Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Boys Report Week 9
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 2, 2026
February has arrived, and with it a few dates to put on your boys basketball calendar.
Only three weeks remain this regular season, with District play beginning Feb. 23.
A week before that, on Feb. 15, final District brackets for boys basketball will be published to this website.
For additional details, check out the MPR FAQ page – and see below for context on some of last week’s results and games coming up that could affect where teams land when those brackets are drawn.
“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. Kalamazoo Central 95, Muskegon 80 The Maroon Giants (11-2) always schedule tough, and handing Muskegon (11-1) its only loss – avenging a 23-point defeat from the year before – surely has been Central’s best win this winter.
2. East Kentwood 54, Grandville 52 We said last week that the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red was set to begin sorting itself out, and we ended the week with East Kentwood in first place alone after handing Grandville (10-3) one of its three losses over four days.
3. Dearborn Divine Child 55, Jackson Lumen Christi 53 Divine Child (16-2) clinched the outright Catholic High School League AA title, adding this clincher to a three-point win over Lumen Christi (12-4) from December.
4. Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 51, Wyoming Lee 49 With this close call, Tri-unity (12-1) took a slight lead over Lee (11-3) at the top of the Alliance League standings, with the rematch set for Feb. 13.
5. Michigan Center 68, Leslie 53 These two entered the week tied for first in the Cascades Conference East, and Michigan Center (14-1) is now two games ahead after Leslie (12-4) also fell to Manchester by four points.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Detroit Martin Luther King (10-4) The Crusaders are the only team undefeated in Detroit Public School League Blue play, thanks in part to a 45-38 overtime win over Detroit Denby last week and also a 30-point win over second-place Douglass in their only league game of December. King also is 9-1 since an 0-3 start that saw December losses to Lansing Waverly, East Lansing and Detroit Catholic Central by a combined 13 points, with the DCC defeat coming in overtime. King downed Kalamazoo Central to begin the new year and also solidified its league standing with a 60-53 victory over Cass Tech.
Flushing (13-3) The Raiders have improved from six to eight to 14 wins over the last three seasons, respectively, to one more victory this winter from tying last year’s total and with several more games to play. Flushing claimed a matchup of league leaders last week, representing the Flint Metro League Stripes well with a 50-46 win over FML Stars leader Goodrich. Flushing actually has clinched a share of the Stripes championship as it takes a three-game lead into this week and with only three league games left on the schedule. A 63-52 win over Flint Powers Catholic on Jan. 20 also was especially notable.
DIVISION 2
Gladwin (14-1) The Flying Gs opened this winter with a four-point defeat to Sanford Meridian, and haven’t lost again. They lead the Jack Pine Conference Division 1 by three games with four league matchups left and after finishing second to Standish-Sterling a year ago. Standish-Sterling also ended Gladwin’s 2024-25 season in the District, but Gladwin claimed their first meeting this year 50-42 – and the rivals meet again Friday. The Flying Gs face JPC Division 2 co-leader Beaverton on Tuesday, and a win could set Gladwin up to see Meridian again in the league crossover in two weeks.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (11-4) The Cougars opened this season 1-3 taking losses from Rockford, Grand Rapids Northview and Grand Rapids South Christian, which are a combined 37-7. But after also starting this calendar year with a two-point defeat against Holland Christian, Catholic Central has won eight straight with an impressive 80-44 victory over Macomb L’Anse Creuse North on Saturday the latest of the notable run. A 48-43 win over Grand Rapids Christian has the Cougars first in the O-K White, and those two meet again Feb. 17.
DIVISION 3
Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac (9-2) The reigning Division 3 runner-up has navigated a tough schedule with losses to only Charter School Conference Gold rivals Romulus Summit Academy North and Hamtramck and notable wins over reigning Division 2 champion Warren Lincoln plus Ecorse, Harper Woods Chandler Park, North Farmington and Detroit Edison – the last three in that list all in overtime. The Lions are third in the Gold heading into the league tournament and could have an opportunity to avenge one or both losses.
