After Leading Glen Lake Girls to Title, Bradford Brings Boys Into Final Week
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2024
Eight is Enough.
Or is it?
For Jason Bradford growing up on the farm of Arden and Lynn Bradford as one of their eight children, it probably was enough. Bradford’s upbringing may have been slightly similar to “Eight Is Enough,” a comedy-drama television series about a family with eight children that aired on ABC from March of 1977 to May of 1981.
But the show didn’t depict pick-up basketball being played in the barn like it was for Bradford and his siblings. And surely eight would not be enough Regional basketball championships for Jason Bradford, nor enough District titles either.
After leading Maple City Glen Lake to the Division 4 girls basketball championship last year, Bradford stepped down from coaching. At the time his teams had won five Regional and six District titles.
Now his teams have won six Regional and seven District championships. He took over Glen Lake’s boys program during the holiday break this winter as the Lakers were off to a 4-2 start. They finished the season 22-5.
It was the Lakers boys’ first 20-win campaign since the 2018-19 season, and they clinched their first Regional title since 2018.
Glen Lake went 19-5 last year losing to Traverse City St. Francis in the District Final. The season before that ended with a first-round loss to Elk Rapids and 15-6 record.
Bradford led his girls teams four times to the MHSAA Semifinals and almost got their a fifth time this year with the boys. Their run ended Tuesday with a tough loss in the Division 4 Quarterfinals to Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 63-51.
“We’re licking the wounds of that one,” he said. “We’ve got to remember to look at the big picture – they are young men becoming men.”
But Bradford already has turned his thoughts to next season and is making plans for summer basketball.
“Having the summer with them if it goes the way we want is going to be huge,” Bradford said. “There are a few things going through my head I can change or adjust.
“We want to continue to build on what our philosophy of what Glen Lake is and my philosophy of what Glen Lake is.”
The Lakers will graduate Cooper Bufalini, Gage Baker, Dylan Cundiff, Tyler Bixby and Jamie Blondia. But they’ll have their top two scorers back, sophomore Jacob Plamondon and junior Benji Allen. Plamondon kicked in almost 20 points per game and led the team in rebounding with more than 10 per contest. Allen averaged more than 11 points per game and led the team in assists.
Glen Lake finished second in the Northwest Conference behind Benzie Central, which was undefeated in league play. The Lakers knocked off league opponents Frankfort in the Division 4 District title match and Buckley in the Regional Semifinal.
The battles with Benzie for the conference title may have been the highlights of the season, Bradford noted. Those were Glen Lake’s only losses in league play, and a share of the title was within their grasp late in the second game with the Huskies.
The Lakers lost 60-51 on their home court in the first meeting but took Benzie to the limit in the rematch before falling, 41-39, on the road.
“We had a lot of great games and a lot of great memories,” Bradford said. “Going for conference it pretty much came down to the last few seconds with lead changes.
“We were up by one point with less than 30 second lefts, and that was the high point,” he continued. “We came up short, but we learned from that game.”
Also among highlights for Bradford this year was the chance to coach against his brother Nathan for the first time in their careers.
The Bradfords started coaching girls varsity basketball 16 years ago, but their teams were in different conferences at the time. Nathan coached the Onekama girls but moved to the boys program before Onekama and Glen Lake had a chance to compete against each other in the Northwest Conference.
The Bradford coaches often talk after their games and learn from one another. They have also seen their parents frequently in the bleachers as they rotate home game sites to see their grandchildren play and their sons coach.
When Onekama and Glen Lake played this year, eight Bradfords were on the rosters as players or coaches. Jason’s son Toby, a freshman, played on the Glen Lake junior varsity team, as Nathan’s son Carson played for the Portagers’ JV squad. The Onekama JV team is coached by another Bradford, Jason and Nathan’s brother Nick. And there were three more Bradfords on the varsity – Nathan’s son Caden and his cousins Luke and Arden.
Glen Lake won both varsity games, 38-36 at Onekama and 61-33 at home.
Jason and his wife Jackie have five children. Their youngest son, Drew, is now a sixth grader at Glen Lake. His oldest son, J.J., is at Michigan Tech and has begun officiating basketball after his senior season at Glen Lake cut short by the pandemic while the Lakers were preparing to play in a 2020 District Final. Daughters Maddie and Grace are playing basketball for Lake Superior State University.
