Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Boys Report Week 8
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 26, 2026
As more and more games are played, the Michigan Power Ratings crunches more and more data to tell a more and more complete story of what’s happening across the state.
And this past week saw some serious move among the top of MPR lists in all four boys basketball divisions.
Of the 80 teams making up top-20 lists across the four divisions at the start of today, six teams jumped at least six spots from their positions a week ago – including Grandville (No. 10 to No. 4), Kalamazoo Central (14 to 7) and Detroit Martin Luther King (15 to 8) in Division 1, and Elk Rapids (20 to 14) in Division 3. Ten teams entered the top 20 in their respective divisions – including Jackson Lumen Christi all the way to No. 13 in Division 3 and Genesee Christian all the way to No. 10 in Division 4.
Expect more to come as teams continue to navigate the second half – and in some cases fourth quarter – of their regular-season schedules this week.
“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. Detroit Martin Luther King 60, Detroit Cass Tech 53 The Crusaders (9-4) are the only team undefeated in Detroit Public School League Blue play after holding on in this rivalry matchup with Cass Tech (8-4)
2. Grand Rapids Catholic Central 48, Grand Rapids Christian 43 The Cougars (9-4) moved into first place alone in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White by handing the Eagles (8-5) their first league defeat.
3. Croswell-Lexington 64, Yale 57 The Pioneers (12-3) moved into first place alone in the Blue Water Area Conference after handing Yale (14-1) its lone defeat this winter.
4. North Muskegon 63, Ludington 54 The Norsemen improved to 15-1 while handing Ludington (13-1) its only loss.
5. Romulus Summit Academy 58, Detroit Catholic Central 50 Summit (16-1) started off a three-win week with one of its best this season, over the Shamrocks (9-5) at the Always in My Bag Classic.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
East Kentwood (10-1) As noted above and in previous “Breslin Bound” reports, the O-K Red is as competitive as it gets in Michigan this season, and East Kentwood is the only team to start off 2-0 in league play – thanks to a 69-68 win over Rockford and 66-55 victory over West Ottawa last week. The Falcons’ only loss came Dec. 6 to Warren Fitzgerald, 41-40, and a 52-40 win over King two weeks ago is arguably second in impressiveness only to the victory over the Rams – and even more so considering East Kentwood was 12-12 a year ago.
Rockford (10-2) The Rams had been considered the O-K Red favorites by many before that loss to East Kentwood – which came just three days after their only other defeat, 80-71 in overtime to still-unbeaten East Lansing. While Rockford will have plenty of tough matchups to navigate the rest of the way – including a 2K26 showdown with Grand Rapids Northview on Jan. 31 – surely the Rams have circled the Feb. 3 rematch at East Kentwood as a must-win as they seek to clinch a third-straight league title.
DIVISION 2
Adrian (11-2) Mid-December back-to-back losses to Ypsilanti Lincoln and Jackson have Adrian tied for third in the Southeastern Conference White. But those are the Maples’ only defeats this season as they chase a league title repeat. The rematches are Friday at Lincoln and Feb. 3 at Jackson, and Adrian should have sights set on big postseason goals as well after also making the Regional Finals in finishing 21-5 a year ago. The Maples are coming off handing Onsted its only loss, and earlier gave New Haven one of its two defeats.
Paw Paw (10-5) The Red Wolves remain atop the Wolverine Conference despite a loss to Edwardsburg last week, and if they hold on would win a second-straight championship after finishing only 12-14 overall just two seasons ago. Paw Paw made a big jump to 19-4 last winter and has won five of six since the start of this calendar year including 55-48 over Traverse City West on Saturday at the Jeff McDonald Memorial Showcase. All four in-state defeats are to teams 8-4 or better this winter.
DIVISION 3
Pewamo-Westphalia (10-2) The Pirates’ losses were by a combined six points to a pair of larger Grand Rapids-area opponents that are a combined 19-4 overall – Grand Rapids Catholic Central by four and undefeated Grandville by two. Meanwhile, P-W stands alone atop the Central Michigan Athletic Conference thanks to a 61-38 win over second-place Fowler, part of a streak of 38 straight league wins. Those tough defeats no doubt will be good prep as the Pirates attempt to return to the Semifinals for the second-straight season.
Niles Brandywine (9-4) The Bobcats got through a rough stretch of three straight losses over the first few weeks of January, to South Haven, Berrien Springs and Benton Harbor. But they remain second in the Lakeland Conference and surely are circling the Feb. 6 rematch with leader Berrien Springs, which won their Jan. 9 matchup 73-70 in triple overtime. Brandywine also has a notable win over Battle Creek Pennfield and is only two seasons removed from winning Division 3 in 2023-24.
DIVISION 4
Adrian Lenawee Christian (8-4) After starting this season 2-4, Lenawee Christian has won six straight and is 7-0 in league play to sit alone atop the Tri-County Conference. A 61-60 win over second-place Ottawa Lake Whiteford on Jan. 9 put the Cougars on top, and they also started the second half of the TCC schedule with a 54-53 win over Erie Mason last week. All four losses came to teams that have won at least 10 games this season, which surely will be useful experiences as Lenawee Christian seeks to build on last year’s Quarterfinal run as well.
