One key moment was a huge dunk by Plymouth Junior Brent Davis, causing a huge reaction from everyone in the Plymouth student section, and the rest of their team easily matched the intensity he brought to the game.

Plymouth coach Mike Soukoup and Salem coach Bob Brodie seemed to be happy with how their team played. "One team had to win, and Plymouth played a great game." Brodie said after the game. He also added he would like their defense to improve for the State tournament as well.

Both coaches also mentioned the atmosphere both student sections brought to the game. Both student sections really showed up for the game, making it a very fun atmosphere for the players to play in. "Both student sections really showed up tonight, it was a lot of fun," one fan said after the game. "Hopefully we see a lot of fans Tuesday night for the Girl’s championship as well."

While there is a park rivalry, the students from both sides got along quite well after the game was over. Fans of both teams were seen talking to the other side, and wishing good luck to each other, as well as the coaches. "There's a lot of respect from everyone involved. It's good to see," a Salem fan said after the game. After hearing the Salem student section almost got kicked out after the game, a Salem player laughed, and said, "I love the intensity. Glad they didn't though".

Plymouth's next game will be at John Glenn, as the Rockets beat Northville 47-45 in another KLAA Conference Tournament game. "Sounds like John Glenn played tough defense," one of the Plymouth fans noted. "Plymouth has a great offense, John Glenn good defense. It should be a fun game on Wednesday."

These two teams (Salem and Plymouth) will meet again Tuesday for the Girls Conference Championship as both sides are trying to get more fans to come out. "Park Rivalries are always fun. We might have some more (in the district playoffs) so we'll see," a Canton fan supporting one of the other Park schools said.