Maddie and Grace were big parts of Glen Lake’s deep postseason runs with Jason as girls coach. With many games played on Saturdays and not conflicting with coaching, Jason, Jackie and the younger boys were able to travel to see the Upper Peninsula’s Lakers play regularly.
This season, the Glen Lake girls – under first-year head coach Brad Fosmore – went 16-8 and won Northwest Conference and District titles before losing a nail-biter, 45-42, to league rival Frankfort in the Regional Semifinal.
“Jason did a good job, and it felt good to carry on the tradition,” said Fosmore, who previously served as a Lakers JV coach. “We took it one game at a time.
“Jason worked hard to build a great girls program,” he continued. “It made it pretty simple because they had that winning tradition and kind of kept it rolling.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Jason Bradford, kneeling, coaches the Maple City Glen Lake boys varsity after taking over the program earlier this season. (Middle) Glen Lake’s Cooper Bufalini (11) pushes the ball upcourt during a 65-49 District Final win over Bellaire. (Below) The Lakers’ Jacob Plamondon (35) makes a strong move to the basket. (Top photo by RD Sports Photo/Rob DeForge, additional photos by Nicole Bixby.)
Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Boys Report Week 12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 17, 2025
Everyone now knows what will happen next week, but let's not allow this final week of the boys basketball regular season slip by without appreciating a few more moments before we begin this winter's final suspenseful ascent.
District brackets were announced Sunday, and teams no doubt will spend at least a little bit of time this week collecting final information to prep for potential future opponents. But there are still league titles on the line for a few, school history to make for others, and if nothing else last-minute details to cover one more time as playoff tune-ups are underway.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 58, Detroit U-D Jesuit 57 The Eaglets (14-6) avenged a 63-54 loss to Jesuit (18-3) from Dec. 13 to win the Catholic High School League Bishop championship.
2. Detroit Renaissance 69, Detroit Martin Luther King 62 The Phoenix (14-7) added the Detroit Public School League Tournament title to its PSL Blue championship by adding to a 63-61 win over King (17-4) from Jan. 10.
3. Walled Lake Central 53, Waterford Mott 50 (OT) These two are tied for first in the Lakes Valley Conference with one league game to play as Central (17-4) avenged a 54-51 loss to Mott (18-3) from Dec. 13.
4. Hudsonville 74, Rockford 69 The Eagles (14-5) will need help to grab a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title from the Rams (19-2), but still made a wave by avenging a 56-54 loss to Rockford from Jan. 14.
5. Bridgman 66, South Haven 58 The Bees (14-5) clinched a share of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore title with one league game to play, but South Haven (16-3) still has a chance to celebrate as well – Bridgman finishes up with third-place Coloma, which handed the Bees their only league loss.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Ann Arbor Huron (16-4) The River Rats will attempt to finish a perfect run through the Southeastern Conference Red on Tuesday against Saline after tying for second in the league behind Saline a year ago but then advancing to the Division 1 Semifinals. Huron has been gearing up for another run with an 11-2 record since the start of January and its only losses to U-D Jesuit, Muskegon, Warren Lincoln (16-4) and Detroit University Prep (17-5). The River Rats have wins over Grand Rapids Northview (16-4), Dearborn (17-3), Port Huron Northern (13-8) and Ann Arbor Skyline (13-7) twice, and will play in a District with four other SEC Red opponents.
Detroit Renaissance (14-7) The Phoenix opened the season 1-3 but have won 10 of their last 12 games and total are 13-4 against in-state competition. The PSL Blue title included wins over second-place Cass Tech (16-3) and third-place King (17-4), and Renaissance also defeated Detroit Central (15-4) during the PSL Tournament. The in-state losses were to Romulus Summit Academy North (18-3), East Lansing (19-1), East Kentwood and West Bloomfield, and this weekend’s matchup with Orchard Lake St. Mary’s will provide more valuable prep for the District the Phoenix will host that includes U-D Jesuit and Warren Fitzgerald (18-2).
DIVISION 2
Bay City John Glenn (18-2) A 66-55 win over Freeland last Tuesday, followed by a 54-50 nail-biter over Bridgeport on Friday, gave John Glenn the outright Tri-Valley Conference Red title. The Bobcats had finished third in the league last season but this time lost only to Frankenmuth, 57-48 on Dec. 6, and avenged with a 60-48 win Jan. 17. John Glenn’s only other loss this season came Nov. 30 to Mount Pleasant, 47-45. In addition to the season sweep of the Falcons (16-3) and wins over the Eagles (14-5) and Oilers (11-7), the Bobcats downed Gladwin (17-3) and will get a pair of Division 1 tests this week in Midland Dow and Gaylord.
