Breslin Bound: Boys District Preview
March 9, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
If cold and snow send us into the gym every winter with basketball on our minds, the recent warmup (at least downstate) lets us know we’ll be moving to Breslin Center shortly.
Those who join us at the end of this month will take their first MHSAA Tournament steps this week.
District tournaments tip off all over the state, and again, for the first time, with the top two seeded teams separated on opposite sides of the bracket. Check out “Tracking the Tournament” on MHSAA.com for every matchup from all of them, and see below for some of last week’s most eye-catching scores and three Districts in each division that especially pop off the page.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected]. Rankings below are by Michigan Power Rating (MPR).
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Ann Arbor Huron 64, Ypsilanti Lincoln 54 – This matchup could very well have been a preview of Huron (19-1) meeting Lincoln (17-3) again in this week’s District Final, as explained below. (Lincoln did bounce back to beat Grand Rapids Catholic Central on Thursday.)
2. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 70, Detroit Cass Tech 65 – The Eaglets (19-1) came out on top in the Operation Friendship matchup of league champions and Division 1 championship hopefuls, with Cass Tech (18-2) also in play for a trip to Breslin.
3. Negaunee 52, Iron Mountain 51 – A last-second basket gave Negaunee (18-2) shares of two conference championships with Iron Mountain, and avenged an 18-point loss to the Mountaineers (19-1) from Jan. 28.
4. Stevensville Lakeshore 53, Portage Central 27 – Lakeshore (16-4) avenged a six-point Jan. 31 loss to Central (16-4) in a big way, and in doing so clinched the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West title outright.
5. Benton Harbor 82, Wyoming 72 – Both finished 18-2 with this final tune-up before the playoffs begin, with Benton Harbor headed into the Division 2 bracket and Wyoming into Division 1.
Districts at a Glance
These could be among our most competitive brackets. Host sites are in bold:
DIVISION 1
Dearborn Fordson
1. River Rouge (19-1), 2. Detroit Cass Tech (18-2), Detroit Western (7-9), Melvindale (6-14), Dearborn Fordson (6-14).
It would take a pretty serious upset for No. 4 River Rouge and No. 9 Cass Tech to not meet in the championship game, and that matchup should be one of the best of the entire Division 1 bracket this month. Rouge was last season’s Division 2 runner-up, falling by three points while in pursuit of its first MHSAA Finals title in this sport since 1999. The Panthers then ended up in Division 1 this season, opened with a 10-point win over Lincoln, and have only an overtime loss to Division 2 contender Grand Rapids Catholic Central on an otherwise perfect ledger. Cass Tech won the Detroit Public School League West and Tournament titles, and its only losses were by one to No. 7 Flint Carman-Ainsworth and in overtime last week to No. 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
Detroit Martin Luther King
1. Eastpointe (17-3), 2. Hamtramck (16-3), Grosse Pointe South (16-4), Detroit Martin Luther King (13-6), Grosse Pointe North (3-16).
There isn’t an easy path through this District, as Eastpointe opens with North and then would face King, while South and Hamtramck match up in the other semifinal. All four of the anticipated semifinalists are ranked between Nos. 21-30 by MPR. Of Hamtramck’s three losses, two were to River Rouge (see above), while Grosse Pointe South and Eastpointe were league champions within the Macomb Area Conference and King won the PSL East (and also took an early loss to Rouge).
Saline/Eastern Michigan University
1. Ann Arbor Huron (19-1), 2. Ypsilanti Lincoln (17-3), Belleville (16-4), Ann Arbor Pioneer (12-8), Saline (13-7), Ypsilanti Community (9-11).
The first five teams listed above rank among the top 50 in Division 1 MPR, with Huron No. 3 and reigning Division 1 champion Lincoln No. 5. Huron won the Southeastern Conference Red that included Pioneer and Saline, and defeated Lincoln last week 64-54. The Railsplitters, of course, feature super sophomore Emoni Bates, and he’s gone over 60 points this season and can put them on his shoulders at any time. Belleville is almost the forgotten team and shouldn’t be – the Tigers won the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East title and rank No. 27 in Division 1 MPR. The openers at this District are scheduled to be played at Saline, with semifinals and the championship game at EMU.
