Beecher Pulls One Win Closer to Repeat
March 21, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Monte Morris returned to the Breslin Center on Thursday for the start of his fourth and final trip as a member of the Flint Beecher basketball program.
The group on the court with him was, for the most part, different than the one that last season won the MHSAA Class C championship. But the Buccaneers’ level of motivation hasn't changed a bit.
Beecher may not be seeking to end a title drought this time after last season's was its first since 1987. But Morris and another group hungry to make history pulled one more win closer to doing so with a 73-55 win over Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.
Beecher will finish this season against Laingsburg in Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. championship game.
“Last year, any one of these guys could’ve stepped in and started like they do now. They were just getting ready,” Morris said. “They put the work in during the offseason. They just waited their turn. Now it’s their year, and they’re cherishing the moment.”
And it’s been another memorable week for the Bucs (26-1).
On Monday, the Iowa State-bound Morris was named Mr. Basketball by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. On Tuesday, Beecher edged Detroit Consortium 46-44 to earn its return trip to East Lansing.
Morris and his teammates were aware that his award would serve as additional motivation for the teams it would see this week. The Bucs used that as an opportunity to focus their collective mindset even more.
“We’re still hungry,” Beecher coach Mike Williams said. “We’ve got 32 minutes left, and we’re going to learn from history. We know what happened the last time Beecher was here trying to repeat. We’ve got to put in 32 minutes Saturday to bring it home.”
That season, 1988, Beecher returned to the Semifinals but lost in overtime 68-64 to eventual champion Grand Rapids South Christian.
The potential for that kind of situation faded quickly Thursday.
Just 18 seconds in, junior Emmanuel Phifer dunked two of Beecher’s eventual 23 fastbreak points. Senior Markell Lucas’ basket six minutes later gave the Bucs a lead it would not relinquish.
St. Mary senior guard Kevin Woodson scored seven points over 1:22 to help cut what grew to a 23-point lead down to 52-39 with 2:27 to play. But the Falcons (23-3) got no closer than 11 of the lead.
“It was just a great opportunity for our kids,” St. Mary coach Randy Windham said. “We’ve been knocking at the door. Two years ago we lost to Schoolcraft (in the Quarterfinal), and last year we went to the Regional and lost to River Rouge. This year, their will and character just showed. They refused to lose to Schoolcraft this time (again in a Quarterfinal).
“This is something these young men will remember the rest of their lives.”
Morris led Beecher with 29 points and eight assists, while Phifer had 14 points and senior Eric Cooper added 12.
Woodson led four Falcons in double figures with 15 points. Senior Chinedu Nwosu, junior Bradley Sherman and sophomore Bryce Windham all scored 10 points, and Nwosu and Sherman both grabbed eight rebounds.
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Beecher's Eric Cooper (12) and Emmanuel Phifer (10) defend Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central's Bradley Sherman (40) during Thursday's Semifinal. (Middle) St. Mary's Chinedu Nwosu and Beecher's Markell Lucas go up for the opening tip. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Clarkston, Loyer Dazzle at Breslin Again
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 24, 2018
EAST LANSING – Foster Loyer hasn’t enrolled yet at Michigan State University, but it’s safe to say he’s already plenty comfortable on his future school’s basketball court.
A day after torching the Breslin Center nets for 42 points in a Semifinal, Loyer poured in 40 more Saturday to lead Clarkston to an 81-38 win against Holland West Ottawa in the MHSAA Class A championship game.
“To be honest, I think playing in front of this atmosphere and this stage, I think it definitely helped being here last year,” Loyer said. “For me there were no nerves coming in. I thought our team, honestly, when we came in we weren’t bright-eyed or scared of playing in a big place. Having been here that helped me, and coming into the game I had the mindset to attack. I’ve been working on my shot quite a bit, so I was happy a few of them went down.”
It was the second straight title for the Wolves (26-1), who gave longtime coach Dan Fife the first of his storied career a year ago.
“The first one was pretty special for me, but this one here really was special,” Fife said. “From the day we left this building (a year ago) everybody started talking about back-to-back, and I know how hard that is because it took me so long to get the first one. To think that these kids could look up to that, it’s just a tremendous challenge. I can’t say enough about these kids.”
Saturday’s game marked the end of an amazing four-year run for Loyer and his classmates, as the Wolves were 97-6 during the Class of 2018’s tenure. It’s the best four-year run in Fife’s 36 seasons as Clarkston coach.
“These kids have been fun to work with,” Fife said. “I don’t know how it started last year – I’m sure Foster had something to do with it – but we started getting in the huddle and leaving the huddle with ‘Family,’ and these kids are extremely close. They have a good relationship on and off the floor, and I’ve gotta believe that’s going to carry on forever. This kind of moment, back-to-back, is incredible. These kids have played with a bulls-eye for four years, and to continue to play like they have and meet every challenge is really a tremendous success story about who they were as kids, and how they went about business.”
Fittingly, the final shot of Loyer’s career was a 3-pointer to put him at 40 points and tied for the seventh-best scoring performance in an MHSAA Finals game. The 2018 Mr. Basketball winner finished 14 of 19 (73 percent) from the field and 6 of 11 (54 percent) from 3-point range in the game, and was 26 of 36 (72 percent) from the floor on the weekend.
He left the court he’ll play his college basketball on to a standing ovation, and he leaves Clarkston as the program’s all-time leading scorer.
“Foster Loyer is a pretty darn good player,” Holland West Ottawa coach Steve Windemuller said. “To see him in person is really special, because he is a special player. What he did today, it looked it was pretty effortless at times. I wish him all the best at Michigan State. Coach (Tom) Izzo’s got a good one.”
Loyer, who also had seven assists, was far from alone in his hot shooting, as the Wolves were 29 of 49 (59.2 percent) from the field, and 13 of 22 (59.1 percent) from 3. C.J. Robinson scored 18 points, while Taylor Currie had 13 points to go with 10 rebounds.
And it all started quickly, as Clarkston’s first four makes were from 3-point range, helping it to a 19-6 lead after one quarter, and a 49-20 lead at halftime. Holland West Ottawa (25-3), meanwhile, struggled from the jump, shooting 2 of 13 (15.4 percent) from the field in the opening quarter.
“Clarkston is really good,” Windemuller said. “If that’s any news to anybody, you’ve been living under a rock or in a cave. They were obviously really, really good today. It’s just one of those things, we get to play them one time, and I’m not sure us playing them 10 times was going to make a difference. Today wasn’t quite the way we wanted to end it, the way we wanted to play, for sure. But congratulations to them; they’re one heck of a team.”
Xavier Wade led West Ottawa with 13 points, while Liam Cavanaugh had 10. It was a rough ending, but the Panthers won’t let that take away from the deepest postseason run in program history.
“We’re thankful for the opportunity to be here,” West Ottawa senior Tyler Bosma said. “Obviously it’s not the way we wanted to go out, but I was very lucky to be part of the biggest run in West Ottawa history. I’m very thankful for that. I’m thankful for my teammates, coaches, our students, everybody that came out and supported us today and throughout the whole season. It’s really special to see and to be a part of that.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Clarkston’s Foster Loyer drives to the basket during Saturday’s Class A Final. (Middle) The Wolves’ C.J. Robinson works to get past Holland West Ottawa’s Jason Fairfield.