In basketball, a dominant performance from a star player can feel inevitable, no matter what a defense throws their way.

On Saturday, Dec. 6, during the Horatio Williams Foundation Tip-Off event at North Farmington High School, Detroit Cass Tech junior guard Stevie Hall could not be slowed by a long, athletic and swarming Belleville defense.

Hall erupted for 36 points to lead Cass Tech to a 61-54 win over Belleville in the season-opening game for the Technicians in the 2025-26 Michigan high school basketball season. The 6-foot-3 guard took control of the game in the second and third quarters, scoring 24 of his 36, including a personal 10-0 run in the third quarter to give the Technicians a 14-point cushion they held for the rest of the game.

“He’s been consistently playing that way,” Cass Tech coach Steve Hall, Stevie’s father, said. “We had some early-season [exhibition] games and he’s consistently played that way. It was good to see him come out and show the leadership he showed today.”

Belleville opened with a 15-9 edge after the first quarter, dominating the offensive glass against Cass Tech’s 2-3 zone and flustering them on the other end with their length.

To open the second quarter, Hall was aggressive, getting into the lane before whipping a one-handed pass to junior Ransom Thomas for a wide-open 3, and then getting to the foul line off a drive.

The two plays sparked a 10-0 Cass Tech run, capped by Hall stealing an inbounds pass for an easy layup. By the end of the quarter, Cass erased the deficit with three steals leading to buckets, tying the game at 27.

Hall continued filling it up in the second half with 14 points in the third quarter and eight points in the fourth, as Cass Tech’s defensive intensity picked up to pull away from the Tigers. He got buckets in every manner: backdoor cuts, attacking the basket off the dribble, catch-and-shoot 3s, lulling a defender to sleep with crisp crossovers and behind-the-back dribbles, before launching his lefty jumper.

“Being aggressive, but not too aggressive and turning the ball over and things like that,” Stevie Hall said. “Just keeping my composure, playing together with my teammates, really helped me out.”

CASS TECH LEGEND: Meet Willie ‘Roy’ Ogletree, basketball scorekeeper of 48 years

Belleville found success in the paint, but couldn’t hit enough jumpers against Cass’ zone to keep pace in the second half. Junior Adam Coats led the Tigers with 19 points.

The Technicians played all 15 players on their roster and also switched up their look on both ends. They primarily played zone because of Belleville’s strong paint presence, and oscillated plays between Hall and Sebastian Thrower as the primary offensive initiator.

“I’m still trying to figure some things out right now,” Steve Hall said in terms of his rotation.

Both Cass Tech (1-0) and Belleville (0-2) gained valuable experience as they prepare for things to ramp up in December.

“We’ve got 10 games in December,” Steve Hall said. “We’ve got league games, games that have playoff implications. So you want to go into those as ready as you can.”

Xavier Pendergrass leads Waverly past Detroit King

Xavier Pendergrass rattled the North Farmington rims more than anyone during the two-day Horatio Williams Foundation event. The 6-foot-7 senior Lansing Waverly forward lived above the rim in a 75-71 win over Detroit King on Saturday.

Pendergrass finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, including two in the waning moments as King furiously closed Waverly’s lead. He brought the crowd to its feet by stuffing King guard Steven Jones on a transition dunk attempt in the fourth quarter.

“For this game, [my team] needed me getting downhill and finishing at the basket and rebounding,” Pendergrass said. “So that’s what I did.”

Pendergrass is a leader for Waverly, which enters the season with an experienced group motivated by last season’s end. The Warriors finished 20-4 in 2024-25, but three losses came to league rival East Lansing, the Division 1 state champions, including in the district semifinals.

“The goal is always to win the conference,” Waverly coach Rod Watts said. “We’ve got East Lansing that we have to deal with to win our conference. Then win the district, and once again, East Lansing is in our district. We know it is not going to be easy.”

A win over a strong team in King helps bolster that confidence early in the season. Outside of Pendergrass controlling the paint, guards Cayden Ali (20 points), C.J. Gomez (12 points) and Derek Thomas (11 points) stepped up in the win.

Ali scored all 20 of his points in the first half before sitting most of the second due to foul trouble. Gomez came in to run point and calmly found his shot to keep King’s comeback attempt at bay.

“That’s a great confidence builder for [Ali], for a guy like him so we are really proud of that,” Watts said. “He was feeling it so much, he got a technical.”

On King’s side, there were plenty of teaching moments for coach George Ward’s group. The Crusaders trailed by 16 at halftime after giving up 26 second-quarter points, but started the second half with an 18-4 run. However, King could not maintain that intensity in the fourth, eventually falling in a tight game.

“When we got back in the game, we didn’t play smart,” Ward said. “I knew at some point our defense would get us back in it. Now, once you get back in, how smart are you going to be? It seemed like we were a little anxious, playing with some anxiety that we did not have to play with. That’s a learning lesson for the guys.”

Jones led King with 26 points. The 6-foot-2 guard finished strong in the paint and hit some late 3s to keep the game within reach. Derrick Kilgore had 19 points and Mareon Knott had 13 points.

“When [Jones] gets downhill, when he’s aggressive and assertive with the basketball, he makes us a much better team,” Ward said. “For him, the maturity level is going to be when he plays 32 minutes like that.”

Nominate a high school athlete for the Detroit Free Press boys and girls athlete of the week.

Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com; Follow Jared on X or Bluesky.