Breslin Bound: Boys District Preview
March 9, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The reigning Class D champion is playing in Class C this season. Last year’s Class A and B champions have only three losses between them. And there are four undefeated teams in Class D – with next week’s Regional the earliest two can meet up.
We’ve got a chance to see some familiar faces for the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals in three weeks, and likely a higher probability of seeing a few teams that have yet to lose this winter. But to determine who makes the trip, a ton of basketball must yet be played – beginning tonight.
To kick off Districts, this week's Breslin Bound report looks at five teams in each class that have made some of the biggest waves throughout this winter. Click to “track the tournament,” with results as we receive them and interactive brackets.
Class A
Clarkston (20-0) – The Wolves equaled last season’s win total by going undefeated during the regular season and now will be charged with surpassing last year’s Regional Final appearance. Clarkston won all but three games by double figures, including over Macomb Dakota (18-2) and Auburn Hills Avondale (17-3) during December and twice over North Farmington and Mr. Basketball candidate Jeron Rogers.
Detroit Western International (19-0) – The Cowboys posted big wins early, including 69-57 over Saginaw Arthur Hill (17-3), then rolled through the Detroit Public School League to win that championship for the first time since 1922. A 58-49 win over Detroit U-D Jesuit (17-3) in last week’s Operation Friendship game further cemented Western as a likely favorite.
East Kentwood (20-0) – The Falcons handed reigning Class A champion Muskegon its only loss, 58-57 on Dec. 30, and also beat a solid Birmingham Brother Rice team in December before storming through the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red to win that league title by three games. East Kentwood had finished second in the league and 13-8 overall a year ago.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (20-0) – The Rangers repeated as champions in the O-K White, this season by four games, and own a 59-55 win over O-K Bronze champion Grand Rapids Northview (17-3), which ended Forest Hill Central’s 2013-14 season in the District Final. The Rangers twice beat Grand Rapids Christian, led by Mr. Basketball candidate DeLeon Brown.
Muskegon (19-1) – The Big Reds have more than made up for their first loss (see East Kentwood above) since 2012-13. Muskegon edged Saginaw Arthur Hill by two in mid-December, then beat Romulus (14-5) by 10 in mid-January and River Rouge (15-5) in the regular-season finale – in addition to winning the O-K Black by three games. Center Deyonta Davis is a favorite, perhaps the favorite, for the Mr. Basketball Award.
Class B
Flint Northwestern (15-3) – The Wildcats had a few stumbles through the middle and end of February, but still won the Saginaw Valley Association South by three games, losing only to third-place Flint Powers Catholic, Class A power Arthur Hill and Class C contender Flint Beecher. Northwestern opened this winter with a 10-game winning streak after finishing 6-13 only a season ago.
Milan (18-2) – The reigning Class B champion is revved for another run with 11 straight wins and another Huron League title that included a pair of victories over second-place Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (17-3). Milan's losses were to Class A contenders Romulus and Detroit U-D Jesuit, and all 18 wins came by double-digit points.
New Haven (20-0) – The Rockets launched from 12-9 a year ago to return to a form more similar to their 19-4 team of 2012-13. They won the Macomb Area Conference Gold championship by three games, but the tournament will be an interesting test – New Haven moved up this school year from Class C. A 51-43 win over MAC Blue champion Mount Clemens on Feb. 27, however, is a good sign.
Wayland (17-3) – Although the Wildcats finished behind Class A Ottawa Hills in the O-K Gold standings, they lost only to Class A teams this season – twice to Ottawa Hills and once to Middleville Thornapple Kellogg – and posted a 17-point win on Otsego (17-3). Lacey James is a Mr. Basketball candidate and could carry Wayland far if it can get past Godwin Heights this week.
Wyoming Godwin Heights (19-1) – The Wolverines came back from a January loss to Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian to avenge two weeks later and finish as champion again in the O-K Silver. Godwin Heights is 44-2 over the last two seasons, having fallen in the 2014 Quarterfinals, and looks lined up for another run with February wins against North Farmington (17-3), Otsego and then Grand Rapids Christian on Tuesday.
Class C
Beaverton (20-0) – The Beavers have won at least 20 games three straight seasons and earned the Jack Pine Conference title. They won by fewer than double digits only three times – including twice over league-runner-up Clare (15-5). Beaverton also won a pair over Class D Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (14-5) and by 16 over Vestaburg (17-2).
Flint Beecher (18-1) – The Buccaneers should be back in championship contention after falling by a point in last year’s Quarterfinals. They again won the Genesee Area Conference Red, this time by two games over Class B Goodrich (18-2), and also posted impressive victories over Saginaw (14-6), Flint Northwestern, River Rouge and reigning Class C champion Detroit Consortium (12-5).
Jackson Lumen Christi (18-2) – The Titans should be scary in Class C after making the Regional Finals in Class B last season and then finishing atop an Interstate 8 Athletic Conference filled with larger schools. Lumen Christi won the league title by a game over Class B Battle Creek Harper Creek (18-2) and also owns impressive wins over Hanover-Horton (19-1) and Flint Powers Catholic (14-6).
Hillsdale (20-0) – The Hornets have won at least 20 games four straight seasons and are looking to improve on last year’s Quarterfinal run. Hillsdale capped the regular season with a 53-50 win last week over Vandercook Lake (15-5), opened with a win over Adrian Madison (15-5) and also twice beat Onsted (16-4) to win the Lenawee County Athletic Association championship.
Southfield Christian (17-3) – The back-to-back-to-back Class D champion is up a class and continued to play a number of larger opponents, losing to North Farmington and Detroit Pershing during the season’s first two weeks. The Eagles came back to win the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue with a pair of victories over rival Allen Park Inter-City Baptist (16-4).