Elk Rapids (12-3) The Elks are undefeated in the Northern Shores Conference as they pursue a third-straight league title including a second-straight in the NSC. Their current advantage in the standings came in part thanks to a 54-49 win over second-place Cheboygan on Jan. 6, with the rematch set for Tuesday. The losses were to Ludington, Kingsford and Petoskey – all Division 1 or 2 schools – and the 65-55 defeat against Ludington came in overtime and remains the only time the team has fallen since Dec. 11.
DIVISION 4
Detroit Douglass (12-5) The loss to King noted above has Douglass second in the PSL Blue, which is extraordinary considering the rest of the league is filled by Division 1 and 2 opponents. Douglass has downed Renaissance and Denby among others, and also picked up a solid nonleague win over Saginaw United, 63-59. The other losses are impressive as well, to Benton Harbor by only two points, Warren Cousino by one, Detroit University Prep and most recently Ann Arbor Pioneer. All but University Prep have double-digit wins.
Hillsdale Academy (13-2) The Colts opened this season falling to one of the best in Division 4, Concord, but last week handed Mendon its only loss, 78-65 in overtime. Hillsdale Academy’s only other defeat came to Jonesville, which is tied for first in the Cascades Conference West. The next showdown is tonight, as the Colts face Waldron for first place in the Southern Central Athletic Association East and with Hillsdale Academy’s 41-game league winning streak on the line.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – McBain (13-1) at Beal City (13-0) – The Aggies are in first place in the Highland Conference and McBain is in second because Beal City won their first matchup 49-41 on Dec. 19.
Tuesday – Ypsilanti Lincoln (15-1) at Chelsea (10-3) – Lincoln’s 55-53 win over Chelsea on Dec. 19 has the Railsplitters atop the Southeastern Conference White, and claiming this rematch would all but lock up a share of the league title.
Tuesday – Rockford (13-2) at East Kentwood (13-1) – East Kentwood’s 69-68 win over Rockford on Jan. 13 separates those two at the top of the O-K Red standings.
Thursday – New Haven (13-2) at Warren Woods Tower (15-1) – The Titans can clinch the Macomb Area Conference Gold championship with a win over second-place New Haven after also claiming their first matchup 41-39 on Jan. 20.
Friday – East Lansing (16-0) at Lansing Waverly (12-3) – The Trojans haven’t lost a Capital Area Activities Conference Blue game since Feb. 24, 2023, with a 74-62 win over second-place Waverly on Dec. 18 the difference in this season’s standings.
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PHOTOS (Top) Grand Blanc’s Emmanuel Cooley gets to the rim during his team’s 54-47 win over Clarkston last month. (Middle) Escanaba’s Lennox Peacock pulls up for a shot during a January defeat against Marquette. (Grand Blanc/Clarkston photo by Terry Lyons. Escanaba/Marquette photo by Randy Ritari.
Hart Teammates Reunite After 80 Years Now as WWII Vets, Great-Grandfathers
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
June 7, 2023
Walter “Stretch” Hansen and Harold Tate were good friends and high school basketball and baseball teammates at Hart High School, graduating in 1943.
No one could have guessed that less than two months after graduation (on July 2, 1943), the two friends would head to Fort Custer in Battle Creek, the first stop on their way overseas to fight for their country in World War II.
No one could have imagined how many twists and turns their lives would take over the next 80 years – from the battlefields in the South Pacific, then back to West Michigan where they both were married with children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and now Harold even has a great-great-grandchild.
And, certainly, no one would have believed that the two young boys from Hart – who forged a friendship through high school sports long before the days of computers, microwave ovens and cell phones – would still be alive at the age of 98 for an emotional reunion last month, on May 22, seeing each other for the first time in 80 years and, to cap it off, the reunion took place in their hometown of Hart.
“It was such a great day,” Hansen said about the meeting, which was set up by Muskegon-area World War II historian Richard Mullally.
“We picked right up, talking about sports and the service and everything else.”
The conversation came easy for the two old friends, who played for Hart during a “golden era” at the school – particularly in basketball, as the Pirates won 11 West Michigan Conference basketball titles between 1940 and 1954.
