Posted Friday, February 19, 2021

   Detroit Henry Ford held off a furious late rally to beat Detroit Pershing 72-59 in a Detroit Public School League crossover on Friday, Feb. 19.

   It was Ford’s first win of the delayed season.

   Pershing (0-1) led 15-11 after the first quarter, but Ford (1-3) took charge in the second quarter to pull out to a 33-26 lead at halftime.

   Ford extended the lead to 18 points (50-32) with 3:06 left in the third. But Pershing turned up its defensive pressure and narrowed the lead to

52-45 at the start of the fourth quarter. Pershing was able to close to within five points (56-51) with 6:43 left in the game but couldn’t get any closer.

   Junior Kahlen Naope scored 23 points to lead the Trojans, including eight points in the fourth quarter. Senior Mario Hill scored 13 points and sophomore Jahvair Pauldo added 12 points in the victory.

   Ford travels to Detroit Southeastern tomorrow, Feb. 20.