Bear Lake's Harless Twins Both Eclipse 1,000 Points, Have More Milestones in Mind
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
January 30, 2026
Grady and Myles Harless will end their high school basketball careers among the highest scorers in Bear Lake history.
The twin brothers are the latest Lakers to join the 1,000-point club, but scoring is not how either one of them wants to be remembered. Their preferred legacy, as they look to play at the next level, is a strong work ethic.
“You can be athletic as you want, but if someone outworks you they'll be better than you,” Grady Harless said, noting his message is to current and future high school basketball players. “If you're from a small school, hard work will get your name out there.”
Myles Harless has a similar message for those competing on the hard court.
“Even if you come from a small school or a small community, you can be great,” he said. “It doesn't matter what part of the state you're from – if you're good, you're good.”
With the Harless twins leading the way, the Lakers are off to a 13-4 start and share first place in the West Michigan D League at 8-1. Grady Harless is scoring 23 points per game while also averaging six rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.7 steals. Myles Harless is averaging 20.7 points per game while dominating the boards with almost 18 rebounds per contest.
“Those two have been the definition of what I view Bear Lake basketball is and should be going forward,” said fifth-year Lakers coach Christian Novak. “I've seen some pretty solid twins that have played together and what not, but I've not seen any accomplish the same thing these two have.”
Myles Harless pulled down 25 rebounds and scored 28 points Tuesday night as the Lakers stayed in first place with an 87-49 win over Mesick. Grady Harless added 27 points and six assists.
Joining the 1,000-point club had been the twins’ goal since they first played for Bear Lake as eighth graders. With an enrollment far fewer than 100, Bear Lake applied for and was granted an MHSAA waiver to permit eighth graders like the Harless boys to compete in junior varsity and varsity play.
The twins played sparingly on the varsity as eighth graders, mostly benefiting from the fifth-quarter rule.
“Myles and Grady are the exact definition of what Bear Lake basketball is — show up, go to work, put in the extra time with grit and all the extra stuff,” Novak said. “I would say from their eighth-grade summer until all the way up till now, they did the work and I doubt they missed more than a handful of training opportunities.”
The Lakers are riding a five-game winning streak and have four league games remaining. They’ll finish the regular season at Baldwin, a team they topped 66-48 at home. Baldwin currently shares the league lead.
Senior Easton Nowak has been on a tear of late for Bear Lake as well. He had 13 points, four steals, two assists and a blocked shot against Mesick and is now averaging almost 10 points per game. Just prior to playing Mesick, Nowak had double-digit games of 20, 16 and 10 points.
“Easton started off slow this year, but he's been picking it up a lot recently,” Novak pointed out. “He is looking to score, and everything has just opened up the twins so much to where it's made everything so much easier for them.”
Mesick was the opponent earlier this season when Myles Harless, who has also topped 1,000 rebounds in his career, joined the 1,000-point club. The milestone point was scored with a slam dunk.
“The coolest part was when Myles was at the point of reaching 1,000, he got a steal and got a dunk,” said Novak, himself a past all-state player for Bear Lake. “That's the perfect way to cap your thousand – go throw it down.”
Prior to the first meeting with Mesick, the 1,000-point club recognized just one Harless, Grady. The Lakers were prepared to immediately recognize Myles’ accomplishment.
It was an extra special moment for the twins and not just because the pressure of both getting into the club had been lifted. They were both on the court during the second quarter as the game was temporarily halted.
“It was pretty special — they unveiled the banner during the game,” recalled Grady Harless. “Having both of our names on those banners back-to-back, it really shows it’s worth putting in so much time and effort into one thing.”
Myles Harless admitted it was quite a relief the moment he joined his brother in the club. He started the season 91 points shy.
“My goal was to hit it before Christmas break, and thankfully I did,” Myles acknowledged. “I kind of just wanted to not really think about it and just play because if you just play, you'll score and just play hard and do the work. But once I did hit it, all the pressure went away.”
Myles’s Harless was quick to point out there is more to achieve for the Lakers moving forward. And no one knows that more than Novak.
Bear Lake hopes to win the District championship – which has eluded the Lakers since 2008 – in addition to a first conference title since 2018. They had both in their sights as the season tipped off, and they have not wavered despite a tough loss to Marion early that reminded the Lakers they have to show up every night.
“It's been a while for both so it was just kind of let's get a conference title – we're kind of the favorites – and then let's go into Districts, handle business there and try to get that and then move on to Regional,” Novak said. “So it's always been kind of the goal to accomplish as much as we can with all the guys we have and put the work in.”
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) Grady Harless (10) brings the ball up for Bear Lake against Traverse City Christian, while Myles Harless (4) puts up a shot against the Sabres. (Middle) Grady Harless directs the offense against Mason County Eastern. (Below) Myles Harless elevates for a jumper against Leland. (Traverse City Christian and Leland game photos courtesy of the Traverse City Record-Eagle. Mason County Eastern game photo courtesy of Miles Joseph/milesflics.)
Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Boys Report Week 7
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 24, 2022
Nearly all of the MHSAA’s 750 member high schools have a varsity boys basketball team, and “Breslin Bound” highlights the notable performances throughout the state.
But it’s been impossible this season to not turn a lot of attention toward Detroit.
The Detroit Catholic League Central features five teams with overall records of 6-3 or better despite two weeks of matchups against each other. The Detroit Public School League Blue features at least three championship contenders as well. River Rouge is sure to be in the Division 1 mix too, but just lost for the first time to an intriguing Division 3 riser in Ecorse. And as always, the suburbs are loaded with teams with March possibilities.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Ecorse 60, River Rouge 58 The Raiders (5-1) are a combined 33-11 over the last three seasons but hadn’t defeated Rouge (12-1) since 2014 and lost last year’s matchup by 11.
