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 Miles 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: 2025-26 Boys Report Week 6
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 12, 2026
Believe it or not, Michigan’s boys basketball teams have played six weeks of their regular season – and have only six weeks left until the start of District tournaments.
And that makes now a perfect time for our annual introduction to Michigan Power Ratings (MPR), which are used to seed all teams for that first round of the MHSAA playoffs.
MPR is determined by considering a team’s success (total wins) and strength of schedule based on games against opponents also playing in the MHSAA Tournament. You can follow how teams rank all season long on the MPR page, where you can search not only by Division and school, but District grouping as well.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. East Lansing 80, Rockford 71 (OT) These are the top two teams in Division 1 MPR, and the No. 1 Trojans (11-0) remained undefeated by handing the Rams (8-1) their only loss as they met to finish the GottaGetIt Classic at East Kentwood.
2. Crystal Falls Forest Park 69, Kingsford 68 The Trojans (7-2) won this matchup of teams that both reached MHSAA Semifinals at Breslin last season.
3. Frankenmuth 47, Freeland 43 The Eagles (9-0) ended a nine-game losing streak against the rival Falcons (8-2), picking up their first win in this Tri-Valley Conference series since March 4, 2021.
4. Grand Rapids Northview 43, Grand Rapids South Christian 41 (OT) This could prove to be one of the most important results in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold, as Northview (8-2) and South Christian (8-2) shared the title a year ago.
5. Grand Haven 57, Grand Blanc 51 The Buccaneers (11-1) continued their terrific start by ending a week of three close wins with this arguably most notable one over the Bobcats (9-2).
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (10-3) The Warriors are unbeaten aside from a three-game stretch from Dec. 19-28 that saw them lose to two of the state’s best in East Lansing and Rockford (in double overtime) and another Catholic High School League Central contender in Toledo Central Catholic. Since, Brother Rice handed Concord its only defeat and got past Grand Rapids Northview 59-52 on Saturday at East Kentwood. A Friday win over Detroit Catholic Central also kept Rice among five teams with one league loss atop the CHSL Central.
Hudsonville (10-0) The Eagles, after reaching the Regional Finals last season, are attempting to catch rival Rockford both among the statewide elite and locally in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red after finishing second to the Rams a year ago. They face off for the first time Friday, and Hudsonville enters with plenty of impressive wins during the first half including an avenging of that Regional Final defeat to Byron Center and victories over Grand Rapids Christian, Hudsonville Unity Christian and Port Huron Northern.
DIVISION 2
Hudsonville Unity Christian (7-2) A pair of losses to Division 1 contenders listed above – Rockford and Hudsonville – are the only blemishes on an otherwise spotless start. An early 65-48 win over Grand Rapids South Christian has remained among the most notable, but add a 68-58 victory over Macomb Dakota at Saturday’s Hudsonville Showcase as the Crusaders look to carry momentum into the heart of the O-K Black schedule. They’re currently atop the standings with Zeeland East also without a league loss early.
Lansing Sexton (8-1) The J-Dubbs made serious noise with last season’s run to the Division 2 Quarterfinals following a heart-breaking loss that led to them finishing runner-up in the Capital Area Activities Conference White. The volume remains high as Sexton opened this season falling to East Lansing but came back to defeat reigning CAAC White champ Portland to start an eight-game winning streak that’s also included victories over Detroit Cass Tech and Holt.
DIVISION 3
Detroit Loyola (10-2) After finishing 25-2 in 2022-23, Loyola fell back to 12-14 the following winter, then 13-13 last year before making major strides again this season. Loyola did fall 60-59 in overtime last week to Dearborn Divine Child – and those two are tied for first in the CHSL AA after Loyola won their first meeting of the season. But last week’s defeat has been the Bulldogs’ only in-state loss – the other also came in overtime, 70-66 to Cincinnati Western Hills.
Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker (7-1) Laker seems well on its way to a seventh-straight season with a winning record and could be in store for more coming off last winter’s 14-9 finish. Wins last week over Caro (in overtime) and reigning champion Millington helped the Lakers gain some separation in the Big Thumb Conference White standings, and they can gain more with Wednesday’s first matchup of the season with league co-leader Reese.
DIVISION 4
Crystal Falls Forest Park (7-2) The win over Kingsford was the program’s first since 2017 and came after back-to-back losses to Menominee and Dollar Bay, which are both 8-1. The Kingsford game also was the first this season for previously-injured Forest Park all-stater Vic Giuliani, and more big things should be on the way with a healthy lineup. The Trojans opened this season with a notable win at Norway but will see the Knights one more time and also will face Marquette on Feb. 17 at Northern Michigan University.
Fowler (9-1) Last season’s Division 4 runner-up did suffer its first loss last week, to rival Pewamo-Westphalia, but has otherwise been nearly unstoppable with seven double-digit wins including an especially notable one over Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in a rematch of last year’s Regional Semifinal. Fowler will face P-W again Feb. 5, potentially with first place in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference on the line once more, and Saturday’s meeting with Concord could be one of the top Division 4 matchups of the regular season.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Central Montcalm (8-0) at Grant (9-0) – This is the only meeting of undefeated teams this week in Michigan, and they are leading their respective divisions of the Central State Activities Association.
Tuesday – Clarkston (9-2) at Auburn Hills Avondale (10-1) – They will head into their first of two meetings tied for first in the Oakland Activities Association Red.
Thursday – Colon (7-1) at Mendon (10-0) – The Hornets are first in the Southern Central Athletic Association West and Colon second after Mendon won their first matchup 80-73 in overtime.
Friday – Rockford (9-1) at Hudsonville (10-0) – A lot could change between now and this game with Rockford set to face East Kentwood and Hudsonville taking on Grand Haven on Tuesday, and those four among five O-K Red teams entering league play undefeated or with only one loss.
Friday – Saginaw Heritage (9-3) at Mount Pleasant (9-1) – This will be the lone regular-season meeting between these Saginaw Valley League North co-leaders.
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PHOTOS (Top) Goodrich’s Miles Washington (40) works to get a shot up past a Saginaw Heritage defender during the Martians’ 65-48 win Jan. 3. (Middle) Hudsonville’ Jovaan Daniels (1) defends while Detroit University Prep’s Tony Dent drives during the Eagles’ 72-56 win also on Jan. 3. (Photos by Terry Lyons.)