Boys Basketball: Rough shooting night sends Skyline to first loss of the season

After two strong effort games to start the season, the Skyline boys’ basketball team experienced some growing pains on Tuesday night at Canton –  and with many new players getting large varsity minutes this was to be expected at some point.

The Eagles struggled shooting the ball on the road as host Canton scored a 57-41 win over Skyline in a non-league game. And if one statistic told the story, it would be this one – Skyline finished the game just 2 of 26 from three-point range, shooting just 26.5 percent from the floor overall.

“We were outplayed and out executed by Canton throughout most of the game,” said Skyline Coach Mike Lovelace.

Skyline got off to a slow start down 10-4 but managed to get things close at the end of the first quarter with Canton holding a 16-15 lead.

Skyline struggled to make shots while also not staying disciplined defensively and fell behind 34-23 at the half. The Eagles tried to mount a third-quarter comeback but continued to miss shots and give up some uncontested baskets.

Canton pulled away down the stretch taking care of the ball against full-court pressure.

Captain Chris Cayton had a solid game for Skyline with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals while going 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. Jack Williams had eight points and Dinalli DeLoach scored six in the loss.

The Eagles will look to regroup and refocus to take on a very tough Howell team on Saturday in the third annual Ann Arbor Classic at Pioneer High School at 2 p.m.

Huron will play University Prep at noon and Pioneer will play Old Redford at 4 p.m. as part of the triple-header.