Breslin Bound: Boys C-D Semis Preview
March 19, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
One contender at Thursday’s MHSAA Class C and D Semifinals is hoping to finish this weekend with a third straight championship. Another is hoping to begin a three-season winning streak at the Breslin Center.
Two-time reigning Class D champion Southfield Christian returns four starters and a top sub from its 2013 title team. And Detroit Consortium is seeking its first championship – but led by sophomore Joshua Jackson, arguably the state’s top player regardless of class or grade.
Below is the schedule for all four Thursday Semifinals and four Saturday Finals, plus broadcast information and a look at all eight C and D semifinalists. (Class A and B previews and Friday’s schedule will be posted later Thursday.)
Semifinals - Thursday
Class C
Pewamo-Westphalia (22-2) vs. Muskegon Heights (20-3), 1 p.m.
Detroit Consortium (23-2) vs. Negaunee (24-1), 2:50 p.m.
Class D
Frankfort (20-6) vs. Southfield Christian (24-1), 6 p.m.
Cedarville (23-2) vs. Adrian Lenawee Christian (20-4), 7:50 p.m.
Finals - Saturday
Class A - Noon
Class B - 6:30 pm
Class C - 4:30 pm
Class D - 10 am
Tickets cost $8 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session. All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.TV on a pay-per-view basis. All four Finals will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit-PLUS. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
And now, a look at the Semifinalists in Class C and D.
Class C
DETROIT CONSORTIUM
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 2
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Tobias Tuomi, first season (23-2)
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 67-61 over No. 1 Mount Clemens in Quarterfinal, 64-48 over No. 5 Detroit Allen in Regional Semifinal, 72-57 over Class A No. 5 Saginaw Arthur Hill, 58-43 over Class A No. 7 Detroit Southeastern, 79-72 over Class A No. 6 Romulus, 87-70 over Class B No. 9 Detroit Country Day, 67-52 over Class B honorable mention Detroit Douglass.
Players to watch: Joshua Jackson, 6-8 soph. G/F (25 ppg, 14.7 rpg, 5.2 apg, 3.9 spg, 3.7 bpg); Ronald Booth, 5-9 sr. G (12.1 ppg, 8.2 apg, 3.2 spg).
Outlook: Consortium has beaten a schedule loaded with top teams from Classes A, B and C, similar to how Johnson loads up a stat sheet in every category – he also had 30 3-pointers entering the week making 46 percent of those attempts and 70 percent from the field as a whole. Two more guards, senior Rudy Smith (9.7) and sophomore Luster Johnson (10.5), add to the potent offense.
MUSKEGON HEIGHTS
Record/rank: 20-3, No. 9
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Dalrecus Stewart, second season (39-8)
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 1979) eight runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 59-57 over honorable mention Hillsdale in Quarterfinal, 72-59 over Saugatuck in District opener, 67-66 over Benton Harbor, 92-52 over Class D No. 7 Baldwin.
Players to watch: Eddrick Tornes, 6-1 sr. G (12 ppg); Aaron Sydnor, 6-3 sr. G/F (10.6 ppg).
Outlook: Muskegon Heights’ return to Breslin comes after it finished Class B runner-up in 2011, closed in spring 2012 and reopened that fall as a public school academy. The Tigers have one of the longest traditions of success in MHSAA history, with their first championship game appearance in 1939. Their losses this season are as notable as their best wins: by only one to No. 6 Shelby, just four to Class A Rockford and 12 to Class A Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills.
PEWAMO-WESTPHALIA
Record/rank: 22-2, No. 10
League finish: First in Central Michigan Athletic Conference
Coach: Luke Pohl, 17th season (312-75)
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1993.
Best wins: 42-41 over Flint Beecher in Quarterfinal, 59-55 over No. 6 Shelby in Regional Final, 57-46 over honorable mention Hillsdale, 66-19 over Class D honorable mention Fulton.
Players to watch: Lane Smith, 6-5 sr. C (11.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg); Nick Spitzley, 6-2 sr. G (18.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg).
Outlook: This run has been a career quest for a group of nine seniors, including five who start. The Pirates have won four straight league titles and Regional championships two of the last three seasons. Spitzley is a four-year standout and one of the top scorers in school history – he also had 61 3-pointers entering the week. As a team, P-W has shot an impressive 47 percent from the floor, with six players drilling at least 10 3-pointers. They are a combined five points from perfection, falling only to Detroit Loyola by two in the third game this season and Fulton by three before avenging with a 47-point win over the Pirates.