2. Detroit Martin Luther King 56, Detroit Cass Tech 51 These two and Renaissance are starting to separate at the top of the Detroit Public School League Blue, with King (9-1) earning a valuable advantage over the Technicians (9-2) as both face Renaissance this week.
3. Menominee 51, Powers North Central 26 The Maroons (9-1) handed the Jets (9-1) their only loss and appear capable of finishing the regular season as the top team in Division 3 MPR.
4. Detroit U-D Jesuit 65, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 61 Another must-see week of games in the Detroit Catholic League Central concluded with Jesuit (6-3) and Detroit Catholic Central (8-2) tied for first, with the Eaglets (8-2) next.
5. Ferndale 56, North Farmington 49 The Eagles (8-2) won this road matchup for first place in the Oakland Activities Association Red, with North Farmington (10-2) set to make a return trip Feb. 17.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Detroit Renaissance (9-1) While last season’s 6-8 record wasn’t a good indicator of the team’s ability – Renaissance lost four games by six points or fewer and fell to Detroit U-D Jesuit (11-1) by just a basket in District play – the Phoenix are closing in on guaranteeing their first winning season since 2018-19. They are in the PSL Blue mix (see above) and have scored at least 79 points in their last four games, with a high of 106. They have wins over Romulus Summit Academy North (9-2) and Bloomfield Hills (8-2), with the lone loss by five to Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (7-2).
Rockford (10-1) The Rams are seeking to repeat in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red and sit alone in first place after last week’s 62-56 win over Grand Haven (9-1). That one meant even more because Rockford fell twice to the Buccaneers last season on the way to going 15-3 overall. The lone defeat this winter came Dec. 18 against Detroit Catholic Central (8-2).
Division 2
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (10-1) The Cougars’ perfect run to the Division 2 championship last season featured a lineup that graduated only one senior, making this season’s success predictable but no less impressive. Among the most notable wins were their first three – 48-45 over Grand Rapids Christian, then 80-66 over Detroit U-D Jesuit and 64-59 over reigning Division 1 champion Grand Blanc – and GRCC also has a victory over Ada Forest Hills Eastern, which is second to the Cougars in the O-K Gold. The team’s lone loss came 75-69 to reigning Division 3 champion Flint Beecher.
Kingsford (7-1) The Flivvers’ last Great Northern Conference championship came in 2011-12, and they’ve rarely had an impact on the race since – but that could change over the next six weeks. While Kingsford’s lone loss came to reigning champ Escanaba, 53-50 on Dec. 10, they haven’t allowed another opponent to come closer than 13 points. League leader Menominee is up next, and the Escanaba rematch is Feb. 4.
Division 3
Flint Beecher (8-1) The Bucs are under new but familiar leadership, with early 2000s star Marquis Gray taking over the program this winter. Through nearly the first half of the season, the reigning Division 3 champion looks headed toward another long run. In addition to the GRCC win (see above), Beecher is again leading the Genesee Area Conference Red and has lost only to Division 1 Martin Luther King – no one but King and GRCC have gotten closer than single digits. The Bucs finish the regular season with Division 1 Flint Carman-Ainsworth and Grand Blanc.
Traverse City St. Francis (7-1) The Gladiators have lost only to Division 1 Grand Haven and have a win over Division 1 Traverse City Central (50-48 in double overtime). St. Francis tied for second in the Lake Michigan Conference last season but opened this one with a 59-40 win over reigning champion Charlevoix. After losing twice to Elk Rapids last year, St. Francis handed the second-place Elks a 50-47 defeat last Tuesday to take over the league lead alone – and also-second place Boyne City hosts St. Francis this Friday.
Division 4
Deckerville (8-1) The Eagles are closing in on guaranteeing their first winning season since 2016-17, and after going 4-9 a year ago. They own two two-point and one three-point win and join Dryden –Tuesday’s opponent – as undefeated in North Central Thumb League Stars play. The lone loss came to Division 2 Imlay City, a contender in the Blue Water Area Conference.
Rudyard (8-0) Division 4 semifinalists last season, the Bulldogs are among a small group of Upper Peninsula teams that play in multiple leagues – and they lead both the Straits Area Conference and Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference and have wins over the second-place teams from each. Rudyard’s best victory came Saturday, nonleague, as it handed Munising its first defeat 57-34.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Detroit U-D Jesuit (6-3) at Detroit Catholic Central (8-2) – The co-leaders in the Catholic League Central meet up for the first time this season.
Tuesday – Richmond (8-1) at Croswell-Lexington (10-0) – The Pioneers have won the last two Blue Water Area Conference titles, and Richmond won two straight before that.
Tuesday – Olivet (10-0) at Lake Odessa Lakewood (8-1) – Both are undefeated in the Greater Lansing Activities Conference, and they split last season’s series.
Friday – Detroit Renaissance (9-1) at Detroit Martin Luther King (9-1) – Depending on Renaissance’s success Tuesday at Cass Tech, this eventually could determine the PSL Blue championship.
Friday – Carrollton (8-0) at Hemlock (7-1) – The Cavaliers are undefeated atop the Tri-Valley Conference 10, but Hemlock’s only loss was to Carrollton 44-43 in the season opener.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO Davison and Detroit Edison face off earlier this season. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)