Boys Finals: Points A to B
March 22, 2012
Loaded expectations come with being the favorite for any MHSAA championship.
But a pair of favorites and two groups of strong contenders make for loaded fields for both the Class A and B Boys Basketball Finals this weekend at Michigan State's Breslin Center.
In Class B, reigning champion Lansing Sexton is a heavy favorite, but 2011 runner-up Muskegon Heights and 2010 champion Detroit Country Day also are in the mix. And in Class A, top-ranked Saginaw and No. 2 Romulus both have reached the final weekend of the MHSAA winter season.
Below is a schedule for Friday's Semifinals and all four Saturday Finals. Tickets cost $8 per session, and parking at Michigan State is $5. All Semifinals will be streamed live at MHSAA.tv along with the press conferences after each, and the A Final will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit -- with Class B then broadcast on delay at 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Click for scores as they come in, and return to Second Half for coverage of all 12 games this weekend at Breslin.
Friday's Semifinals
Class A
Rockford (21-5) vs. Romulus (22-3) - 1 p.m.
Saginaw (24-2) vs. Macomb L'Anse Creuse North (22-4) - 2:50 p.m.
Class B
Stevensville Lakeshore (23-2) vs. Muskegon Heights (20-6) - 6 p.m.
Detroit Country Day (21-5) vs. Lansing Sexton (25-1) - 7:50 p.m.
Saturday's Finals
Class A - 4 p.m.
Class B - 8 p.m.
Class C - Noon
Class D - 10 a.m.
Now, a look at this season's Class A and B Semifinalists (Click for previews of the Class C and D Semifinalists.):
Class A
MACOMB L’ANSE CREUSE NORTH
Record/rank: 22-4, unranked
League finish: First in Macomb Area Conference Red
Coach: Jay Seletsky, 10th season (140-80)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 54-52 and 64-59 over Romeo, 51-50 over Fraser (Regional Semifinal), 43-41 over Detroit Denby (Regional Final).
Players to watch: Tyler Conklin (6-3 jr. G – 12 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.0 apg), Robert Hopkins (6-3 jr. G – 9.5 ppg).
Outlook: L’Anse Creuse North might be the biggest surprise of this weekend after finishing 10-11 a year ago and posting two sub-.500 records over the last three seasons. But Seletsky has led the team to three league titles in five seasons, and his team knows not only how to win, but how to win close games – eight wins this season were by three or fewer points, and two more were by four points.
ROCKFORD
Record/rank: 21-5, unranked
League finish: Tied for first in O-K Red
Coach: Nick Allen, first season (21-5)
Championship history: One MHSAA title (2003).
Best wins: 62-55 over Class B honorable mention Grand Rapids Christian, 36-35 over Hudsonville, 43-32 over East Kentwood, 55-53 over Okemos (Quarterfinal).
Player to watch: Chad Carlson (5-9 jr. G – 13.2 ppg, 59 3-pointers).
Outlook: After a tough league race that ended with Rockford sharing the championship with both Hudsonville and East Kentwood, Rockford was plenty prepared for the tournament – and came back from 10 down in the second half to win the Quarterfinal. Carlson runs the point and is the player teams focus on most. But four more – 6-1 Alex Durkin, 6-3 Mitch Caywood, 6-1 Chase Fairchild and 6-6 Ivy Johnson – all average 5.5 points per game and help bring a physical edge.
ROMULUS
Record/rank: 22-3, No. 2
League finish: First in Western Wayne Athletic Conference
Coach: Nate Oats, 10th season (195-50)
Championship history: One MHSAA title (1986), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 67-62 over No. 5 Detroit Pershing (Quarterfinal), 76-62 over No. 10 Saginaw Arthur Hill, 83-67 over No. 9 Kalamazoo Central, 86-51 over Class B honorable mention Muskegon Heights, 60-59 over Class B No. 3 Detroit Country Day, 69-57 over Class B No. 9 Dearborn Heights Robichaud.
Players to watch: Elbert Matthews (6-4 jr. G – 13.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.3 apg), Raven Lee (6-3 sr. G – 12.7 ppg, 3.0 apg), Wesley Clark (6-0 jr. G – 12.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.4 spg, 37 3-pointers).
Outlook: Romulus regularly plays one of the state’s toughest regular-season schedules, and regularly drives deep into the Class A tournament. The Eagles’ run to a runner-up finish in 2005 was the first of five Regional and six District championships in the last eight seasons under Oats. Lee has committed to sign with Eastern Michigan.
SAGINAW
Record/rank: 24-2, No. 1
League finish: First in Saginaw Valley League
Coach: Julian Taylor, first season (24-2)
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recently 2008), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 88-76 and 66-62 (District Final) over No. 10 Saginaw Arthur Hill, 71-62 over No. 2 Romulus, 73-59 over Bay City Western.