Class D
Cedarville (20-0) – The Trojans haven’t slowed a bit since reaching last season’s Semifinals, cruising to another Eastern U.P. Athletic Conference championship while reaching 20 wins for the third straight season. Cedarville fit in a couple of downstate opponents in early January and beat Boyne City (15-5) last week, to go with domination of its local opponents including a 100-86 win in mid-February over Rudyard (15-5).
Hillman (19-1) – The Tigers just edged Lawrence as the only non-undefeated team on this list after winning the North Star League Big Dipper with a pair of wins over Mio (17-2). Hillman also put up a 10-point nonleague win early over Rudyard (15-5) and hasn’t lost since falling to Cedarville on opening night – after also losing to Cedarville in last season’s Regional Final.
Lake Linden-Hubbell (20-0) – The Lakes have climbed from three to 16 to 19 to 20 wins over the last four seasons. They won the Copper Country Conference title by two games over runner-up Republic-Michigamme (16-4). Lake Linden-Hubbell won all but one of its games by double digits.
Powers North Central (20-0) – The high-scoring Jets have shined again, putting up more than 90 points twice and more than 80 five more times. They dominated the Skyline Central Conference West with a pair of wins over Crystal Falls Forest Park (16-4) and earned another over SCC East champ Munising (18-1). North Central is 45-1 over the last two seasons, with the only loss to Cedarville in last year’s Quarterfinal.
Waterford Our Lady (20-0) – The Lakers also have made great strides, from 11 to 12 to 17 to 20 wins over the last four seasons. They won the Detroit Catholic League Intersectional #1 title by four games and added to an impressive run with wins over Southfield Bradford (14-6), Harbor Beach (15-4) and Burton St. Thomas More Academy (15-2).
PHOTO: Muskegon's Deyonta Davis (21) goes for a blocked shot during a January game against Saginaw Arthur Hill. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
No Close Call This Time for Romulus
March 22, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Romulus made three trips to the MHSAA Semifinals from 2008-12, and missed out on three championship game berths by a combined five points.
How focused are the Eagles on finishing the job this time around? Consider how they started and finished Thursday’s 76-67 Semifinal victory over Grand Rapids Christian.
Romulus jumped out to a 10-0 lead over the first two minutes from which Christian never recovered. And after the final buzzer, it was impossible to tell which team had just earned a chance to play for the Class A championship.
“We all know what it feels like (from) when we lost to Rockford (last season). We know we should’ve won,” Romulus senior E.C. Matthews said. “We’re all playing with a chip on our shoulders. Everybody came in with a mentality to win.”
Romulus (26-1) will face either reigning champion Saginaw or Detroit Southeastern in Saturday’s noon Final. It will be the first championship game for Romulus since falling by three to Holt in 2005.
Romulus reached the Semifinals in 2008, 2009 and 2012, losing by two in overtime and then by one in each of the next two games, respectively. Romulus also made the Quarterfinals in 2011. It does own one championship, from 1986.
“It feels good to finally get back to the championship. … These guys have kinda made that their goal,” said Romulus coach Nate Oats, who has led the program to all but its first trip to the Finals. “They’ve worked extremely hard to put themselves in the spot they’ve put themselves in.
"We’re a lot more focused. We’ve got pretty mature kids who come in with a business-like mindset.”
And that effort this time was led by Matthews, who has signed with Rhode Island. Oats said he’ll play point guard at the college level, but Romulus has a college-caliber point guard too in Missouri recruit Wesley Clark. So Oats moved Matthews to wing this season, and he more than doubled his team-leading scoring average (16.2) on Thursday, finishing with 37 points on 17 of 26 shooting from the floor. As a team, Romulus made 48 percent of its shots and scored 20 points on the fastbreak.
Clark had seven points but eight rebounds and nine assists, and 6-foot-8 Louisiana Tech signee Leonardo Edwards had 12 points and nine rebounds manning the post.
But similarly clutch was senior guard Lowell Wade, who was responsible much of the game for covering Grand Rapids Christian junior Drake Harris.
The hero of the Division 4 Football Final in November, Harris has seemingly upped his already-substantial game to go along with Christian’s recovery from a 2-4 start and run to East Lansing. He had 25 points in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal win over Muskegon and scored 25 more in the Semifinal – which he said was his final high school basketball game as he plans to enroll early at whichever college he chooses to continue his football career.
Two of Harris’ points pulled Grand Rapids Christian within six of the lead with 5:29 to play. But that was the closest he and his Eagles got during the game’s final 12 minutes.
“Drake’s been a go-to guy, a tough matchup. They forced us into some tough shots, but it was one of those nights,” Grand Rapids Christian coach Steve Majerle said. “If we did it all over again, we’d probably do the same thing, just do it better. They did better what they do than we did what we do.”
Junior Dwayne Barfield added 12 points, seven rebounds and seven steals for Christian, and junior DaRohn Scott had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Grand Rapids Christian finished 20-7 and won 10 straight before Thursday. “If you’d seen where we started and where we ended, it was like night and day,” Majerle said. “If you saw our first game, we’re not the same team.”
Romulus, which entered the tournament ranked No. 2, was able to avoid a letdown after beating No. 1 Detroit Pershing in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal. Now back in a Final, the Eagles will be sure to remain even keeled in preparation for hoisting a championship trophy.
“We’re not that high. We were here last year, so we know what it feels like,” Matthews said. “We’re listening to Oats. He’s leading us. He’s telling us all the right things.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Romulus' Wesley Clark (right) tries to get up a shot around Grand Rapids Christian's Davaris Collier (3). (Middle) Romulus' E.C. Matthews (right) prepares to drive against Christian's Joel Zwiers (34). (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)