DIVISION 2
Bridgeport
1. Bridgeport (19-1), 2. Frankenmuth (17-3), Clio (15-5), Caro (7-13), Birch Run (3-17), Mt. Morris (6-14).
Home and mostly unstoppable this season, and ranked No. 3 in all of Division 2, Bridgeport is the presumed favorite. But Clio could provide the Bearcats a mighty challenge in tonight’s opener, and No. 11 Frankenmuth on the other side of the bracket and handed Bridgeport its only loss 43-38 on Feb. 7. Bridgeport still won the Tri-Valley Conference East by a game over the Eagles, and also beat them in last season’s District Final before suffering their only loss of the season the next game against Alma to start the Regional.
Hudsonville Unity Christian
1. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (17-3), 2. Hudsonville Unity Christian (16-4), Allendale (14-6), Grand Rapids West Catholic (10-10), Grand Rapids Wellspring Prep (9-11), Wyoming Lee (4-16).
Three of the top 14 in all of Division 2 MPR top this District – No. 1 GRCC, No. 7 Unity Christian and No. 14 Allendale. Unity Christian is the reigning champion in Division 2 and opens against Allendale, which it defeated by 16 in December. Unity went on to win the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green, while GRCC was first, Allendale second and West Catholic fourth in the O-K Blue. GRCC swept those two, losing this season only to Lincoln, No. 2 Benton Harbor and No. 5 Grand Rapids Christian.
St. Clair
1. Macomb Lutheran North (15-3), 2. Richmond (16-4), St. Clair (14-6), Marine City (15-4), New Haven (12-8), Algonac (20-0).
This intriguing grouping includes a pair of MAC co-champs in Marine City (Bronze) and St. Clair (Gold), and the Blue Water Area Conference and Detroit Catholic League AA runners-up in Richmond and Lutheran North, respectively. There have been just a pair of regular-season meetings among the bunch: Marine City edged St. Clair 43-42 on Dec. 19, while Richmond defeated Marine City 58-47 two days before that. All of the first four teams above are ranked among the top 36 in Division 2, with Lutheran North at No. 12 and Richmond No. 19.
DIVISION 3
Bridgman
1. Niles Brandywine (17-3), 2. Bridgman (15-5), Cassopolis (15-5), Watervliet (7-13), Benton Harbor Countryside Academy (7-11).
Brandywine enters No. 3 overall in Division 3 after winning the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red just ahead of co-runner-up Bridgman. Brandywine won their regular-season matchups by 10 and eight points, but they wouldn’t meet again this week until Friday’s championship game. The Bees tonight must get through Cassopolis, which shared the championship in the Southwest 10 Conference. That’s also a rematch, as Bridgman won a Dec. 28 meeting 70-60. Bridgman also opened this season with a 74-38 win over potential Wednesday opponent Countryside.
Erie Mason
1. Erie Mason (17-3), 2. Blissfield (18-2), Petersburg Summerfield (19-1), Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (12-8), Ottawa Lake Whiteford (2-18).
It’s possible no District this week has teams sharing more ties. Erie Mason rode one of the top scorers in the state, now-senior Joe Liedel, to last season’s Division 3 Semifinals. The Eagles won the Lenawee County Athletic Association title this season, claiming a second meeting against runner-up Blissfield 62-58 after falling to the Royals 61-59 in their first meeting. Erie Mason is 12-1 over its last 13 games, but that lone defeat came 47-33 to Petersburg Summerfield, which won the Tri-County Conference handily but suffered its lone loss Jan. 16 to Blissfield. Monroe St. Mary, meanwhile, has to be considered a scary darkhorse, just two season’s removed from making the Division 3 Semifinals and co-runner-up this winter in the Huron League with Division 1 Riverview behind Division 2 Flat Rock. SMCC was eliminated in its District opener last season – in overtime by Blissfield. If Mason defeats Whiteford tonight, it will see SMCC on Wednesday, while Summerfield and Blissfield meet Wednesday on the other side of the bracket.