Players to watch: Travontis Richardson (6-2 sr. G – 15 ppg), Julian Henderson (6-2 jr. F – 12 ppg).
Outlook: Like Romulus, Saginaw annually plays a strong regular-season schedule featuring not only tough competition from the Saginaw Valley, but also many of the best from the Detroit area and beyond. Those two losses this season were by five to Arthur Hill – a loss which Saginaw later avenged – and late, by a point, to No. 9 Kalamazoo Central. Five other players average at least eight points per game behind solid backcourt duo Richardson and Henderson.
Class B
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/rank: 21-5, No. 3
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Kurt Keener, 34th season (653-176)
Championship history: Eight MHSAA titles (most recently 2010), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 89-52 over Harper Woods Chandler Park (Regional Final), 110-75 over Class D No. 7 Southfield Christian, 65-55 over Class A No. 10 Saginaw Arthur Hill.
Players to watch: Robert Puleikis (6-9 sr. C – 12.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg), Jodan Price (6-7 sr. F – 11.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.1 apg), Austin Price (6-3 jr. G – 10.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.9 apg).
Outlook: All eight of Country Day’s championships have come under Keener, and the Yellowjackets face a familiar opponent to start this potential run – Sexton, which Country Day beat in the 2010 Final and lost to in a 2011 Semifinal. Puleikis earned an all-state honorable mention this week and is one of a number of sizable Yellowjackets – the team also brings 6-6 and 6-3 players off the bench.
LANSING SEXTON
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 1
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference Blue
Coach: Carlton Valentine, sixth season (122-25)
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recently 2011), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 56-37 over No. 9 Dearborn Heights Robichaud (Quarterfinal), 66-56 over No. 4 Lansing Catholic (District Final), 80-71 over Class A No. 9 Kalamazoo Central, 70-57 and 93-80 over Class A honorable mention East Lansing, 72-60 and 75-58 over Class A No. 3 Lansing Eastern,
Players to watch: Bryn Forbes (6-3 sr. G – 18 ppg, 44 3-pointers), Anthony Clemmons (6-1 sr. G – 15 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 4.1 apg), Denzel Valentine (6-6 sr. G – 14.2 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 8.4 apg), Jalen Hayes (6-7 jr. F – 12.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg).
Outlook: Despite a one-point loss to Detroit Pershing during the season’s first half, it’s fair to argue Sexton is the state’s top squad, regardless of class. Four starters are back from last season, and all will play at the Division I college level – Valentine was named Associated Press Class B Player of the Year this week and has signed with Michigan State, while Clemmons has signed with Iowa, Forbes with Cleveland State and Hayes has a number of offers. The team’s top two guards off the bench last season also are back, and 6-9 freshman Trevor Manuel mans the middle.
MUSKEGON HEIGHTS
Record/rank: 20-6, honorable mention
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Keith Guy, ninth season (189-39)
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recently 1979), eight runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 51-44 over No. 8 Cadillac (Quarterfinal), 64-51 over Rockford, 84-78 over Class A honorable mention Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills, 67-54 over Class C No. 7 Shelby
Players to watch: Juwon Martin (6-5 jr. F – 15.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg), Deshaun Thrower (6-0 soph. G – 11 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.4 apg), Mike Davis (6-4 soph. F – 10.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg).
Outlook: Although Muskegon Heights is seeking its first championship in more than three decades, few teams are more regular guests at Breslin Center. The Tigers are reigning runners-up and also finished runners-up in 2005. They’ve won their District every season under Guy, and also five Regionals including their last three. And this could be just the start on that next championship – the team has just three seniors, but six sophomores including two who start and Davis, a big contributor off the bench.
STEVENSVILLE LAKESHORE
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 7
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference
Coach: Sean Schroeder, 10th season (164-70)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 44-35 over Sturgis (Regional Semifinal), 65-55 over No. 10 Otsego (Regional Final), 58-48 over honorable mention Grand Rapids Christian (Quarterfinal), 69-63 over Class A No. 9 Kalamazoo Central.
Players to watch: Austin Kaiser (sr. G – 10.1 ppg, 36 3-pointers), Loren Johnson (sr. G – 10 ppg, 3.4 apg).
Outlook: Lakeshore has won 16 straight and lost only to Kalamazoo Central and Niles this season. The Lancers won their second Regional title and third District and league titles in six seasons. Balance is key – seven players average between six and 10 points per game, with senior Ryan Avery also among three at 10 ppg.
PHOTO: Lansing Sexton senior guard Anthony Clemmons (right) is back trying to lead the Big Reds to a second-straight Class B championship.
