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Breslin Bound: Boys District Review

March 16, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

District week turned into rematch week during some of the most intriguing tournaments of the first round of this season's MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament.

See below for four champions in each class that stuck out, including a number that did so by beating one last time an opponent it had seen a few more over the course of this winter.

Class A

Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills (20-3) – The Bengals added a District title to their Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold championship. Ottawa Hills won 59-56 in the Final over East Kentwood (21-1), the only team to beat reigning Class A champion Muskegon this season, and opened in the Semifinal with a 54-51 edging of Grand Rapids Christian (12-10).

Lansing Everett (21-2) – The Vikings advanced to Regionals for the first time since 2005 after ending the runs of some familiar opponents. Everett beat Capital Area Activities Conference Blue rival and runner-up Grand Ledge (20-3) in the Final, 57-51 – the teams split during the regular season as Everett won the league title. The Vikings beat Blue third-place finisher East Lansing (12-9) in the Semifinal, 59-39, and CAAC Red champion DeWitt (11-10) in the opener 50-43.

Traverse City West (18-5) – The Titans, runners-up in the Big North Conference, eliminated two league champions. They opened with a 58-54 win over Marquette (16-4), the Great Northern U.P. Conference winner, then beat rival Traverse City Central (5-16) in the Semifinal before eliminating Big North champion Alpena (19-3) in the Final, 66-63.

Walled Lake Central (18-5) – The Vikings tied Walled Lake Western (21-2) for the Kensington Lakes Activities Association North title, but moved on to this week by edging Western 40-39 in the District Final. Central set up that opportunity by beating West Bloomfield (18-3) in the Semifinal, 54-52, and Walled Lake Northern (8-13) in the opener. 

Class B

Benton Harbor (17-6) – The Tigers again emerged from this strong group of Class B teams in the Lower Peninsula’s southwest corner. They opened with a 74-55 win over Coloma (7-14), then downed Wolverine Conference West champion Dowagiac (15-5) in the Semifinal, 78-74. Benton Harbor then defeated Buchanan (13-9) in the Final, 53-42.

Eaton Rapids (15-8) – The home of the reigning Class B girls champion can cheer on a boys run this time after the Greyhounds beat Jackson Northwest (13-8), Leslie (16-5) and then Olivet (11-11) to win their District title. Eaton Rapids won the last two games both by double digits.

Frankenmuth (18-4) – Remember the name Mario Whitley; the Eagles’ 6-foot-3 freshman guard had 28 points and 10 rebounds in a District Semifinal 63-52 win over Flint Northwestern (16-4). Frankenmuth’s veterans took over in a 48-44 victory over Caro (10-13) in the Final.

Yale (21-2) – The Bulldogs split the Blue Water Area Conference championship with Imlay City (19-4) and Richmond (16-5), and lost to the former twice during the regular season. But Yale beat Imlay City 59-43 in the District Final after downing Richmond 45-41 in the Semifinal and Armada (3-18) in the opener, 37-36.

Class C

Boyne City (18-5) – The Ramblers edged East Jordan by a game to win the Lake Michigan Conference title despite falling to East Jordan during the opening week in December. Boyne City put an end to their series this season with a 48-45 win over the Red Devils (17-6) in the District Final, after defeating Harbor Springs (2-19) in the Semifinal and Charlevoix (12-9) in the opener.

Hanover-Horton (21-1) – The Comets’ lone loss this season came to Jackson Lumen Christi, by 14, on Dec. 20. But Hanover-Horton got the win when it counted more, downing the Titans (19-3) in the Semifinal 63-61 before clinching the championship 54-47 over Vandercook Lake (17-6), which also finished runner-up to Hanover-Horton in the Cascades Conference race.

Hillsdale (22-0) – There generally aren’t a lot of 20-win teams facing against each other during the tournament’s first week, but Hillsdale emerged from such a matchup, 78-60 over Quincy (21-2) in their District Final. Hillsdale also beat Union City (17-5) in the Semifinal, 77-53.

North Muskegon (16-7) – The Norsemen have more than doubled last season’s seven wins, and moved on to Regionals with a 67-63 District Final win over annual power Muskegon Heights (13-6). North Muskegon also edged Western Michigan Christian (14-7) in the Semifinal, 54-52, and beat Ravenna (4-16) in the opener. 