Mancelona
1. Maple City Glen Lake (18-2), 2. Traverse City St. Francis (17-3), Elk Rapids (12-8), Mancelona (15-5).
All four of these contenders are ranked among the top 39 in Division 3 MPR, with No. 6 Glen Lake leading the way but No. 39 Mancelona looking pretty dangerous as a 15-win host. Those two meet on one side Wednesday, while No. 12 St. Francis and No. 36 Elk Rapids tangle for the third time on the other side of the bracket. St. Francis won both regular-season meetings on the way to the Lake Michigan Conference title, while Glen Lake won the Northwest Conference and Mancelona ran third of three superior contenders in the Ski Valley Conference. St. Francis defeated Glen Lake in last year’s District Final 59-44.
DIVISION 4
Brethren
1. Frankfort (15-5), 2. Brethren (16-4), Onekama (11-9), Manistee Catholic Central (12-8), Mesick (6-14), Bear Lake (2-18).
Frankfort finished the regular season No. 19 overall and Brethren at No. 20, and the Panthers finished Division 4 runners-up a year ago. The bracket is set up for those two to meet Friday. But given this season’s first three months, a number of possibilities for this week seem reasonable. Frankfort finished second in the Northwest Conference to Glen Lake, but split with third-place Onekama winning the first meeting by five but losing the second by three. Brethren shared the West Michigan D League title, but opened this season with a 10-point loss to Manistee Catholic Central before winning the rematch by three six weeks later. Mesick split with MCC and nearly upset Brethren, losing by just a point in their Jan. 31 game. MCC and Mesick join Frankfort on one side of the bracket, with Brethren, Bear Lake and Onekama on the other.
Litchfield
1. Camden-Frontier (17-3), 2. Hillsdale Academy (18-2), Litchfield (11-9), Hillsdale Will Carleton Academy (12-6), Tekonsha (4-15), Coldwater Pansophia (0-15).
If all goes as set up, top-seeded Camden-Frontier will get a third chance against Hillsdale Academy after the latter edged C-F by a game to win the Southern Central Athletic Association East championship. They split their regular-season meetings, the Redskins winning the first 67-46 with Hillsdale Academy winning the second 59-37. Litchfield lost to both but did win the SCAA Central. Will Carleton split with Litchfield, losing the first meeting by two and winning the second by 25. Both of those potential upsetters are on Camden-Frontier’s side of the bracket.
Painesdale Jeffers
1. Dollar Bay (18-2), 2. Chassell (16-4), Painesdale Jeffers (14-6), Lake Linden-Hubbell (9-11), Baraga (2-18).
Dollar Bay has reached the Semifinals and Breslin Center two straight seasons, and started this season off with 17 straight wins. But the Blue Bolts fell to both Chassell and Jeffers over the last 10 days, leading those three teams to share the Copper Mountain Conference’s Copper Country championship. That late surge also helped all three rank among the top 33 in Division 4 MPR, Dollar Bay still tops in the group at No. 11. The Blue Bolts play their first game this week against the host Wednesday after Jeffers won their Friday meeting 49-47. Chassell, which split its two regular-season games with Jeffers, has Copper Country fourth-place finisher Lake Linde-Hubbell tonight with sixth-place Baraga awaiting the winner Wednesday.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. 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 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as 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.
PHOTO: Grand Blanc defeated Flint Beecher 62-55 in a matchup last week of contenders in Divisions 1 and 3, respectively. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)
Saints' Kreski Sets Bar for U.P. Scoring
April 11, 2016
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
Basketball is all about scoring points and stopping teams from scoring.
Gage Kreski of St. Ignace is one of those rare players who excel on both ends of the floor.
