ATAP Continues Extraordinary Climb By Advancing to 1st Title Game
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 13, 2025
EAST LANSING – Meteors might only seem like they are limited to the sky, but don’t tell that to the Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac boys basketball team.
On Thursday, the Lions continued what can be put mildly as a meteoric rise toward the top of the state.
ATAP, which opened in 2001, advanced to its first state championship game with a convincing 76-40 win over Ishpeming Westwood in a Division 3 Semifinal on Thursday.
The Lions went 3-12 two years ago and 8-7 last year, but are 21-1 entering Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. Final.
Playing in a Semifinal for the first time, the Lions showcased to the state why they have climbed so quickly, overmatching Westwood with their speed, skill and athleticism.
For ATAP head coach Orlando Lovejoy, everything was about focusing on his team and its strengths.
“We don’t watch film on nobody,” Lovejoy said. “Why would we even watch film on somebody when we don’t even know how they are going to play us? There’s no need to watch film. The most important thing is to play the way we are going to play and control what we can control, and that’s how we play defense. That’s the main thing we can stop anybody with, our defense.”
ATAP (21-1) certainly displayed its defense, forcing 21 turnovers by Westwood.
Offensively, freshman Lewis Lovejoy led the way with 19 points, while sophomore De’Vontae Grandison had 17 and nine rebounds.
The Lions held a 24-17 rebounding advantage and shot a blistering 70.5 percent from the field (31 of 44), making 29 of 34 shots from 2-point range.
“It feels great because we have put in so much work,” said senior Teyshaun Hicks. “From the summertime to the start of the season, 6 in the morning to late at night. It’s paying off, and you see it now.”
Junior Ethan Marta scored 15 points and senior Tristan Miller added 13 to lead the way for the Patriots (22-6), who made their first Semifinal appearance since 2003.
“We ultimately fell short tonight, but it doesn’t change anything we did all year,” Westwood head coach Luke Gray said. “We set the standard. Graduated seven seniors from last year. These kids embraced it the right way. We had a great summer and I will always cherish the way this team leads by example not only within this program, but in the community with how they treat others.”
The Lions were dominant from the start, scoring the first eight points and forcing the Patriots into two timeouts before the game was even four minutes old.
ATAP had an 18-8 lead after the first quarter before Ishpeming Westwood seemed to settle into the game.
The Patriots cut the lead to 20-14 with 5:05 to play until halftime on a jumper by Miller. But the Lions surged from there, using their pressure defense to create turnovers that led to easy baskets. ATAP finished the second quarter on a 16-1 run to grab a 36-15 lead by halftime.
The Lions ensured there wasn’t a big run by the Patriots during the third quarter, taking a 56-33 lead into the fourth.
PHOTOS (Top) ATAP's De'Vontae Grandison brings the ball upcourt during his team's Semifinal win. (Middle) The Lions' Khalif Stovall (2) works to maintain possession with multiple Westwood players closing in.
Riverview Gabriel Richard Caps Repeat Trip with Historic Championship
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2025
EAST LANSING — One year ago, Luke Westerdale sat in the locker room at the Breslin Center and repeated “I can’t believe this” over and over.
His Riverview Gabriel Richard boys basketball team had just lost in the MHSAA Semifinals on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
On Saturday, he was repeating the same phrase in the locker room – but for a far different reason.
Westerdale and the Pioneers made history by defeating Arts and Technology Academy of Pontiac 79-63 to claim the school’s first basketball state championship.
“I’m so happy, this is so awesome,” Westerdale said. “I used to think in my room late at night what it would feel like to win a state championship, and this is better than I ever could have imagined.”
The Pioneers (25-2) used a balanced attack with five players in double figures, led by Charles Kage and Bryce White with 18 points apiece. Westerdale followed with 17, Drew Everingham 16 and Nick Sobush finished with 10.
“Unselfish basketball wins championships,” Westerdale said.
All five scorers for the Pioneers are seniors and ended their high school careers with a title.
“I don’t know what to think right now,” Gabriel Richard coach Kris Daiek said. “I don’t think people understand what it takes to win. It takes a lot of people to win. I thought defensively we played very good. I’m ecstatic for these guys.”
Gabriel Richard led 12-11 after the first quarter before an 18-4 scoring burst in the second provided breathing room and a double-digit lead it would never relinquish.
The Lions hurt themselves by missing several close-range shots.
“We were just missing shots,” ATAP coach Orlando Lovejoy said. “We had a bunch of missed layups early on in the game. We counted four missed layups in the first quarter.”
Case in point came late in the first half with the Pioneers ahead 32-20. ATAP missed successive layups inside of 30 seconds to play, and instead of pulling within 10, the Lions gave up a late layup to Kage to trail 34-20 at the half.
ATAP finished the first half shooting 6-of-29 from the field, including 1-of-11 from 3-point range, and were outscored 22-9 in the second quarter.
The Pioneers stretched the lead to 23 in the third quarter before the Lions carved it to 11 points on a Lewis Lovejoy jumper with less than six minutes to play in the game. That’s when the turning point happened, according to coach Lovejoy. An ATAP player was called for a foul and tossed the ball in the air, which drew a technical foul.
White and Sobush both made two free throws, and on the ensuing possession, Sobush was fouled and made the free throws. The six-point possession proved costly.
“It kind of killed the momentum of the game,” Orlando Lovejoy said. “We tried to fight back after that, but they just closed the game out after that.”
What followed was a foul-fest as ATAP tried to come back. But the Pioneers made 24 of 29 free throws to keep the Lions at bay. An alley-oop from White to Everingham with a minute to go put an exclamation point on the game.
The Pioneers enjoyed an experience and size advantage. The Lions were 8-7 a year ago and 3-12 the year before, but freshman Lewis Lovejoy and seniors Teyshaun and Terrance Hicks proved a difficult trio to beat. Lovejoy finished the game with 21 points, and the Hickses had 10 apiece.
Kage had a few inches on just about every Lions player, as he and Everingham each had 11 rebounds.
“I knew I had the size advantage over them, so I knew I had to use that to my advantage,” Kage said. “For my last game of my high school career, I had to go out with a bang, and when I got the ball in the paint, I knew it was over from there when I touched it.”
PHOTOS (Top) Riverview Gabriel Richard’s Drew Everingham dunks during his team’s Division 3 championship win Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Pioneers’ Charles Kage (5) puts up a shot with ATAP’s Carter George defending. (Below) The Lions’ Lewis Lovejoy (0) shoots a jumper as Bryce White attempts to block it. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)