1 Bloomfield Hills, 1 Win from Title
March 21, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Armand Cartwright and Yante Maten were more rivals than friends during middle school.
But that relationship clearly has grown for the better over the last four years. After all, Cartwright allows Maten to raid his refrigerator, things like that – and together, they’ve led first-year Bloomfield Hills High to a basketball level the school’s predecessors never approached.
Bloomfield Hills – created when Lahser and Andover high schools combined last summer – reached the Class A championship game Friday with an 85-75 Semifinal win over Detroit U-D Jesuit at the Breslin Center.
Neither of the former schools made even the Quarterfinal round during their histories. But with the 6-foot-8 Yaten dominating the post, Cartwright running the show up top and a host of helpers filling in the rest of the lineup, the No. 8 Black Hawks upset a Cubs team ranked No. 3 at the end of the regular season.
“It feels like magic,” Cartwright said. “It feels great for us to get all together in one year, to work as a team, to get together to win the state championship.”
Bloomfield Hills (24-3) will face top-ranked Muskegon in the title game at noon Saturday.
Although the Black Hawks’ roster definitely is Lahser heavy with 12 former Knights and five Andover players, four of the former Andover players were among the 10 who saw the floor during the Semifinal.
Together, a “team from top to bottom,” in the words of coach Duane Graves held off another also having its best season of a much longer history – and despite missing one of its top scorers, who was unable to play Friday.
“It’s been an honor to coach my boys. … They make me look good,” Graves said. “When you coach you’re a coach, but it’s the players who play hard and make you look like a good coach. If you don’t have the players who buy in to what you want, it’s makes you just another coach.”
Jesuit won its first Regional title on the way to Breslin and carried a 22-2 record into East Lansing. The Cubs didn’t show it in falling 22 points down into the final minute of the third quarter – but showed plenty in cutting the deficit back to four with 1:32 to play.
Junior Jamarie Collins scored 10 points during the 33-15 run that pulled Jesuit within 77-73.
“It’s just that we got caught in the moment at the Breslin,” said senior guard Noah King, who led the Cubs with 24 points and 13 rebounds. “We had a little bit of the butterflies and we didn’t concentrate on how we play ball. We were able to do that in the second half.”
But they weren’t able to stop Yaten.
He finished with 25 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots and had five points and five rebounds as Bloomfield Hills went on an 8-2 run to finish that final 1:32 of the game.
Cartwright added 16 points and seven rebounds, with senior guard Xzavier Reynolds scoring 15 points with seven rebounds and four assists and junior guard Cameron Dalton adding 18 points off the bench.
Sophomore guards Billy Thomas and Cassius Winston added 21 and 16 points, respectively, for Jesuit, with Winston also dishing seven assists and grabbing six steals. Junior guard Gary Collins added 10 points off the bench.
The Cubs took the next step this winter after falling to Detroit Pershing on a buzzer beater in their 2013 Regional Final. Jesuit coach Pat Donnelly said the emotion in the locker room Friday was the same as a year ago – which is a good thing, because he knows that will bring his many returnees back to offseason work looking to avoid heartbreak next season.
“It’s definitely a different mindset,” Jesuit senior forward Nick Mutebi said. “In years past when we’d lose to a much tougher opponent, we’d just say it’s OK, at least we tried. Now, in the years to come, we’ll give each opponent our very best. And if we lose, it’ll hurt. We don’t take losses lightly anymore.”
Click for the full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills’ Armand Cartwright brings the ball upcourt with U-D Jesuit’s Gary Collins defending. (Middle) Bloomfield Hills’ Cameron Dalton and Jesuit’s Spencer Sanders work to corral a loose ball Friday.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Yante Maten had 25 points and 14 rebounds to lead Bloomfield Hills to an 85-75 win over Detroit U-D Jesuit in a Class A Semifinal on Friday. Here's a highlights package of plays Maten made during the game. (2) U-D Jesuit mounted a rally in the fourth quarter and got as close as four points from the lead on this Cassius Winston layup off the midcourt turnover by Bloomfield Hills.
Soodsma Reaches 700 Boys Hoops Coaching Wins as Unity Launches Another Title Pursuit
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2026
HUDSONVILLE – Hudsonville Unity Christian boys basketball coach Scott Soodsma has been a fixture on the sidelines for more than 40 years.
And while he’s known as a man of faith, a fierce competitor and a coach who pours everything he has into his players, he’s most commonly known as the coach with the blue towel.
“I’ve had the same blue towel for 34 years at Unity, and it’s had holes in it and been sewed up a few times,” the 66-year-old Soodsma said. “It’s been around for a long time.”
The blue towel has been with Soodsma at every game, except for the first game this season against Grandville Calvin Christian.
