Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Boys Report Post-Break
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 7, 2025
Believe it or not: Boys basketball season is only seven weeks away from the start of District play.
Things have heated up quickly coming out of a busy holiday break for several championship hopefuls. League play will take over from here on out for most, but this weekend also will include another big showcase in East Kentwood featuring two more massive matchups of Division 1 contenders.
Today’s “Breslin Bound” catches us up after three weeks away and is powered by MI Student Aid 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. Muskegon 69, East Lansing 65 (OT) The Big Reds (6-0) opened a 4-0 run through the break at the D Zone Invitational with this matchup of Division 1 contenders – and by dealing East Lansing (7-1) its only loss.
2. Detroit Martin Luther King 48, Kalamazoo Central 38 The Crusaders (8-1) also put together a 4-0 run through the break, finishing it with this win over the previously-undefeated Maroons (6-1) at the Muskegon Basketball Showcase.
3. Byron Center 65, Warren Lincoln 63 Byron Center (7-2) is riding a six-game winning streak thanks in part to emerging from this close call against the reigning Division 2 champion Abes (3-3).
4. Flint Powers Catholic 69, Riverview Gabriel Richard 66 These two both finished last season at the Breslin Center in Semifinals and gave each other a great test at the D Zone Showcase.
5. Grand Rapids Catholic Central 54, Grand Rapids Christian 43 The Cougars (5-3) bounced back from a loss to Byron Center to take a strong first step in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White with this victory over the 2024 Division 2 runner-up Eagles (4-4).
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (9-1) The Warriors trail the Catholic High School League Central leaders by a game with their lone loss to Detroit U-D Jesuit a month ago. But they are coming off a holiday break that included wins over East Kentwood, Warren Lincoln, Flint New Standard Academy and Jackson and should surge into the remainder of the league schedule which picks back up Friday at Detroit Catholic Central. Circle that one and matchups Saturday against Muskegon and Jan. 24 at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s as ones to watch over the next few weeks.
Hudsonville (6-1) Nearly half this team’s roster made a quick turnaround from playing for the Division 1 football championship at Ford Field to hitting the basketball floor running, and did so successfully. The lone defeat was by a point in overtime to Grand Rapids Christian on Dec. 10, but Hudsonville pulled out a notable five-point win over Hudsonville Unity Christian – Unity’s only loss so far. The Eagles also downed Detroit Catholic Central by 13 at their showcase event in mid-December and posted impressive double-digit victories against Whitehall in the season opener and Holland West Ottawa last week to kick off the O-K Red schedule.
DIVISION 2
Flint Powers Catholic (8-0) As noted above, the Chargers reached the Division 2 Semifinals last season and have continued to accelerate to start this winter. Their best two wins, arguably, have come in their last two games as they edged Gabriel Richard and then downed Schoolcraft 68-60 at its Champions Classic on Saturday. Six of their first eight opponents remain .500 or better, and it’s already easy to circle a Feb. 18 game at currently-undefeated Flint Carman-Ainsworth that could not only decide the Saginaw Valley League championship but indicate Powers’ potential to power through another deep postseason run.
Kingsford (7-1) Although the Flivvers stumbled just a bit with their first loss of the season last week against Marquette, 58-53, they came into that game off a 10-day break and came back to defeat Crystal Falls Forest Park by 17 on Monday. Kingsford finished off their 2024 slate with a championship at the Elk Rapids Invitational, defeating the host Elks by 27 and then Jackson by 20 to clinch the title. Three more wins this season have come against opponents that have at least six victories. The Flivvers reached the Regional Finals last season (where, coincidentally, they fell by four to Flint Powers).
DIVISION 3
Jackson Lumen Christi (8-0) Lumen Christi is another team coming off a trip to the Quarterfinals and also an eight-win jump from 2022-23. They’ve started out the right way to continue the climb, with all of their wins this season by double digits including a 73-36 victory over Clarkston Everest Collegiate on Saturday that was the Mountaineers’ first defeat. The Titans shared the CHSL AA title last year with Riverview Gabriel Richard before falling to RGR in the CHSL Cardinal championship game and MHSAA Tournament, and those two will face off for the first time this season Jan. 21.