NEGAUNEE
Record/rank: 24-1, No. 3
League finish: First in Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference
Coach: Michael O’Donnell, ninth season (173-47)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recently 2000), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 63-42 over honorable mention East Jordan in Quarterfinal, 64-48 over Ishpeming in District Final, 61-55 over Class A honorable mention Marquette.
Players to watch: Tyler Jandron, 6-1 sr. G (17.5 ppg, 4.2 apg, 3.3 spg); Eric Lori, 5-10 sr. G (16.6 ppg, 3.6 apg).
Outlook: Negaunee was played closer by a lot of its opponents compared to during last season’s run to the Breslin, but the results were the same. The Miners have rattled off 21 straight wins since falling to Marquette and beat the Redmen along the way. Jandron and Lori are back as the team’s top-two leading scorers and with junior Robert Loy make up a strong three-guard backcourt. Total the trio had combined for 92 3-pointers heading into this week.
Class D
ADRIAN LENAWEE CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 20-4, honorable mention
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Scott McKelvey, second season (39-8)
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 56-51 OT over No. 5 Battle Creek St. Philip in Quarterfinal, 44-42 over Morenci in District Final, 46-44 over Class B honorable mention Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.
Player to watch: Grant Holbein, 6-2 sr. G (11.1 ppg).
Outlook: Lenawee Christian avenged its lone loss to a Class D team, Morenci, with a close win in the District Final, and has taken a few more steps after finishing 19-4 and as Regional runner-up in 2012-13. The Cougars’ other losses this season were to Class B No. 1 Jackson Lumen Christi, Class C No. 5 Detroit Allen and Class C honorable mention Addison.
CEDARVILLE
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 6
League finish: First in Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference
Coach: Dave Duncan, 24th season (404-168)
Championship history: Class D champion 2007, three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 60-53 over honorable mention Frankfort, 63-57 over No. 8 Hillman in Regional Final, 81-79 over No. 2 Powers North Central in Quarterfinal.
Player to watch: Joey Duncan, 6-0 jr. G (21 ppg).
Outlook: Cedarville is plenty familiar with the season’s final week having won Regional titles eight of the last nine seasons, but is back at the Semifinals for the first time since finishing Class D runner-up in 2009. Joey Duncan was named all-state Tuesday and leads a squad with only three seniors. The Trojans scored at least 80 points in 11 games.
FRANKFORT
Record/rank: 20-6, honorable mention
League finish: Second in Northwest Conference
Coach: Reggie Manville, third season (41-23)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 47-44 over honorable mention Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 75-71 over No. 7 Baldwin, 47-45 over Class C honorable mention Traverse City St. Francis.
Players to watch: David Loney, 6-3 jr. C (20.1 ppg, 11.2 rpg); Brandon Schaub, 5-10 sr. G (9.5 ppg, 2.3 apg).
Outlook: Frankfort played in its second straight Quarterfinal on Tuesday and advanced to its first Semifinal since 1969. The Panthers got that chance in part because they were able to get past Suttons Bay, which beat Frankfort twice during the regular season to finish on top of the Northwest Conference. Loney was named all-state Tuesday and keys an offense that is otherwise balanced, with six more players averaging 4-6 ppg. Manville formerly coached at Flint Southwestern for 14 seasons and then Big Rapids for one during the 1980s and 90s.
SOUTHFIELD CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 24-1, No. 1
League finish: First in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue
Coach: Clennie Brundidge, first season (24-1)
Championship history: MHSAA champion 2013 and 2012.
Best wins: 61-44 over No. 4 Peck in Quarterfinal, 54-51, 68-56 and 67-62 (Regional Final) over No. 9 Allen Park Inter-City Baptist, 75-62 and 66-47 over Auburn Hills Oakland Christian.
Players to watch: Bakari Evelyn, 6-1 jr. G (16 ppg, 4.6 apg); Lindsey Hunter IV, 5-10 sr. G (14.8 ppg); Damarco White, 6-6 sr. F (8.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg), Eugene Brown, 6-5 soph. G (11.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg).
