Amid Season of Hurdles, Tri-unity Earns Breslin Return
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
April 8, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS – It may be a familiar destination for Wyoming Tri-unity Christian's boys basketball team. But there's no arguing the path to get there has been strewn with potholes this season.
The Defenders will play in their ninth MHSAA Finals championship game since 1996 after racing past Rudyard 61-43 in Thursday's first Division 4 Semifinal at Van Andel Arena.
While playing in a Final is nothing new for Tri-unity, the win overcame another obstacle in what has been a challenging season for the Defenders (14-2), who move along to Saturday's 10 a.m. championship game at Breslin Center. Among the issues Tri-unity has overcome include playing only 10 regular-season games, axing the last two weeks of the schedule due to a COVID shutdown, playing only once in an abbreviated Regional and losing 12 seniors – plus coach Mark Keeler – to quarantine protocol early in the year.
Despite the reduced schedule and missing out on the chance to build early momentum, the Defenders have more than prevailed. The program has won four Finals titles and will make its ninth trip under Keeler, who this winter passed Paul Cook for sixth place on the state's all-time win list (627).
"It's been a very trying year," Keeler said. "I knew we had good potential, and guys have responded so well. We played a tough schedule, the kind of competition you want. We were able to stay humble, which is always something I have believed in. It's been a tough year, but it's been really exciting for the school.
"The guys have played awesome all the way through. We were confident we could make it to the Breslin, and we peaked at the right time. We've got a great senior group, and we really want to finish it out."
The Defenders never trailed Rudyard (18-3) after a 16-2 run snapped a 4-4 tie late in the first quarter. The Bulldogs did cut the lead to 20-16 with 7:13 left in the first half, but Tri-unity scored 16 of the next 19 points for a 36-19 halftime lead. The lead reached 54-34 with four minutes to go in the game.
While Keeler said he believed all along the team was a Finals contender, co-captain Austin Treece, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, said there was pressure to meet lofty goals.
"For sure," he said. "There is always pressure, but we just play bigger. We do a great job because I think we're a hungry team."
Co-captain Jaden Ophoff, who had six rebounds, two assists, two steals and four points, said the team has never felt distracted from its goal of playing in East Lansing. Beating Rudyard was just another step, he said.
"We didn't know what to expect from them, coming from the Upper Peninsula," he said. "We were able to adjust to them."
Tri-unity junior guard Brad Titus was virtually unstoppable. He scored 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting while adding four rebounds, six assists and six steals. Titus, who started as a freshman two years ago on a Division 4 semifinalist, said he's heard about playing in a championship game for years.
"This is really big, a blessing. I love it," he said. "We went two years ago, but we were cut short two years ago. It's great to be going."
Rudyard coach Jim Suggitt said Titus, who averages 22 points and four assists per game, was the difference.
"We tried to trade for their point guard, but Mark wouldn't buy it. I told him we'd even throw in the team bus, but he wouldn't go for it," Suggitt said. "He was the best ballplayer on the floor. He could take over whenever he wanted to."
Rudyard's E.J. Suggitt, who finished with 19 points, said the game plan was to keep Titus in check.
"We wanted to stop (him)," Suggitt said. "But even if you stop him, their role players will step up. They are a very tough team; they just played better basketball."
Keeler thinks Titus has played well enough in his career to be at least a two-time all-stater. He's thrilled Titus will have the chance to join his teammates in a championship game.
"The numbers (of past championship game trips) don't matter because this is a whole new group," Keeler said. "It's exciting for them, and it's something they will always remember. They've heard from other players we've had what it's like. It's a thrill."