Kreski eclipsed a 51-year-old Upper Peninsula scoring record this season while also establishing himself as a defensive ball hawk. That production helped him become Associated Press Class C Player of the Year in Michigan. He was also a three-time Division 7-8 all-state football selection.
Kreski finished his four-year basketball career with 2,178 points, surpassing the mark of 2,140 points set by Dom (Duke) Jacobetti of Negaunee St. Paul from 1962-65. Kreski also became his school's all-time points leader, topping Krista Clement's 2,060. Steve McDonald was the previous boys pace-setter with 1,972.
Just two years ago, Lexi Gussert of Crystal Falls Forest Park became the all-time girls – and overall – scoring leader in the U.P. with 2,630 points. Allison Bailey of Ewen-Trout Creek had set the previous girls mark of 2,131 points in 1996.
"I was not focused on the record," Kreski said recently while on spring break in Panama Beach, Fla. "My goal was to make it deep into the playoffs."
The Saints (17-4), however, were upset by Boyne City in their Class C District opener.
A 6-foot-3, 195-pound point guard who frequently took his defender inside, Kreski scored 519 points this season. His career points will rank 15th on the MHSAA's career list for that category.
On defense, he set an MHSAA record with 450 career steals (Matt Taylor of Pinckney had 363 through 2000). Kreski also set a single-season record of 137 steals this school year and pulled down more than 900 rebounds during his career.
"I like scoring points, but defense is more important and I liked it a little more because I had to do the job," Kreski said, noting coach Doug Ingalls is a stickler about defense, highlighted by frenetic full-court pressure. "Defense first for sure.You play all-out on defense the whole game and the offense goes from there."
Ingalls also runs an offense similar to what he played under his dad, Jack, at Gladstone High School, using a motion approach – or perhaps freelance to a degree.
"We don't have many sets, but we know how to play basketball," Kreski said.
"For us to be good, he had to score a lot. It was all about winning for him," said Ingalls.
Ingalls admitted Kreski's weakness was shooting, but that he made up for it with a sterling overall game. "He has great instincts and is a very, very good athlete," said Ingalls. "I would get on his case because sometimes he was not aggressive enough going for steals. He has the length, the quickness and is savvy. He can guard anybody.
"He gets to the bucket and gets his points in many different ways. I can't imagine anyone being a better all-around basketball player. He is so good at making the right decision. He passes as well as anybody.”
At a time when perimeter scoring is stressed more and more – think of Steph Curry and other potent sharp shooters – Kreski made fewer than 35 shots beyond the 3-point arc this season.
That was drastically different than the method used by Jacobetti, whose career ended more than 20 years before the 3-point shot was adopted. A wing guard for three years before replacing his graduated brother at the point for his final season, Jacobetti's normal shot was from the perimeter, and usually well past today's 3-point arc.
He estimated perhaps 70 percent of his field goal attempts were outside that line, yet he unbelievably converted about 85 percent of his shots. "I shot basically from outside," Jacobetti said.
During his era, many small-school gyms were tiny, with well below regulation-sized floors that allowed offenses to get the ball into scoring range quickly. The feet of spectators often were on the playing floor, and at some gyms the base line was painted on the wall while the three jump circles were often intertwined. Jacobetti pointed out, "You didn't have much room to run an offense."
In his first game on the varsity as a freshman, Jacobetti scored 22 points and did not miss a field goal or free throw. He averaged about 12 points as a freshman, and then raised it to 22, 28 and 32 points per game, respectively, over his final three seasons.
Asked about a potential career behind the arc, Jacobetti said he has not really thought about it much because it wasn't part of the game at that time. "Wherever you had a shot from, you took it," he said of a fairly simple yet very effective approach.
Jacobetti finished three points ahead of Trout Creek legend Jim Manning, who finished his ended in 1961 with 2,137 points. Jacobetti's career ended in a tournament loss at Pickford and he recalled a Sault Ste. Marie sportswriter informing him after the game that he had just set the Upper Peninsula scoring record.