Dearborn Advanced Tech (16-3) The Lakers have built from six to nine to 14 wins a year ago to 16 heading into this week and finished 15-0 in the Detroit Metro Athletic Conference Upper division after placing third in the league a year ago – especially notable as five of six teams in the DMAC Upper have double-digit wins this season. The losses came to Hazel Park (13-8), Jalen Rose Leadership Academy and Lincoln (17-3), and Advanced Tech has won 10 straight and earned the top seed in the District at Detroit Edison that also includes University Prep.
DIVISION 3
Alcona (16-2) The Tigers have repeated as North Star League Big Dipper champions, clinching a share of the title with last week’s 34-31 win over second-place Oscoda. Alcona has won 14 straight games, with its losses to Division 2 Standish-Sterling (18-2) and Grayling, and has also won close over Mio (12-6) and Rogers City (12-7) and swept St. Helen Charlton Heston Academy (14-5). Heston and host Oscoda will join Alcona in District play next week. The Tigers also have a win this season over Roscommon, which ended their season in their District a year ago.
Pewamo-Westphalia (18-2) The Pirates wrapped up an outright Central Michigan Athletic Conference title Thursday with a 66-30 win over Bath, and after finishing runner-up to Laingsburg the last two seasons. Only second-place Fowler (18-3) has gotten within single digits of P-W in league play this season, with the Pirates’ losses coming from Division 1 Flint Carman-Ainsworth (15-5) by four points and Division 2 Grand Rapids South Christian (16-5) by 13 in back-to-back games at the turn of the calendar year. P-W downed Division 1 Grand Blanc (12-7) by 17 points on Feb. 7 and will face Division 1 Hudsonville (14-5) on Tuesday.
DIVISION 4
Kingston (12-5) Kingston finished second to Dryden in the North Central Thumb League Stars a year ago, but defeated Dryden on Friday to clinch a share of the inaugural Big Thumb Conference Blue title. The Cardinals will play three league games this week and need to win just one to claim the championship outright. They have played seven straight against opponents with double-digit wins this season and gone 4-3, but with those losses to Division 2 Yale (18-2) and Division 3 Harbor Beach (17-1) and Sandusky (11-9). Competition pays off as Kingston reached the Quarterfinals last season after entering the Division 4 Tournament at 14-8.
Pentwater (16-2) The West Michigan D League leader can clinch the title outright with wins this week over Walkerville and Mesick, and will fit in a makeup game against Division 3 Shelby as well. The Falcons were 11-13 and fifth in the league two seasons ago before jumping to 16-7 and runner-up last winter, and they’ve swept Baldwin after losing both last season, avenged another loss to White Cloud from a year ago and split with Marion after also splitting with the Eagles last season and then losing to them in their District opener. Those two aren’t in the same District this time, but Baldwin will join Pentwater in the bracket at Mason County Eastern.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Centreville (17-2) at Hartford (17-2) – Two league games remain in the Southwest 10 Conference, and Centreville leads Hartford by one win at the top of the standings after claiming their Jan. 27 meeting 59-50.
Tuesday – Kalamazoo Central (15-3) at Muskegon (17-2) – Two of the most long-standing powerhouses in MHSAA history are both league champions again this winter and will get a nice tune-up before playoffs begin.
Tuesday – McBain (17-2) at LeRoy Pine River (17-3) – McBain can finish an outright league title run in the Highland Conference, but a Pine River win would open an opportunity for Beal City to share the championship – although Pine River also plays at Beal on Thursday.
Thursday – Marquette (18-2) at Kingsford (15-3) – The Flivvers are coming off a revenge win over Iron Mountain last week, and another in this matchup might mean a shared Great Northern Conference title.
Saturday – Detroit Renaissance (14-7) vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (14-6) at Detroit Mercy – The Operation Friendship game between PSL and CHSL Tournament champions will be one of the final tip-offs of the regular season.
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PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon's Elija Langston throws down a dunk during his team's 55-43 win over Byron Center on Feb. 7. (Middle) Michigan School for the Deaf's William Booker (right) drives to the basket during a game against Ohio School for the Deaf earlier this month. (Muskegon/Byron Center photo by Tim Reilly. Michigan School for the Deaf/Ohio School for the Deaf photo by Kolleth Photo.)