Maple City Glen Lake (5-1) The Lakers finished second in the Northwest Conference last season but reached the Division 4 Quarterfinals, and they’ve impressed this winter already despite facing five opponents playing better than .500 ball and a sixth that’s just a smidge below. Wins over Harbor Springs 71-63 and Charlevoix 68-62 avenged 2023-24 defeats, and they’ll get a chance to do the same for last year’s Quarterfinal loss to Mount Pleasant Sacred when they face the Irish next week. The Lakers did fall to Frankfort, 49-42, and will attempt to reset the top of the Northwest Conference standings when they see the Panthers again Jan. 30.
DIVISION 4
Crystal Falls Forest Park (7-1) Monday’s loss to the Division 2 Flivvers came after a perfect December for the Trojans as they look to build off last season’s 22 wins and trip to the Quarterfinals. A 62-56 win over Munising avenged a 2023-24 loss, and the Trojans defeated Norway last week after splitting with the Knights last season. Forest Park also handed Dollar Bay its only loss, 67-49 on Dec. 30 at Michigan Tech, and perhaps their most impressive win came 44-41 over Division 3 Menominee. They’ll get a similar opportunity again Division 2 Escanaba on Thursday and finish the regular-season at Division 1 Marquette.
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (8-0) The Irish played as long as they could last winter, finishing Division 4 runners-up, and they are thriving again with all eight wins by double digits and six by at least 30 points. Sacred Heart opened with a 63-53 win over Fulton, which finished second to the Irish in the Mid-State Activities Conference a year ago, and the Irish lead the league again thanks as well to a 69-37 win over second-place Vestaburg. Games next week against Glen Lake and Jan. 25 at Lumen Christi could tell even more about Sacred Heart’s potential to march again.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Wednesday – Flint Carman-Ainsworth (7-0) at River Rouge (7-2) – Rouge’s schedule is loaded again playing as an independent, and coming off two-straight two-point losses the Panthers next will welcome the SVL leader.
Friday – Michigan Center (8-1) at Grass Lake (7-0) – Grass Lake is finding itself in a league title mix for the first time in half a decade in the Cascades Conference East, and reigning co-champion Michigan Center shares first place again.
Friday – Detroit Old Redford (6-0) at Romulus Summit Academy North (7-1) – Reigning Division 3 runner-up Old Redford somewhat kicked off that Breslin run last season with a 52-51 win over Summit in the Charter School Conference Tournament final.
Saturday – Muskegon (6-0) vs. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (9-1) at East Kentwood – Less than 24 hours after playing Byron Center in a game that could have massive league title implications, the Big Reds will tip off at the Gottagetit Hoop Classic against another statewide Division 1 power.
Saturday – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (6-3) vs. East Lansing (7-1) at East Kentwood – Two more Division 1 contenders will finish off the Gottagetit event with a highly-anticipated 7 p.m. matchup.
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PHOTOS (Top) River Rouge's Roland Berry III (21) drives to the basket against Birmingham Groves on Dec. 30. (Middle) Kingsford's Gavin Grondin (20) makes a move toward the basket while being defended by Marquette's Jacob MacPhee on Friday. (Top photo by Team Arreguin Photos; middle photo by Cara Kamps.)
Big Reds Come Up Big Time in 4th Quarter
March 21, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – One quarter – 8 minutes – remained in Friday’s last Class B Semifinal at the Breslin Center. Time appeared to be running out for Milan as it trailed Detroit Douglass by eight points.
And this was the scenario – almost – that the Big Reds wanted.
Sure, they would’ve liked to be trailing by less. And they probably didn’t want the ball in a freshman’s hands for the program’s most pressure-packed free throw of the last half century.
