Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Boys Report Week 2
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 20, 2021
No school for the next two weeks hardly means no basketball for many teams across the state.
Holiday showcases, classics, tournaments, etc., canceled last season because of the COVID-related late start are returning to close this calendar year, and they’ll surely clue us in more on the teams to watch once we return and turn to 2022.
“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. Richland Gull Lake 78, Kalamazoo Central 75 (OT) The Blue Devils are off to a 3-0 start, with this Central’s first home league loss since 2014.
2. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 60, Clarkston 51 The Eaglets (3-0) continued their impressive start by dealing Clarkston (2-1) its first defeat.
3. River Rouge 61, Warren Fitzgerald 59 Rouge (3-0) won three times last week, two times by a bucket, beginning with this victory and followed by a 62-61 win over Belleville.
4. Benton Harbor 73, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 62 The Tigers (3-0) are revving again after last season’s trip to the Division 2 Quarterfinals, with this win coming at Grand Rapids Union’s Showcase Classic.
5. Buckley 61, Maple City Glen Lake 59 It’s hard to imagine a better start for Buckley (1-0), defeating the reigning Northwest Conference champ after finishing 7-13 overall and seventh in the league last season.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Ann Arbor Huron (3-0) Last season’s Division 1 runner-up is up to a combined 43-2 since the start of 2019-20, with a couple of solid and close wins last week. After opening the season Dec. 10 with a 15-point victory over Ypsilanti Lincoln, the River Rats defeated Ann Arbor Skyline 48-42 and Saline 41-39 – the only losses for those latter two opponents so far.
Hamtramck (4-0) The Cosmos are now a combined 35-6 going back to the start of the 2019-20 season and coming off a Michigan Metro Athletic Conference Black championship last winter. So far, so good this season as well, with last week featuring a 54-52 overtime win over Canton and an 81-54 victory over Wyoming Godwin Heights at Cornerstone University. The first matchup with league rival River Rouge is Jan. 28.
Division 2
Olivet (4-0) The Eagles returned to their usual successful ways with a 13-3 run last winter, and they appear on that path again. The 59-32 opening win over Union City remains the Chargers’ only defeat, and Olivet followed that up with a 55-24 win over a Hanover-Horton team coming off a run to the Division 3 Semifinals. All four Eagles victories have come by at least 20 points.
Parchment (5-0) The Panthers broke a string of two straight sub.-500 finishes with a 14-4 run last winter, and they’ve already defeated Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley reigning champion Schoolcraft after tying for second in the league last season. Parchment will meet Grand Rapids West Catholic in Wednesday’s Cornerstone University Holiday Tournament Red championship game after defeating Wyoming Potter’s House Christian in Monday’s opener.
Division 3
Bad Axe (5-0) The Hatchets closed last season’s 12-3 showing with a District title, and expectations should be growing as four of five wins have been by at least 17 points. The only losses last winter came to league rival Reese – the Rockets also won the Regional matchup – and those teams meet for the first time this season Jan. 12.
Vandercook Lake (5-0) The Jayhawks appear ready to take the next step after winning four games two seasons ago and finishing 9-9 last winter. A 56-53 win over Homer on Dec. 10 avenged an 18-point loss to last season’s Big 8 Conference champion, and Thursday’s 70-56 victory over Michigan Center avenged a pair of 2020-21 defeats.
Division 4
Britton Deerfield (3-0) After two straight winning seasons, Britton Deerfield dropped back to 6-11 last winter. But the Patriots look to be putting that quickly behind them with three double-digit wins to start. Last week’s 68-56 win over Morenci was the Bulldogs’ lone defeat.
Hillman (3-0) Last season’s 12-8 finish broke a string of two sub-.500 seasons, and the Tigers are off and running again. Two of three wins so far have avenged losses from last winter – the 39-37 victory over Rogers City in the opener after Hillman lost last season’s meeting by a point, and a 65-31 win over Alcona last week after the Tigers lost last winter’s meeting by 12.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Wednesday – Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (2-0) at Detroit Renaissance (3-0) Contenders from the Detroit Catholic League and Detroit Public School League help kick off two weeks of big-time nonleague holiday games.
Wednesday – Parchment (5-0) vs. Grand Rapids West Catholic (3-0) at Cornerstone University – These two will face off for the Holiday Tournament Red championship.
Dec. 27 – Flint Beecher (4-0) vs. Detroit Martin Luther King (1-1) at Ferndale – The Motor City Roundball Classic returns, and this matchup features the reigning Division 3 champ and a Division 1 contender.
Dec. 27 – Grand Rapids Catholic Central (1-0) vs. Detroit U-D Jesuit (3-1) at Ferndale – Both are recent Finals participants, GRCC the reigning Division 2 champion and Jesuit the 2019 Division 1 runner-up.
