De La Salle won their regional final with a buzzer-beating layup, sending them back to the Breslin Center for their second straight state semifinal appearance.
Pilots junior Triston Nichols is the one who played late game heroics to beat Orchard Lake St. Mary's and the 2021 regional title. He said he was listening to their student section's game clock countdown, which was several seconds off. Nichols said the rest of the team assumed the game was done, according to the crowd's count, but there was still enough time for Nichols to get the shot off in time.
The Pilots will play Grand Rapids Northview at the Breslin Center in East Lansing at noon on Friday March 25. If the Pilots are able to advance and win a state title, they could become Macomb County's first ever Division-1 state champions.
De La Salle head coach Gjon Djokaj is in his second year as head coach and says the experience his team gained last year should help him on the same stage again in back-to-back appearances. There are five members on the basketball team, who also won a state title with football. Nichols is one of them, saying it would be incredible to win two titles in a single school year.