Perhaps the best team during that time period was Hansen and Tate’s as seniors in 1943. That team lost only once, to rival Scottville (31-25), but more than made up for it with an 80-10 trouncing of the Spartans in the final regular-season game.
Hart then crushed Scottville and Newaygo to win the District championship, only to have Michigan’s prep basketball season stopped abruptly at that point because of World War II.
That 1943 team featured four starters over 6-0, led by the duo of Hansen and Stan Kapulak (both 6-6), Joe Mack (6-2), Lyle Burmeister (6-1) and Stanley Riley (the lone starter under 6-foot at 5-11).
“The newspapers called us ‘The Hart Skyscrapers,’” said Hansen, who will be 99 on Nov. 6. “We were taller than most college teams at that time.”
Hansen and Tate’s friendship continued to blossom on the baseball field, only to have their lives turned upside down shortly after graduation 80 years ago, when all Hart senior boys who had been drafted headed to Battle Creek as a brief staging area on their way to the battlefields of Europe and the South Pacific.
Hansen served in the Army Specialized Training Program and was part of the 52nd Signal Battalion and the 4025th Signal Battalion in the Pacific Theater.
“I had an all-expense paid tour of the South Pacific,” Hansen said with a chuckle. “The Philippines, New Guinea, Okinawa, Hawaii, all over the place.”
Tate did his service in the 24th Infantry Division and the 19th Infantry Regiment, and was stationed in Japan.
During their visit last month, Harold showed off the Japanese Samurai sword and Arisaka rifle which he had sent back from Japan to Hart. The week after their visit, both took part in Memorial Day parades – Hansen in the Lakeside parade in Muskegon and Tate in his 77th Memorial Day service in Hart.
Hansen, who still has a home on a small lake in Holton and lives at a senior care facility in Muskegon, played many years of semi-pro basketball and did some coaching. He worked at GTE and has five children and 10 grandchildren.
“I have been so blessed,” Hansen said, sorting through one of his many scrapbooks. “All five of my kids are great and I have grandkids that are just amazing, everything they are doing. I don’t even know all of their names, but it’s sure been fun watching them.”
Tate returned to Hart after his military service and has been there ever since, at first working as a carpenter with his father and then becoming a rural mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, retiring 26 years ago at the age of 72. He has lived in the same home for 75 years and has three children, six grandchildren, seven great-grandkids and now one great-great-grandchild.
Tate laments the demise of his beloved American Legion post in Hart, a town with just over 2,000 residents, as the number of members has steadily declined.
One topic that brings a smile to both of their faces is the recent resurgence of the Hart High School athletic program, which drew media attention not too many years ago for all the wrong reasons – notably a football program which went 24 years without a winning record.
That string was snapped with a 6-3 mark and the school’s first earned playoff appearance last fall.
But that was just the start.
This winter, Hart’s boys basketball team finished the regular season 22-0, the girls basketball team made it to the Division 3 Semifinals at the Breslin Center, wrestling qualified for the Team Finals for the fourth-straight year and competitive cheer placed fourth in Division 4. This spring, the Hart girls track & field team won its second-straight Division 3 Finals team title, and the boys placed fourth.
“It’s a great place to call home, a great place to live, always has been,” said Hansen of his hometown, which got its name from its central position in the “heart” of Oceana County.
And who would have imagined that these two high school teammates could still come home again for a reunion at the age of 98?
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Members of the 1943 Hart High School varsity baseball team gather together, preparing for a team photo. Among those are Harold Gayle Tate (far left) and Walter "Stretch" Hansen, at 6-6 the tallest player in the back row. (Middle) Hansen, left, and Tate reunite for the first time in 80 years on Monday, May 22, 2023, in their hometown of Hart. (Below) Hansen served from 1943 to 1946 as a Sergeant in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Tate served from 1945 to 1946 as a Platoon Sergeant in the Pacific Theater during World War II. (Top photo courtesy of Stretch Hansen. Middle and below photos courtesy of Richard Mullally.)