Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Boys Report Post-Break
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 10, 2023
“Showcase Season” gave fans plenty to watch over the holiday break, and plenty to help us look forward to these next two months as we push through the midwinter grind of another boys basketball season.
More than 200 games were played from Dec. 26-30 alone in events on both sides of Mackinac Bridge, and we glance at some of those below and preview some of what to watch as calendar year 2023 gets further underway.
“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. Grand Rapids Catholic Central 65, Warren De La Salle Collegiate 55 After opening the season with three defeats, including the third detailed below, reigning Division 2 runner-up GRCC (3-3) earned the most notable victory of the Motor City Roundball Classic over reigning Division 1 champion De La Salle (6-2).
2. Port Huron Northern 70, Hamtramck 69 The Huskies (6-0) followed up a three-point win over Ann Arbor Skyline two days earlier at the Motor City with this strong statement at the North Farmington Holiday Extravaganza.
3. Warren De La Salle Collegiate 38, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 34 In a Detroit Catholic League Central where all five teams have realistic MHSAA championship possibilities, every win counts even more – and in this one the Pilots handed Brother Rice (8-1) its lone defeat.
4. Detroit Cass Tech 59, Grand Rapids Northview 42 The Technicians (8-0) dealt the lone loss of the season to Northview (6-1), a Division 1 semifinalist last winter, at the Motor City.
5. Muskegon 81, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 79 (OT) The also-undefeated Big Reds (5-0) had their closest call of the early season with this nail-biter at the Hall of Fame Classic at Reeths-Puffer.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Detroit Cass Tech (8-0) After coming up just a two-point loss short of making the Division 1 Semifinals last season, the Technicians have completed a second-straight undefeated December. The win over Northview (see above) was of course noteworthy, but also one of seven double-digit victories so far. Also among the early notables was an 81-50 win over Saginaw Heritage at the PSL Holiday Classic. Circle Jan 20, when Cass faces Martin Luther King in a rematch of last season’s runner-up and champion, respectively, from the Public School League Blue.
Grand Haven (7-0) The Buccaneers surged to 18-4 last season and could be in the midst of climbing another step. They finished second in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red, after splitting with eventual champion Rockford, and won the first meeting with the Rams this winter 59-53 on Friday. A 20-point victory over Dearborn is becoming a nice bonus with Dearborn’s continued success, and Grand Haven also swept its Lakeshore Cup Tournament with what remain the only losses this season for Petoskey and Traverse City St. Francis.
DIVISION 2
Boyne City (6-1) A season-opening overtime loss to St. Ignace didn’t knock Boyne City off track, as the Ramblers have been undefeated the rest of the way with arguably their most impressive victories back-to-back over Marquette and Negaunee to finish December. Boyne City also avenged its District loss to Sault Ste. Marie with a 16-point victory and downed Elk Rapids 60-57 after falling twice to the Elks during 2021-22 when the Ramblers placed third and Elk Rapids second to Traverse City St. Francis in the Lake Michigan Conference.
Corunna (6-1) The Cavaliers are making last season’s 9-12 finish a distant memory quicky, with their only loss so far to still-undefeated Laingsburg and four wins over teams sitting .500 or better. Along the way Corunna already has avenged two last-season losses to Lake Fenton and another against Detroit University Prep Art & Design. Undefeated Goodrich tonight should provide another helpful measuring stick.
DIVISION 3
Laingsburg (8-0) The Wolfpack are almost always solid and appear to be moving back toward spectacular with this start. In addition to the win over Corunna (see above), Laingsburg has won its first three league games including by 18 over last year’s Central Michigan Athletic Conference champion Pewamo-Westphalia. That and the 18-point Corunna win are the Wolfpack’s closest victories through the season’s first third.
St. Ignace (6-1) The Saints started out with a special win, 79-74 over Boyne City in overtime, and Monday’s 67-65 loss to Division 2 Gaylord was the first obstacle they’ve met this winter. A 65-60 win over Rudyard remains that opponent’s only loss, and St. Ignace also traveled down for the Motor City Roundball Classic to defeat Center Line 56-51. The Saints are looking to catch Rudyard in the Straits Area Conference after finishing runner-up to the Bulldogs a year ago.
DIVISION 4
Lake Leelanau St. Mary (8-0) The Eagles followed a Regional Finals run in 2021 with a Semifinals run last season, and they’re rolling again with no win closer than 13 points this winter. St. Mary won the Will Lynch Invitational at Benzie Central, defeating reigning Division 3 runner-up Menominee 63-45 in a semifinal. The Eagles do not play in a league, but their schedule the rest of the way includes several strong small-school teams.
