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.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). 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 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) 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.)
Class C: Reaching Higher
March 22, 2012
EAST LANSING – After falling in the first week of the MHSAA tournament last season, there was no way Traverse City St. Francis was going to look ahead to the end of March this winter.
But riding the bus to Breslin Center on Thursday, the reality of this weekend hit senior Sean Sheldon.
The Gladiators were 32 minutes from reaching their first MHSAA boys basketball Final. And now, they’re only 32 more from winning their first championship.
St. Francis earned that opportunity with 63-54 win over No. 8 Shelby in the second Class C Semifinal. The Gladiators will face Flint Beecher in the noon championship game Saturday.
“Last year, we got out of tournament pretty early. It was a big disappointment for us,” Sheldon said. “We looked ahead a little bit, kinda at what we could do. … Now we’re in the Finals, and now 32 minutes from holding up the first ever state title for our school.”
This was St. Francis’ third Semifinal appearance. The Gladiators (25-2) had never before advanced, losing in their last appearance, in 2006, by 29 points to Saginaw Buena Vista.
St. Francis had high hopes last season. But Elk Rapids ended those abruptly in the District Final.
This time, the Gladiators beat all three of their District opponents by at least 31 points, and two more after that by at least 11 before coming up against Shelby – which was making its first Semifinal appearance since 1972, when Tigers’ longtime coach Rick Zoulek was in middle school.
“In the back of my mind, I was always thinking that was a goal of mine,” said Shelby’s David Beckman, Jr., who with Jeremiah James was a four-year varsity player. “It just happened to be the 50-year anniversary, and we actually made that happen. We had 13 guys make that happen.”
And they nearly advanced to their first Final since that same season.
No matter how much St. Francis surged, Shelby hung around – and took a 45-44 lead with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. The Gladiators held just a one-point lead with 5:58 to play.
“You could feel the momentum coming back our way, and we had a few breaks go against us. A couple mistakes. We missed a couple of shots, a turnover here and there,” Zoulek said. “It was really close. It makes you realize how close you really are to being in that final game. Just a couple of plays.”
Some of them came from Sheldon, who scored six of his 16 points over the final six minutes. The Tigers also made just 4 of 11 shots during that time and had three turnovers. They did well breaking St. Francis’ fullcourt press, but struggled to finish at the other end.
Beckman finished with 17 points and James had 12 points and 11 rebounds for Shelby (24-3).
Three others scored in double figures for St. Francis – senior guard Devin Sheehy led with 18 points (and seven assists), while senior center Michael Jenkins added 14 points and sophomore guard Byron Bullough had 11. Sheldon, who has signed with William & Mary, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
While the basketball championship game is new ground for St. Francis, winning at this level is not—the Gladiators have won six MHSAA football championships over the last 21 seasons.
It’s definitely a football school by reputation. And that success was a big reason basketball coach Keith Haske took the hoops job before 2010-11 after leading multiple Charlevoix teams to Breslin.
“One of the reasons I was excited about going there was because of football. The kids have the mentality they can be state champions,” Haske said. “When I walked in the first day of practice, I had a group of kids who said that because of football, we can be state champs here. That’s a huge factor, and I don’t think people realize that. Because not only do that believe that, but they put the work into it.”
Click for box score or to watch the game and press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTO: Traverse City St. Francis' Sean Sheldon had 16 points and 12 rebounds in Thursday's Semifinal win. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.