Three undefeated teams took the floor at Okemos on Friday, and only one remains perfect.
Final scores: East Lansing boys 42, Okemos boys 38; East Lansing girls 46, Okemos girls 28
East Lansing boys: When the score was only 5-2 after nearly 6 minutes of the boys game, I had a feeling this could be East Lansing's night.
--I have a personal running list of potential all-area players that I add to after every game I cover, and I'll definitely be adding Trojans senior guard Eric Smith and Okemos senior guard Travis Bader (more on him later). Smith was simply dynamic at times and confidently controlled the ball at crunch time. And despite being the smallest guy on the floor, he grabbed eight rebounds. Impressive all around.
--That said, East Lansing is obviously a better team with Smith on the floor. I saw the Trojans lose badly to Holt a few weeks ago when Smith was out with an illness, but with him East Lansing could definitely stay in the CAAC Blue race. The Trojans played league-leader Eastern close a week ago and have some veterans who remember plenty last year's run to the state quarterfinals.
--One of those, senior guard Brian Spencer, is making good on coach Doug Fleming's raves about him going into the season. Multiple times I asked about the team, and Fleming always made sure to mention Spencer. He repaid the coach with 17 points including 6-for-6 on fourth-quarter free throws and 11-12 for the game.
--Keep in mind, three sophomores and a junior are in East Lansing's playing group. The learning curve helps explain a slow start, and the possibility of a strong finish.
Okemos boys: It was tough to gauge the Chieftains in my first time seeing them this season because they just didn't look like I've heard from everyone else.
--About Bader, I'd been told he's the guy who makes fourth-quarter plays, and he backed that up with two second-half 3-pointers and 10 of 12 points during the final 14 minutes of the game. What I also liked about him was although he didn't get a lot of first-half shots, he still grabbed four rebounds during that time.
--Senior Matt MacKenzie was definitely impressive and at 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, should present a physical matchup when the Chieftains face Eastern and 6-6 LaDontae Henton on Tuesday. MacKenzie had 12 points and 10 rebounds against East Lansing, and he's one of the stronger inside players I've seen this season.
--Coach Dan Stolz said exactly what I was thinking after when he mentioned, "if you think you're going to be sweet 20 nights (of the regular season), you're fooling yourself." Almost every high school team goes through lulls, and opponents won't start overlooking Okemos despite this ugly one.
--That said, here's a fearless forecast: Okemos loses to Eastern on Tuesday, but shares the league title with the Quakers when it's all said and done. Stay tuned.
East Lansing girls: When a team wins this much, the victories can start running together a bit. But some new things definitely jumped out at me after this one.
--Junior forward Zakiya Minifee keeps getting better. She had six of her 11 points in the first quarter while the majority of the Trojans' offense was still finding itself. Her improvement was a key to this season, especially with the team lacking size, so this is big.
--Junior Klarissa Bell led all scorers with 12 and senior Sami Tucker did some of everything as usual, but what made this win special were the contributions of players like Minifee who aren't as much in the spotlight. I think this proved (again, no doubt) that the team can win a big game without an overwhelming performance from Bell or Tucker. An Okemos fan near me thought Victoria Lipscomb was East Lansing's best player. Another brought up Kori Reinhart. I thought Malika Glover did some nice things. And the best part? It's obvious they all embrace a balanced style when any could put up big numbers as a lone star elsewhere.
--Coach Rob Smith said this could be the team's best defensive performance in his seven seasons, and pressure is again to thank. But it's not what you think: The Trojans pressured in the halfcourt, but didn't go to the fullcourt havoc that they usually employ. Maybe they're saving that for the rematch Feb. 20.
Okemos girls: It was a tough night for these Chieftains too, but past knowledge of this team has me sure they'll rebound.
--East Lansing felt like this game was much closer than the final score, and here's why: Okemos shot only 34 percent from the floor, and missed on eight second-chance shots. That was definitely a difference-maker.
--Whitney Turner can do so many things -- score, rebound, block shots, handle the ball. But she had only six points on only seven shots. With at least an inch on East Lansing's entire lineup, it was unfortunate the Chieftains had so much trouble getting her the ball in the post. The only instance I can recall, Turner drop-stepped and scored. Watch out for her in the rematch.
--Nichole Schiro is like the Lipscomb/Reinhart of Okemos: You don't think of her first with the Chieftains, but she's a catalyst.
--I'd been hearing that 6-1 senior Lauren Rosenthal was another quietly big part of Okemos' 10-0 start, and she makes the Chieftains a tough matchup. She had seven points and six rebounds Friday, and with Turner gives the team one of the area's tallest frontcourts.
--Tracy Nogle led Okemos with nine points Friday while fighting off the tenacious Bell most of the time. Watch for her to also have a big performance in the rematch.
High school sports editor 
