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.”

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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.)