“I had no idea where it was,” said Soodsma, who retired from teaching last year. “I stuck it in an old diaper bag and thought I would remember that I put it in there, but I didn’t. Luckily, my wife found it. I’ve never not had it except for that first game this year.”
The comfort of having a towel with him during games started during his first season (1983-84) at James Valley Christian, located in Huron, South Dakota.
It has been a lasting presence ever since, although the colors have changed.
“I had a pink towel when I coached girls at Unity, a yellow one at James Valley, and a maroon towel at McBain Northern Michigan Christian,” he said. “I don’t know, it’s just something I started having with me and I’ve had my wife run home from games when I've already been there and forgot it.
“I've sent her back home to get it because I didn’t want to coach without it. It’s been the thing I've been known for, for a long time.”
Soodsma had it with him when he earned his 700th career win as a boys coach in a 69-28 victory over Zeeland West on Feb. 12.
He currently is fifth on the list of winningest coaches in MHSAA boys basketball history with a 688-258 record coaching at Northern Michigan Christian and Unity.
“It’s really amazing, and I've been very blessed to be able to go the length I have gone,” Soodsma said. “There were times when I thought I was done and I was dumb enough to do girls for five years at the same time and I did one season when the girls and boys were together.
“I’ve had a lot of texts and calls from kids after the 700 wins went out in the public and those are things that make it all worthwhile, to hear the comments and the thank-yous for what you did and the part you played in their life. More valuable than that, wanting to be part of their journey and their faith as well has been a big deciding factor in why I've stayed in it.”
Soodsma, who has won over 800 games combined as a boys and girls coach, led McBain Northern Michigan Christian to the Class D boys title in 1987. He won the Division 2 championship at Unity in 2019.
He also coached Unity’s girls to the Class B crown in 2006.
“I still love it,” he said. “I love the kids and I love the competition, but over the years, most people don't realize it, but I have mellowed a lot and I think I’m in it for the right reasons because I enjoy the kids. I want to be a factor in their life, not only from a basketball perspective, but from a Christian perspective and a faith perspective. It means a lot more to me now at my age than when I was 35-40. It’s not about wins and losses anymore.”
Unity Christian senior Kyler Berguis said Soodsma has had a profound impact on his life.
In my three years of having him as my coach I’ve never had someone motivate me more to accomplish a goal we both love so much, and that is winning,” he said. “He’s an amazing motivator, always pushing kids to be their very best every single time he steps on the court, whether that is in practice, games or shootarounds, it doesn't matter.
“You will never not feel the energy that Coach brings to the court, and the crazy thing is he’s been doing it forever. He not only has pushed me in basketball but most importantly he pushes the players off the court in how to be a man of God.”
Past Crusaders standout Gabe Newhof, currently a senior at Division I James Madison in Virginia, said Soodsma’s compassion for his players runs deep.
“Coach has had an incredible impact on my development as a young man,” Newhof said. “Through the mountains and valleys of my life, he has been there for me. When I suffered an awful broken leg, he came and visited me at my house to let me know he cared.
“During my successes in college he has always been a voice of encouragement. I am so glad to have had a coach like him who truly cares about me on a much deeper level than just a player.”
Soodsma has guided this year’s squad to an Ottawa-Kent Conference Black title, which included going a perfect 12-0 in league play, and a 20-3 overall record after Wednesday night’s Division 2 District Semifinal win over host Wyoming Godwin Heights.
The Crusaders’ losses were to state-ranked Rockford, Hudsonville and Freeland. Unity hopes for a deep postseason run but has been hampered recently by sickness and without a couple of its top players.
“This has been a special group,” said Soodsma, who boasts seven seniors. “The one thing we pride ourselves on at Unity is getting better as the year progresses, and I could really see the kids stepping up.
“We knew we had some good kids coming back, but I didn’t think we were playing exceptionally well in December or early January. But in the middle of the month, I started to see some kids really take some huge strides in a lot of ways. The kids have done a great job of coming together as a team, and it’s definitely shown. We’ve been playing some of the best ball we have all year.”
Soodsma has been asked frequently over the past few years when he is going to step away from coaching and retire.
He said he takes each season one at a time, but as he gets older he doesn’t want to miss out on moments with his grandkids, who are scattered through the country.
“I evaluate after every year, and I will evaluate again after this season, but this could be it,” Soodsma said. “I always like to wait till the end of the season before I make any rash decisions.
“I have family all over the United States in Seattle, Denver and South Dakota, so I really want to spend some quality time with my grandkids before they get too old."
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Unity Christian boys basketball coach Scott Soodsma, kneeling, confers with his staff during his team’s 2019 Division 2 Boys Semifinal win over Ludington. (Middle) Soodsma, far right, stands for a photo with his 1987 Northern Michigan Christian Class D boys basketball champion. (Below) Soodsma maps out strategy during a break in the 2006 Division 2 Girls Basketball Final. (MHSAA file photos.)