But aside from that …
“We were down eight and we had eight minutes to win this game,” senior guard Donovan Verges said. “We’re yelling at each other, ‘We’ve gotta come back,’ that we’re not losing today. We want to play in that championship game. So we went out there and fought as hard as we could.”
And they eventually edged Douglass, 51-50, in the most exciting Semifinal of this weekend.
Verges nailed a 3-pointer with 3:38 to play to tie the score for the first time since the start of the third quarter. It remained tied 50-50 with 22 seconds to play as the ball passed through four sets of hands near midcourt before falling into those of Milan freshman Garrett Gardette – who was fouled and made the go-ahead free throw with five seconds to play.
He missed the second free-throw attempt. But Douglass’ outlet pass off the rebound landed comfortably back in Verges’ hands with everyone else on the court then too stunned to do anything more before time expired.
Just like that, Milan (24-3) will be facing Benton Harbor on Saturday with a chance to win its first MHSAA title since claiming Class C in 1948.
“All year we said we wanted to make history here at Milan,” Big Reds senior Latin Davis said. “We wanted to leave a legacy. So that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The 5-foot-9 guard scored 17 points (on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor) with six assists, and 6-7 junior Nick Perkins added 16 points and nine rebounds.
Davis had only three points during the fourth-quarter comeback, but also had two assists. And he played the starring role as Milan’s defense allowed only 12 points in the third quarter and eight during the final period.
“Latin Davis has been underrated for three years. He’s a winner,” Milan coach Josh Tropea said “He’s 64-8 in the last three years, and he’s won more trophies than I care to count. And there’s no question we’re playing (Saturday) because of his leadership and his ability at point guard.”
Douglass coach Nkwane Young said after that his team had had difficulties all season against zone defenses. Milan switched to a stifling 1-2-2 zone for the fourth quarter after using a 2-3 earlier and watching as the Hurricanes found openings when the Big Reds tried switching to man-to-man.
Douglass senior guard Darrell Davis, a Mr. Basketball candidate, ended up spending most of the game stuck on the perimeter and got off only 11 shots in scoring just nine points, 16 below his average.
Senior point guard Terrell Hales did add 11 points, seven rebounds and five steals, with senior forward Deshawn Sanders leading with 15 points and senior forward Daavi Bradley coming off the bench to also score 11 for the Hurricanes (17-10).
Even then, Douglass’ final undoing fell partially on missing 5 of 9 free-throw attempts during the fourth quarter and making only 10 of 21 for the game.
“I thought the third quarter, we had control of it. And in the fourth quarter, I thought we were still in control,” Young said. “Like I told my team, one play doesn’t (lose) the game. There are some things we could’ve done differently, made some free throws. But otherwise, I’m proud of my team.”
The Semifinal run was the first for Douglass, which previously had reached a Quarterfinal in 2010. Davis was part of teams that finished 68-31 and won four District titles over his four seasons despite playing as a Class B in the Class A-heavy Detroit Public School League. Young called his standout the face of his program, and Davis will go on to play next season at the University of Dayton.
“The first year we took it to the Regional (Semifinal), and I wanted to take it farther than that, to the state championship,” Davis said. “My legacy is a good legacy at Fred D. I hope somebody comes in to replace it. I’ve just got to work harder in college, a stepping stone toward life.
“A lot of people doubted us, didn’t think we’d be making it this far. We came up a little short, but it’s OK. We just wanted to win, that’s all.”
Click for a full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: Milan freshman Garrett Gardette tries to get past Douglass’ Daavi Bradley during Friday’s Class B Semifinal. (Middle) The Hurricanes’ Darrell Davis works to get to the basket.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Detroit Douglass ended the first half on an 11-4 run, including this bucket by Darrell Davis on a break with 3 seconds to go. (2) Nick Perkins had a pair of baskets for Milan in the closing moments of its 51-50 Class B Semifinal win. This putback gave the Big Reds the 50-49 lead at the time.