ATAP Dials Up Defense, Dissolves Rare Deficit to Earn Saturday Return
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 12, 2026
EAST LANSING – Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac found itself in a position it certainly wasn’t used to during Thursday’s first Division 3 Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
After posting lopsided wins throughout the MHSAA Tournament, the Lions faced their first big moment of adversity, trailing by nine points after an impressive first half of shooting by Menominee.
“We’ve been winning through the playoffs by 30,” ATAP acting head coach Zach Kelso said. “We knew this game was going to have some adversity. I didn’t know we were going to be down in the second half. At halftime, we made some defensive adjustments, and the boys came out on top.”
Indeed ATAP made the right modifications, as it dominated the second half and pulled away for a 78-66 victory to earn a second-straight appearance in the Division 3 championship game.
The Lions (19-3) hope to finish the season with one more win after falling to Riverview Gabriel Richard in last year’s championship game.
“For us, I want to say that loss last year really humbled a lot of players on our team,” ATAP senior Devonte Grandison said. “It pushed a lot of players on our team.”
Senior Jaiden Price led all scorers Thursday with 26 points, and sophomore Lewis Lovejoy scored 24 points.
Senior Darrent Butler scored 24 points and senior Tanner Theuerkauf added 14 for Menominee (23-5).
As for the defensive adjustments Kelso was referring to heading into the second half, Kelso said it was a pretty simple message to his players.
“We stopped helping,” Kelso said. “We are a defensive help team. I just told them it’s man-on-man time. Whoever got beat is coming out of the game. They didn’t want to come out of the game, and they didn’t want to lose.”
Menominee controlled the first half in a brilliant display of offensive basketball. The Maroons shot 14 of 27 from the field overall and 7 of 16 from 3-point range, taking a 40-31 lead into the locker room.
But the second half was all ATAP.
The Lions quickly erased their deficit, starting the third quarter on a 12-1 run to take a 42-41 lead just 2:53 into the period. ATAP eventually took a 52-48 lead into the fourth quarter and pulled away from there.
ATAP went on a 10-0 run early in the fourth, grabbing a 62-50 lead with 5:05 remaining on a 3-pointer by Price. The Lions grew that lead to 72-58 with 2:32 left and never looked back.
“We needed this,” Kelso said. “We needed this adversity to prepare us for the championship.”
Menominee was making its second trip to the Semifinals in four years after finishing as runner-up in 2022.
“There was probably a little bit of fool’s gold for us at the 3-point line in the first half,” Menominee head coach Sam Larson said. “We needed to attack downhill a little more. I thought at times we settled for some perimeter shots.
“Credit to ATAP. They came out, got really physical. … A couple of (plays) we weren’t able to draw the foul, and we weren’t able to play through it. We needed a couple of buckets to go down in that third quarter to stem the initial run, and we just didn’t get them. Next thing you know, we are playing from behind and they do a heck of a job pounding the air out of the ball and making really good possessions where they space you out.”
PHOTOS (Top) ATAP’s Sherrod Magee (2) and Devonte Grandison (1) defend the basket during the Lions’ Division 3 Semifinal win Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Jaiden Price (5) attempts to get a shot up over the outstretched arms of Menominee’s Tanner Theuerkauf. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Lincoln Comes Through at Crunch Time Again to Complete Division 2 Repeat
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2025
EAST LANSING — With the game – and a second-straight Division 2 championship – hanging in the balance Saturday, senior guard Markus Blackwell stepped to the free-throw line at the Breslin Center.
Swish. Swish.
Ballgame.
Blackwell’s two free throws with 26.9 seconds to play helped push Warren Lincoln to a 58-51 victory over Romulus Summit Academy North and the first repeat championship in Division 2 since Lansing Sexton double-dipped in 2011-12.
“I was thinking we could win it there,” Blackwell said. “When I go to the free-throw line, I gotta make my free throws. All these games prepare us for that type of stuff. I knew I was going to make the free throws.”
Blackwell’s free throws gave the Abes a two-possession lead in a game that was tight throughout. After Summit missed a 3-pointer, the Dragons were forced to foul senior Christopher Morgan, who also made his free throws and put the game out of reach.
“Man, what a game. What a Final,” Lincoln coach Wydell Henry said. “Hats off to Summit for a great game. They had us down, and it was back and forth. But these guys showed what they were about all year. Just persevering, resilience. Just playing hard. They never quit, they never gave up, we never got down. We’re battle-tested.
“I told my guys to stay with it and we’ll be successful, and these guys made plays down the stretch to get us the victory.”
Lincoln (23-4) spread the offense around nicely, with Markus Blackwell scoring 13 points, Morgan, Da’Marion Bozeman and Geon Hutchins 12 apiece, and Moses Blackwell nine. All five scorers are seniors, with Hutchins the only newcomer among that group this winter.
“When I came up here, that was the whole goal was to go back to back, and they welcomed me in, and this whole season we fought hard and we won,” he said.
Andrew Ashwood led the Dragons with 11 points, while Amir Perryman had 10.
Summit jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the first quarter and ended it with a 15-13 advantage. Lincoln responded by taking a five-point lead in the second quarter, but the teams entered halftime knotted at 25-25.
A three-point play by Ashwood in the third quarter put the Dragons ahead 38-34. Perryman hit a 3-pointer, and Chase Houser made a layup to push Summit to a 43-36 lead.
Late in the quarter, Da’Marion Bozeman recorded a steal and went coast to coast, making a layup at the buzzer to pull Lincoln within 45-41 entering the fourth. He wasn’t done there, as back-to-back 3-pointers by Bozeman and Markus Blackwell to start the final quarter launched Lincoln out front 47-45, and the Abes never trailed again despite Summit’s efforts.
Trailing by four with 1:21 left, Houser made a bank shot and drew a foul, but missed the free throw, leaving it 53-51. That’s when Markus Blackwell was fouled and sealed the game.
“Only one team wins their last game,” a somber Summit coach Derek Smith said. “This team went out like a team, and I can’t ask them for nothing more.”
Smith – the program’s third coach in three seasons – closed out his first year at the helm with a 24-4 record.
“They overcame all the adversity in the world,” Smith said. “They’re a resilient group, and we’ll be back. We’ll be back.”
Henry also believes his team isn’t making its last Finals appearance.
“We started from ground zero. Getting kids to believe in what you’re trying to do and the program you’re trying to build,” he said. “It’s a blessing, and I don’t take these things for granted. To come up here two times in two years and go out 2-0, I’m excited.
“We’ll be back. We’re going to do it again.”
PHOTOS (Top) Warren Lincoln’s Geon Hutchins dunks during his team’s Division 2 Final win Saturday night at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Abes’ Markus Blackwell (3) drives with Summit’s Jordan Fuller defending. (Below) The Gators’ Amir Perryman (1) makes a move toward the basket. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)