PHOTOS: (Top) Tri-unity Christian's Aidan DeKlyen pulls up for a shot in front of the Rudyard bench Thursday at Van Andel Arena. (Middle) The Defenders' Brady Titus was the game's high scorer with 28 points. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Vance in New Role Has Muskegon Heights Academy Rolling In Regional
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 5, 2025
MOUNT PLEASANT – Cartier Vance could only smile when he looked out at the big throng of Muskegon Heights fans that made the two-hour trek to watch his team play in Tuesday’s Division 4 Regional opener at Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
“Basketball is a big deal in Muskegon Heights – always has been,” said Vance, one of the senior leaders on an experienced Tigers’ roster.
“Where I come from, it’s hard sometimes, so this is great.”
Vance made it worth the trip for all of the orange-and-black clad Tigers’ fans, scoring 13 of his team-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as Heights held off a strong Pentwater team, 74-63.
Heights (12-10), which entered the postseason sub-.500 at 9-10, advanced to face No. 3 Fowler (22-3) in Thursday’s Regional Final.
The Tigers were a totally different team at the start of the season, stumbling to a 2-5 start, when Vance came to longtime Heights coach Dalrecus Stewart with an idea.
“He told me that he thought it would be better for the team if he came off the bench,” said Stewart, a 1989 Heights graduate and former standout player. “How many high school kids are mature enough to say something like that?”
Stewart made the lineup adjustment and the Tigers caught fire, winning their final four games of the regular season and now three in a row in the tournament.
Vance, a varsity starter since his sophomore year, had been getting into foul trouble on a regular basis, which either forced him to the bench or forced him to change his trademark aggressive style of play. Coming off the bench has allowed him to play more freely and have extra energy in the fourth quarter, Stewart said.
That was certainly the case Tuesday night. When Pentwater went to a zone in the fourth quarter to try and contain the Heights “bruise brothers” – seniors D’Marion Buchanan and Marcus Bradford – Vance made them pay with three 3-pointers, followed by a pair of driving layups to essentially put the game away.
“When I come in, I just try to bring extra energy and help out wherever we need it,” said Vance, who averages 14 points per game. “This game, I had some open shots and just tried to finish the job.”
Experience has been a big part of Heights’ postseason run, with five senior starters. Buchanan and Bradford are the 1-2 inside punch, Willie Hector is the point guard and facilitator, while Jamarion Taylor (the leading scorer at 16 points per game) and Robert Wallace are slashers and scorers.
Vance is the first one off the bench, followed by talented freshman Cardiyah Harris, who had a huge offensive rebound and putback in the fourth quarter to thwart Pentwater’s comeback attempt.
“Once we get all of our guys involved, we can be a very good team,” said Vance, also a standout student who hopes to play college basketball. “Us seniors have been through a lot together. We all have different talents, so we try to build each other up.”
The veteran team has certainly caught the hearts of the city’s residents, who have seen the school’s enrollment decline as it transitioned to Muskegon Heights Academy. Many of those residents took the school’s fan bus to the game, while others listened to Frank St. James’ broadcast of the game on the hometown station, WUVS-FM 103.7, The Beat.
Stewart, who also serves as Heights’ dean of students and athletic director, has worked hard to maintain the program’s high standards despite lower student numbers. He said this season has unfolded the way he thought it might.
“We started with some big schools, so I knew we could get beat up in December,” said Stewart. “Then I thought we could level out in January and then get rolling in February, which is kind of how it worked out.”
Now the Tigers are trying to advance at least one step farther than a year ago, when they lost to Sacred Heart in the Regional title game. They face a huge challenge in a strong Fowler team, which rallied in the fourth quarter Tuesday to knock off host Sacred Heart.
“I know one thing for certain – these kids are going to play extremely hard,” said Stewart. “Everyone who knows me knows that I bleed orange and black, and that I love my community.
“These kids, the way they play and how hard they work, are a source of pride for our community.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon Heights Academy’s Cartier Vance (0) gets to the rim during his team’s 59-46 District Final win Friday at Fruitport Calvary Christian. (Middle) Vance makes a move just outside the 3-point arc. (Photos by Michael Banka/Local Sports Journal.)