"I was shocked. I had no idea (about the record)," he said, noting it was not a big deal at the time, perhaps because it was only four years old. "It wasn't talked about a great deal."
Jacobetti only remembers one time in his career when scoring was stressed. His coach at the time, Gordy LeDuc, told him the offense would run through him in a game at Negaunee's Lakeview Arena. Just a night earlier, Pat Groleau of Nahma scored 48 points and LeDuc said, "Duke, tonight you're going to break the record."
Jacobetti scored 52 points, but he said, "I didn't feel comfortable because everybody was giving me the ball."
Jacobetti and Kreski share the same idea about basketball. Jacobetti said, "It was win or lose, not really about the points." Kreski, in a telephone chat about 30 minutes earlier, said, "I just tried to win the game. It (McDonald's record) was a goal but winning was first, and for us to win games I had to score a little bit."
He knew about McDonald's mark, obviously, but didn't learn about Jacobetti's record until he was within about 300 points. "It was not the most important thing on my mind," he said.
He said Ingalls told him, "We're not going to do anything that we normally don't do. If it happens, it happens."
It happened Feb. 27 when Kreski produced a single-game best 46 points against Pellston.
While Jacobetti's record lasted 51 years, Kreski's could be erased next season. Jason Whitens of two-time defending Class D champion Powers North Central has already amassed 1,409 points. Whitens scored 623 points this season.
"Records are made to be broken," said Jacobetti. "I never expected it to last as long as it did. Give that kid a lot of credit. I am very happy for him. He sure put in a lot of work and a lot of time. It is quite an accomplishment. I realize what it takes. I put in hours and hours myself (much of it on outdoor courts during winter with snow banks towering around the surface), and I know he did."
Ingalls confirmed that opinion. "I'm disappointed that other varsity basketball coaches didn't have the chance to coach him. They would be amazed at how hard he works.
"That work ethic comes from his parents. His dad Paul played football at Northern Michigan University, and his mother Deanna was a basketball player at NMU and was named to the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
"I have good genes, I guess," Kreski said, noting how both parents have put in time helping him pursue his hoops career. "They never really forced me to play or go work out. They made sure I had a positive attitude and (knew) how to be a good man.
"They have just been awesome in my life. They have had a great impact."
He said Ingalls "has been the man. He did everything for me, and my parents have been there for me all the time. Doug's wife (St. Ignace girls basketball coach Dorene) has pretty much raised me."
Kreski will finish his basketball career at the U.P. All-Star Classic in Marquette on June 18. He will put all his athletic focus on football when he reports to Central Michigan University as an invited walk-on in August. The all-state football player (he played quarterback and defensive back for the Saints) will likely play safety but could also become a wide receiver.
"My body is a little better suited for football," he acknowledged. "To be a point guard in Division I (basketball) you have to be 6-4 and be extremely lightning quick. I'm quick, but not lightning quick."
Just as he has adopted a sensible approach to his athletic future, knowing where he fits and where he may not, Kreski did everything he could to help the Saints before worrying about his personal achievements.
"I'm extremely proud of him and happy for him. I will follow his career at Central," said Jacobetti, who hopes to meet Kreski at the U.P. All-Star Classic.
Top five U.P. boys basketball scorers
2,178 - Gage Kreski, St. Ignace, 2012-2016
2,140 - Dominic Jacobetti, Negaunee St. Paul, 1961-65
2,137 - Jim Manning, Trout Creek, 1957-61
2,086 - Bob Gale, Trout Creek, 1962-66
2,010 - Jim Hammerberg, Baraga, 1992-96
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and again from 1984-2012. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTO: (Top) Gage Kreski pushes the ball upcourt during a game against Pickford in 2015. (Middle) Dom Jacobetti was the previous Upper Peninsula career scoring record holder. (Top photo by Paul Gerard; bottom courtesy of the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame.)