Munising (9-0) The Mustangs haven’t lost more than three games in a season over the last three, and could be headed toward running that streak to four seasons with only one single-digit game so far this winter – a 56-50 win over Ishpeming. Munising’s only losses last season were twice to Powers North Central and once to Rudyard; the Mustangs see Rudyard on Feb. 8 and North Central twice that month.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Flint Beecher (6-0) at Flint Hamady (6-0) – In the first of two regular-season matchups this season, Hamady will attempt to end Beecher’s nine-game winning streak in the series.
Thursday – Petoskey (7-1) at Cadillac (6-0) – Early returns in the Big North Conference make these two the likely favorites after Cadillac shared the title and Petoskey tied for third last season.
Thursday – Grand Ledge (5-1) at Okemos (8-0) – In what’s shaping up to be a deep Capital Area Activities Conference Blue, these two are shaping up as top contenders.
Saturday – Benton Harbor (5-1) vs. North Farmington (6-1) at Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills – This may be the premier matchup of the annual MLK Day Hoops Classic.
Saturday – Warren Michigan Collegiate (5-1) vs. Detroit Renaissance (7-3) at Ferndale – This matchup should conclude the Horatio Williams Foundation MLK Freedom Classic in a big way.
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PHOTO Grand Blanc and East Lansing face off during Saturday's Carmody Classic, with the host Bobcats victorious 65-61. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)
Forest Park Working to Make Most of Every Second in Drive to Return Downstate
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
March 3, 2026
CRYSTAL FALLS — The Crystal Falls Forest Park boys basketball team appears to be on a mission as it progresses through the postseason.
Forest Park is fresh from earning its third-consecutive Division 4 District basketball title with a 73-38 defeat of Norway on Friday in Crystal Falls.
The Trojans (19-4) resume at 5 p.m. (CST) tonight when they face Felch North Dickinson in a Regional Semifinal at Kingsford.
“(North Dickinson has) a real good team,” Forest Park coach Jason Price said. “Nothing’s easy in the tournaments.”
The teams split during the regular season with North Dickinson taking a 57-55 decision at Crystal Falls on Jan. 20 and the Trojans rolling past the Nordics 77-39 on at North Dickinson on Feb. 2.
Junior Vic Guiliani, an all-state selection last winter who missed his junior football season due to a torn meniscus, returned to the Trojans’ basketball lineup shortly after the holidays.
“It feels real good to be back,” he said. “It took a lot of work to get back. It took a couple games to get back into the flow.
It also feels good to get three (District titles) in a row. We feel very lucky. Not every team can do that.”
The Trojans opened their postseason journey with an 80-38 triumph at Powers North Central last Wednesday, scoring four players in double digits in each District game.
A year ago, they reached the Division 4 Semifinals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center, where they fell to eventual champion Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 67-46.
In 2024, Forest Park bowed to St. Ignace 68-51 in a Quarterfinal contest at Gladstone.
This year’s Trojans, with no seniors in the lineup, was led by junior Dax Huuki’s 23 points in Friday’s District Final.
They are wearing T-shirts which have “1920” printed below their team logo.
“That’s on there because that’s the number of seconds there are in a basketball game,” Huuki said. “That’s the type of effort we need all the time.
“This feels good. We worked hard for this all season. Coach told us to settle down and play our game.”
Forest Park turned the ball over just five times in Wednesday’s District opener and committed 10 turnovers in Friday’s championship contest. The Trojans know they’ll need to continue taking care of the ball tonight.
“They have three big guys,” Guiliani said. “They played in the state football finals last fall. They have some real good athletes. We’re playing unselfish basketball. I think we’re the most dangerous when we’re in a fast-paced game and hitting shots. We can also slow it down.”
Norway attempted to slow the pace early in Friday’s contest. The Trojans, however, led 36-20 at halftime and picked it up even more in the second half.
Huuki also has plenty of respect for the Nordics.
“They work as hard in the summer as we do,” he said. “The first game with them was hard. We just tried to learn from that. We have to play the way we know we can. We grew up together and know each other and how we play. Communication is so important.”
Tonight’s winner advances to Thursday’s Regional Final at Negaunee to face the winner of today’s Wakefield-Marenisco/Dollar Bay contest.
“These juniors have played together their whole lives,” Price said. “These are hard-working kids. They put the time in during the offseason. We settled in and played very unselfish again (Friday). We’re defending very well.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Crystal Falls Forest Park's Vic Giuliani makes a move to get around Marquette's Halen McCollum and take a shot during a loss to the Sentinels on Feb. 17 at Northern Michigan University. (Middle) Trojans coach Jason Price talks to his team between the third and fourth quarters against Marquette. (Below) Forest Park's Dax Huuki goes up for two against Marquette's Carter Fierstine at the Vandament Arena. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)