Performance: Clarkston's Foster Loyer
February 5, 2017
Foster Loyer
Clarkston junior – Basketball
The Wolves’ junior point guard has been making good on high expectations since entering high school, and in one way he didn’t miss for nearly a year. Starting with last season’s regular-season finale against West Bloomfield, Loyer put together an MHSAA record streak of 119 straight made free throws to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” for Jan. 23-29.
Loyer’s streak came to an end when he missed his first free throw in a 59-39 win over North Farmington on Jan. 24. His record surpassed by 17 the former milestone set by Frankenmuth’s Brad Redford during the 2007-08 season and will rank second in the national record book when submitted after this season. Loyer joined the Clarkston varsity as a highly-touted freshmen two years ago and this winter has led the Wolves to a 13-0 start averaging 25.2 points, six assists and 4.4 rebounds per game, making 44 percent of his 3-point attempts and 95.6 percent of his tries from the free throw line.
Some of the high expectations for Loyer rise from legacy; his dad John has been an assistant for four NBA teams including the Detroit Pistons, whom he led as interim head coach at the end of the 2013-14 season. Foster also has learned under the tutelage of longtime Clarkston coach Dan Fife, who took over the program in 1983 and is the fourth-winningest in MHSAA boys hoops history. Loyer – who also played baseball for a season at Clarkston – has committed to sign this fall with Michigan State University. A strong student as well, he’s looking to study business management with an eye on working in sports once his playing days are done. But first, he’ll try to lead Clarkston its first MHSAA championship after the team fell in overtime in a Class A Regional Semifinal last season to eventual semifinalist Macomb Dakota, and also by two in 2015 in a Quarterfinal to Detroit U-D Jesuit.
Coach Dan Fife said: “He shoots every day, and when he shoots, he shoots with a purpose. He’s a hard worker, he puts a lot of time in, and all the time he puts in really shows in the way he plays. … His court IQ is just incredible. He sees the game ahead of time. He has a great floor sense, where people are. As a freshman he was the same way, and one of the bigger things is when he gets upset, he doesn’t show a lot of anger when he makes a mistake. Mistakes don’t lead to two mistakes with him. He doesn’t get caught up in that stuff, he doesn’t get caught up in who he is; he just keeps his focus. And as good a player as he is, he’s just as good a kid. In the hallways, you wouldn’t know (he’s a basketball standout); he doesn’t walk like that. He’s just one of the kids.”
Performance Point: “Going into this year, I knew I’d made a bunch in a row but I had no idea what number I was at,” Loyer said of his free throws. “I didn’t pay much attention, but I think when I passed 100 some of my teammates started messing with me, letting me hear it when I missed one in practice. … I approach every free throw the same, and when the shot (that broke the streak) left my hand, I had no thought going through my mind that it wasn’t going to go in. It rolled in and out pretty bad, and when it came off the front of the rim, the thought definitely went through my head and I heard the rest of the crowd knew about it. They took a loud gasp, and that’s pretty much how I felt about it. I was definitely disappointed, but when something like that comes to an end, you move on and go on to the next play.”
Part of the arsenal: “I would consider free throw shooting a serious weapon, especially being the point guard in an end-of-game situation. At the end of the game, being able to hit free throws, especially in high school where there’s no shot clock, the game is over in my mind. I’m confident in myself and my teammates to be able to go and knock free throws down. Just being in the gym every day, it’s something you practice every day, day in and day out. It’s called a free throw for a reason; in my mind, you’re supposed to make them.”
Thanks Dad: “If we’re watching film or being in the gym every day, my dad has been a positive influence in my life and basketball career. Just being able to take the things he says, and build off of them to make myself a better player. Every time we watch film, normally you should look not only at what you did right but also what you did wrong and can improve on. That’s been the biggest part of the game my dad has helped me improve.”
Win one for Coach: “(A Class A title) would mean the world to us guys as players, as a team, with the brotherhood we’ve built. But not only that, it would mean the world for us to win Coach Fife that state championship. Coach Fife doesn’t talk much about how much that means to him, but he’s had some difficult losses, and I think in the back of our minds it would solidify his legacy, solidify our legacy as a team, that we came in here and made our mark.”
Leading the way: “Day in and day out at practice, I pride myself in doing so, bringing leadership to the team, making sure guys are working as hard as they should be. As a leader and a point guard on a basketball team, you have to push guys not only to do what they should be doing, but it’s more than that. Going into March, we had a lot of guys in the locker room after (last season’s Regional loss), and we have a lot of guys who know what that feeling is like, and that’s a feeling we never want to go through again.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Clarkston's Foster Loyer brings the ball upcourt during a game this season. (Middle) Loyer attempts a free throw; he recently capped an MHSAA record streak of 119 straight makes. (Photos by Larry Wright/WrightActionPix.com.)