Dec. 28 – Williamston (5-0) vs. North Farmington (3-0) at Ferndale – This Roundball Classic game also features top teams in Divisions 2 and 1, respectively.
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.
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City St. Francis opened last week with a 59-40 win over reigning Lake Michigan Conference champ Charlevoix. (Middle) DeWitt's Landen Poe (20) drives while being defended by Howell's Breven Weller (0). (Photos by Rick Sack and Cara Kamps, respectively.)
Breslin Bound: Boys Regional Preview
March 14, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament finished up its first week Friday with many of the expected contenders moving on – but quite a few surprises as well.
See below for four teams from each class that jumped out from Districts, with Regionals tipping off tonight. Click for brackets for all 32 and stay with Score Center tonight for scores and updated matchups.
Class A
Belleville (19-4) – The Tigers have won eight games straight and improved seven wins from a year ago, and had an eventful District week. In the Semifinal, Belleville beat Romulus, the team with which it shared the Western Wayne Athletic Conference Blue title, and then downed Westland John Glenn in overtime in the Final.
Detroit Western International (17-3) – The reigning Class A champion has had a solid season, finishing second in the Detroit Public School League West Division 1. But the biggest highlights came last week with a 77-76 overtime win over PSL Tournament champion Detroit East English, followed by a 15-point District Final win over 14-win Martin Luther King.
Lowell (18-5) – Since winning three games in 2010-11, the Red Arrows have improved their win total every season of the last five and are four victories better than a season ago. Lowell added a couple top teams from the east side of the state to the schedule this winter and lost locally only to Grand Rapids Christian twice and Wyoming Godwin Heights.
Roseville (17-5) – The Panthers improved to five wins better than a season ago, adding a District title to a runner-up finish in the Macomb Area Conference White. They've won 10 of their last 12 games.
Class B
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard (12-11) – The Fighting Irish entered the tournament two games below .500 but emerged on the plus side thanks in part to a 43-41 upset of Chelsea in the District Final. Chelsea finished 16-6.
Detroit Osborn (13-10) – The Knights again proved the tough competition in the Public School League is a good primer for the postseason, winning their second straight District title despite finishing fifth in the PSL East Division 1 standings and going 2-7 in January.
Flint Northwestern (12-11) – The Wildcats finished only fifth in the Saginaw Valley League South but have won five straight and avenged last season’s District loss, downing Frankenmuth 57-52 in this year’s Final. Frankenmuth finished 20-3.
Stockbridge (17-5) – The Panthers split with Leslie during the regular season but still finished a game behind the Blackhawks and second in the final Greater Lansing Activities Conference standings. But Stockbridge beat Leslie (20-3) in the District Final.
Class C
Beaverton (19-1) – Bad weather kept Beaverton from getting in its full 20 regular-season games, but the Beavers did manage to extend their Jack Pine Conference winning streak to 34 with a second straight league title. They beat two league foes to win the District as well.
Constantine (14-9) – The Falcons dropped their final two regular-season games and finished only fourth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley. But they beat third-place Schoolcraft on the way to a second-straight District title and after losing to the Eagles only four days before.
Grandville Calvin Christian (17-4) – The Squires took a couple of late losses prepping for the postseason with a final run that included reigning Class C runner-up NorthPointe Christian, reigning Class B champion Godwin Heights, plus 17-win Allendale and 15-win Covenant Christian. But those challenges paid off as Calvin Christian downed Covenant Christian 64-50 to start last week and then NorthPointe 52-45 in the District Final.
Ishpeming Westwood (10-12) – The final two weeks of the regular season included four losses over its final five games, but Westwood was a different team once the District began. The Patriots started with a win over Manistique – which they had lost to Feb. 17 – and finished with a 51-47 win over rival Ishpeming after falling to the 16-win Hematites twice in league play.
Class D
AuGres-Sims (11-9) – The Wolverines were another team that entered the postseason on a bit of a stumble, having lost four of six after locking down second place in the North Star League Little Dipper division. But they beat champion Fairview by 12 to open last week and then Mio 62-59 in the Final.
Fulton (16-6) – A five-point loss to Class C Lakeview in the regular-season finale is the only blemish for the Pirates over their last eight games. They clinched the District title with a 55-42 win over league rival and 13-win Fowler.
Novi Franklin Road Christian (16-6) – Annual contender Southfield Christian is the team most pay attention to from the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference, either division. But Blue runner-up Franklin Road Christian has won eight of nine to continue a seven-win improvement from a season ago.
Rock Mid-Peninsula (13-9) – The Wolverines won only three games each of the last two seasons, but added a District title to this winter of improvement to go with the Skyline Central Conference East championship.
PHOTO: Ithaca repeated as a District champion last week, downing Sanford Meridian in a Class C Final. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)