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (10-1) The reigning Division 4 champion is under new leadership, somewhat, as previous assistant Brent Voorhees took over this season after the retirement of Mark Keeler, who won 721 games over nearly four decades. The only loss this season came to Division 2 Fruitport during the Cornerstone University Holiday Tournament, and Tri-unity opened December by handing Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian what remains its only loss. The Defenders will see Wyoming Lee on Tuesday with first place in the Alliance League on the line.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Leslie (11-2) at Michigan Center (11-1) – This concludes the first half of the Cascades Conference East schedule, and these two are tied for first both at 9-0 in league play.
Tuesday – East Jordan (11-1) at Mancelona (12-1) – East Jordan is the only team undefeated in the Ski Valley Conference, and Mancelona’s only loss came to East Jordan, 48-38 on Dec. 9.
Tuesday – Dearborn Divine Child at Jackson Lumen Christi (10-3) – Divine Child clinched a share of the Catholic High School League AA title thanks to Lumen Christi’s win over second-place Detroit Loyola last week, and now can claim the championship outright.
Friday – Grandville (10-0) at East Kentwood (10-1) – Grandville also opens this week by facing Rockford and all of these teams should know a lot more about where they stand in the O-K Red by the end of Friday night.
Saturday – Muskegon (10-0) at Kalamazoo Central (9-2) – As of today, these two are No. 20 and No. 7, respectively, in Division 1 MPR.
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PHOTOS (Top) Harrison junior Dennis Collin (22) makes an outlet pass during the second half of his team’s 48-24 win over Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy on Jan. 12. (Middle) Gladstone's Lonnie Davey puts up a shot while defended by Ishpeming's Dax Kakkuri (14) and Kenny Ambuehl (3) on Jan. 20. (Harrison/SASA photo by Kolleth Photo. Gladstone/Ishpeming photo by Cara Kamps.)
Lockdown 'D' Proves Key Again as Sacred Heart Continues Title Pursuit
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 14, 2024
EAST LANSING — When your biggest team strength is actually stronger than it’s been all year, that’s pretty much a formula for victory.
Such was the case for Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in its Division 4 Semifinal on Thursday.
The Irish have ridden their defense all year, and did so even more against Allen Park Inter-City Baptist, holding the Chargers to a season-low point total in claiming a 51-33 win at Breslin Center.
Sacred Heart (26-2) advanced to meet Wyoming Tri-unity Christian in the championship game at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
“We play unbelievable defense,” Sacred Heart head coach Justin Sherlock said. “That’s what got us here this far. When you get into the last week of the regular season, it’s one-day preps and you have to stick to your fundamentals. Our guys did that.”
Sacred Heart held Inter-City Baptist to 25.6-percent shooting from the field overall (11 of 43) and 3 of 15 from 3-point range.
“They dictated the game defensively,” Inter-City Baptist head coach Mark Kraatz said. “We haven’t struggled to score this year. Kudos to them. They were able to control us and force us to take shots we haven’t done all year.”
Sacred Heart didn’t exactly light it up from 3-point range (4 of 17), but was 14 of 21 on 2-point shots to make up for it.
“Our offense didn’t look too good in the first half,” Sacred Heart sophomore Noah Zeien said. “We were shooting a lot of threes, and we were bricking them. In that second half, we picked it up on offense and our defense did the same. I think that’s what won us the game.”
Zeien scored 19 points, and senior Aidan Halliday added 11 to lead Sacred Heart (26-2).
Now, the Irish will get a chance for redemption. Sacred Heart suffered a 71-41 loss at Tri-unity Christian in the second game of the season, and Sherlock hopes that experience will pay dividends.
“We’re different now,” Sherlock said. “That was 24 games ago. We’ve gotten better. We’ve gelled more as a team, and I have no doubt our guys won’t be afraid on Saturday. It’s for a state championship.”
Senior Andrew Frank scored 13 points in defeat for Inter-City Baptist (23-5), which made its first Semifinal appearance since its Class D championship year 1985.
“That was not a representation of how we’ve played (this year), but it was also a fair representation of how the opposing team played,” Kraatz said. “They played well. Their defense was just gritty and tough.”
Sacred Heart used a 10-2 run late in the second quarter to take a 22-16 lead into halftime, and then continued that momentum in a big way to start the third quarter.
The Irish opened the third with a 12-0 run to take a 34-16 lead midway through the period and put Inter-City Baptist in a deep hole.
Sacred Heart built its lead to 37-19 with 1:16 left in the third and took a 37-22 lead into the fourth quarter.
Inter-City Baptist cut its deficit to 13 on a couple occasions in the fourth, but that was as close as the Chargers would get.
PHOTOS (Top) Sacred Heart’s Alex Latham (20) walls off Inter-City Baptist’s Luke Taylor during Thursday night’s Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) Grady Pieratt brings the ball upcourt for the Irish. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)