Class D

Boyne Falls (20-2) – The Loggers have followed up losing to Bellaire in the 2013 District by beating the Eagles in the last two Finals – this time 48-41. Boyne Falls also won the Northern Lakes Conference championship, while Bellaire was the champ in the Ski Valley Conference. The Loggers advanced last week by beating league foe Ellsworth (11-10) by 15 in their Semifinal.

Covert (8-4) – The Bulldogs played an abbreviated regular-season schedule but didn’t look a step behind last week beating Lawrence (21-2) in the District Final, 60-59. Covert also beat St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic (12-10) in the Semifinal and Michigan Lutheran (4-16) in the opener.

Frankfort (20-2) – The Northwest Conference-winning Panthers also had to take on another 20-win team last week, and bested West Michigan D League winner Onekama (20-2) in the District Final, 64-25. Frankfort advanced with a 71-53 win over Buckley in the Semifinal (11-11).

Kalamazoo Heritage Christian (10-12) – After winning only three games in 2013-14 and finishing this winter sub-.500 for the regular season, Heritage Christian was one of last week’s stunners beating Climax-Scotts (17-5) in the Semifinal 54-51 and then Martin (11-11) in the District Final, 45-39 in overtime. 

PHOTO: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central advanced to this week's Regionals with a win over Grand Rapids Northview in their District Final. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

SAC Sound-off: The Sixth Man

February 14, 2012

It's double overtime and your legs are exhausted. The score is tied with 10 seconds left. Your team needs that key play to win the game. It’s do-or-die, and all the while there are fans screaming so loud your ears are ringing.

I don’t know about you, but most athletes get a much-needed boost in adrenaline when they hear this. I know I have.

Crowd noise plays a huge factor in deciding the outcome of the game. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that “double-overtime buzzer-beater” moment. Steady cheering throughout the game can help a team gain momentum and push through while the other team is near exhaustion.

Once in a while, when I’m playing, I’ll glance up at the crowd. Just to see the excitement on their faces gives me the extra drive. They are there to watch you. YOU are the showcase, the main event, the entertainment.

The MHSAA Student Advisory Council has been featuring the best student sections in the state with our “Battle of the Fans” contest. The fan bases for some of the schools in Michigan is incredible. They all have one goal – help their team to victory.

I attend Rudyard High School in the Upper Peninsula. I come from a small area, and the population is much smaller than many communities down-state. Life is a little slower up here, but the townspeople all have one thing we can do to get away from everyday stress – go to the big game.

Whether it be Friday night football, or District Finals in basketball, you can expect to see Main Street empty and the school parking lot full of cars.

One game I will always remember for lots of fans and noise was our basketball Quarterfinal in 2010. I was a sophomore, brought up to varsity toward the end of the regular season. I had gotten more playing time in the playoffs and got to play some solid minutes in the Quarterfinal. We ended up losing the game, but the atmosphere was exhilarating. To step on the court, and look up and witness 3,000 fans going absolutely nuts gave me an experience I will never forget. Keep in mind, Rudyard’s population is a whopping 500 people.

For me, there are those certain fans for whom you always want to perform well. I am always working hard to impress my grandparents. They live more than 100 miles away and still manage to attend a good portion of my games. They always have been supportive, and I always try my best to win for them and for my team.

Then there are the young ones who look up to you. Just this year, my basketball coaches started a youth basketball camp, and every Saturday we open the gym and kids as young as 3-years-old get their chance to be like us. They bounce the ball with the biggest smiles on their faces, and we know that they are always watching us on and off the court – and always learning from us.

I once had a young boy ask me, “Can you slam dunk it during a game for me this year?” He had been attending camp every Saturday and watched some of our practices. Just knowing how much of an influence we have on the youth of our town makes me want to be even better, and work even harder.

Young or old, sold-out house or not, fans always will be essential in supplying the home team advantage and deciding the outcome of the game. And they’ve left me with more sports-related memories than just those made on the court.

Tyler Wilson, Rudyard senior

  • Sports: Football, basketball, baseball
  • Non-sports activities: Student Council, band, drama, National Honor Society
  • Favorite class: AP government
  • Must-see TV: "Pardon The Interruption"
  • One shining moment: When we made the football playoffs this year after starting the season 2-3.
  • What's next: I plan on attending college and playing a sport. I’m not exactly sure where, but I have been narrowing it down. I plan on studying pre-med.
  • My favorite part of game day is: ... spending time with teammates. Sometimes we will have a team breakfast on game day. We’ll get together during lunch at school, etc. Just the feeling you get when you walk around the halls wearing a jersey or being dressed up.

PHOTO courtesy of Tyler Wilson.