EAST LANSING — Pewamo-Westphalia head coach Dominic Schneider knows his team is dangerous enough when seniors Grady Eklund and Trent Piggott are playing well at the same time.

But add sophomore Logan Farmer to that mix? It’s a three-headed monster that Schneider said takes his team to another level.

“He’s a great counterpart for Trent and Grady,” Schneider said of Farmer. “It’s hard to guard us when we have all three guys cooking like they were.”

That certainly was on display in Thursday’s Division 3 Semifinal against Flint Elite, where Eklund, Farmer and Piggott combined for 56 points in a 63-37 Pirates win.

P-W (26-2) advanced to the Division 3 championship game for the first time since winning it all in 2019. The Pirates will meet Pontiac Arts & Technology at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

As has often been the case this year, Eklund led the way, scoring 27 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the field. He also had seven rebounds and five assists. 

Farmer finished 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting from the field, while the 6-foot-5 Piggott, the team’s best interior presence, provided 10 points and 14 rebounds. 

It was a little bit of vindication for Pewamo-Westphalia, which lost in the Semifinals last year to eventual champion Riverview Gabriel Richard. 

“I wouldn’t say a lot felt different,” Eklund said. “Same place, same time of year, different opponent though. We liked our odds going into this game, and we finished it.”

Making its first appearance in a Semifinal, Flint Elite finished 21-5. Sophomore A.J. Smith scored 17 points to lead the way for the Warriors. 

Coming off an emotional overtime win over Onsted on Tuesday, Flint Elite head coach Greg McMath said that game might have emptied his team’s tank a bit.

“I thought we came out weird,” McMath said. “We played a great game in the Quarterfinals the other night. Went to overtime. I don’t think we were able to come out with the energy we have been playing with. I don’t think we really had the legs. But we have to credit our opponent. I think they took that away. They took away a lot of our first options, and we didn’t ever get to our second option on offense.”

Trailing 26-14 at halftime, Flint Elite started the third quarter off strong, scoring six straight to cut the Pewamo-Westphalia lead to 26-20. 

But the momentum was short-lived, as Pewamo-Westphalia countered with a 14-2 spurt to take a 40-22 lead with 1:20 to go in the third. 

The Pirates ended up taking a 44-31 lead into the fourth quarter and kept it growing from there. Eklund hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Pirates a 50-31 lead with 6:25 left, and then a layup with 4:23 remaining to put Pewamo-Westphalia up 55-33. 

“They were on a mission, Schneider said of his players. “It didn’t matter that this was a Semifinal game on the Breslin Center floor. They were going to get the job done.”

Leading 15-10 after the first quarter, Pewamo-Westphalia went on a 9-0 run to start the second, taking a 24-10 lead with 2:30 remaining until halftime.

Flint Elite didn’t score in the second quarter until there was 1:57 remaining until the half. 

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PHOTOS (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia’s Grady Eklund (10) drives to the basket while defended by multiple Flint Elite players Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Elite’s Kaydin Banks (20) elevates to defend P-Ws Trent Piggott near the basket. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)