Outlook: Southfield Christian is playing for its third straight MHSAA title, this time under promoted assistant Brundidge – who also has coached at Southfield and Troy. Hunter and White were named all-state and Brown received an honorable mention, and Evelyn joined Brown, White and junior guard Kameron Garner among starters in last season’s Final. The only loss this winter came to Class A No. 5 Saginaw Arthur Hill.
PHOTO: Pewamo-Westphalia's Nick Spitzley (right) matches up with Aquavius Burks during the Pirates' comeback win over reigning Class C champion Flint Beecher in Tuesday's Quarterfinal. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)
Class B Final: They leave as champions
March 24, 2012
EAST LANSING – Lansing Sexton coach Carlton Valentine described Saturday night how every one of his four senior starters fit into a puzzle the last three seasons.
All could star for most teams. But they each contributed a few outstanding skills that together pushed the Big Reds to one of the most dominating runs in MHSAA history.
Together one last time, they combined for a memorable closing performance in the Class B Final at the Breslin Center.
In its third-straight title game appearance, Sexton won its second-straight championship, downing Stevensville-Lakeshore 67-32 in the last game of the winter season.
“Not just winning, but winning with these guys, playing with these guys, is like a blessing,” Sexton senior Anthony Clemmons said. “To have guys around me chasing the same dream as me … I think everybody sacrificed something to win. And to have a winning coach too, you can’t forget him, having him (to) put us through a lot. We deserved it.”
The Big Reds finished 27-1 this season. On its own, that’s impressive enough. But consider:
Sexton’s 74 wins over three seasons is tied for sixth-most in MHSAA history for that long of a stretch.
The Big Reds went undefeated as the only Class B team among all Class As in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue, arguably the strongest league in the state this season.
They won all of their games by at least eight points, taking down Class A Semifinalist Romulus, highly-ranked Lansing Eastern twice, Class A Quarterfinalist Okemos twice and Class A reigning champion Kalamazoo Central, plus No. 4 Lansing Catholic and No. 3 Detroit Country Day during the postseason.
That only loss was by one, 81-80, to Detroit Pershing. The Doughboys were ranked No. 1 in Class A at the time.
“These guys have endured just so much pressure, being number one all year, being the number one team in the state of Michigan, regardless of class,” Sexton coach Carlton Valentine said.
“This was the number one basketball team in the state of Michigan.”
That the Big Reds would finish tops in Class B was well-established midway through the second quarter. Sexton rattled off 14 straight points and ended the first half on a 20-2 run that made the score 32-10.
And the Big Reds did so with the Iowa-bound Clemmons playing only 11 minutes because of a back injury suffered in the second quarter. Mr. Basketball runner-up Denzel Valentine capped a four-year varsity career with 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. He’ll next suit up for Michigan State. Senior Bryn Forbes, who has signed with Cleveland State, scored a game-high 19 points. Junior forward Jalen Hayes, who has emerged as the team’s star-in-waiting over the last two seasons, had 12 points.
“That’s one of the best high school basketball teams I’ve seen in the state of Michigan,” Lakeshore coach Sean Schroeder said. “For us to compete at a better level tonight, we had to make some shots. When you shoot 23 percent for the ball game, it’s difficult to compete with a team that good.”
Lakeshore (24-3) entered the tournament ranked No. 7 and was playing in its first MHSAA Final.
“I think what I’ll remember about this team the most is we always played tough no matter what game it was. We never gave up today,” Lancers senior Loren Johnson said. “I’ll always remember making it to Breslin, the championship game. And I’ll always remember this loss too. It’s not a good feeling. But I’m glad we made it here.”
Sexton finished its first trip to Breslin of this recent string with a loss to Detroit Country Day in the 2010 Final.
The Big Reds have won four games at MSU since – but will try to come back next season without Denzel Valentine, Clemmons, Forbes and Jeff Cain, those four starters who have played together since elementary school.
“I think we’re pretty good. I don’t know about the greatest ever. But we put a lot of hard work in,” Forbes said. “These guys have been grinding ever since I met them, 11 years ago. But yeah, I think we’ll go down as one of the greatest.”
Click for box score or to watch the game and press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTOS: (Top) Sexton players pose for photos after receiving their medals and trophy for winning the Class B championship. (Middle) Big Reds freshman Trevor Manuel slammed down two of his five points. (Bottom) Bryn Forbes led Sexton with 19 points, including two on this dunk. (See more at Terry McNamara Photography.)