Breslin Bound: Boys Report Post-Break
January 5, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Schools have re-opened for 2015. But there’s plenty to review from the end of 2014 as boys basketball teams get ready for their familiar league schedules.
See below for four teams from each class that stuck out over the two-week break. And check out something new from Second Half – we’ll print by class each Monday a list of the undefeated teams left in Michigan and add in those with one and two losses as the season rolls on and the undefeateds are down to just a few. (Click for this week’s list.)
Class A
Ann Arbor Huron (6-1) – The River Rats opened this season with an 80-73 loss to Detroit Henry Ford, but haven’t fallen since; they won games as part of three events over the final two weeks of December, including big over Westland John Glenn (72-53) and Battle Creek Central (88-58).
East Kentwood (5-0) – The Falcons were on the verge last season, finishing 13-8 with five losses by six or fewer points; they’ve arrived this winter, if a 58-57 win over reigning Class A champion Muskegon at the Muskegon Sports Hall of Fame Tournament is an indication.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (6-0) – The Rangers are one of three Class A teams that has started 6-0, and they beat Grand Rapids Northview 59-55 to win the Gold division of the Cornerstone University Tournament; Forest Hills Central lost by four to Northview in the final last season.
Walled Lake Western (6-0) – The Warriors are another 6-0 fast starter and built their early run in part by winning the Livonia Franklin Holiday Invitational with a 66-60 win over one-loss Redford Thurston in the championship game.
Class B
Gladstone (3-0) – A 1-4 start kicked off an 8-12 finish for the Braves last season, but they’ve reversed directions this winter with Saturday’s 64-62 win over St. Ignace the most impressive of early victories.
Goodrich (5-0) – The Martians boys went a game farther than the school’s stellar girls program last season by reaching the MHSAA Quarterfinals and have made it 12 wins in their last 13 games including a solid 67-65 defeat of Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills on Dec. 30.
Imlay City (5-0) – The Spartans did a final tune-up before beginning defense of their shared Blue Water Area Conference championship by winning their invitational with a 36-34 victory over Marlette in the title game.
New Haven (4-0) – The Rockets' quick start has included wins close (60-57 over Harper Woods Chandler Park) and not so close (76-46 over one-loss Warren Michigan Collegiate to claim their Rocket Classic on Dec. 30).
Class C
Hillsdale (5-0) – The Hornets became one of three teams in Class C to open 5-0 by claiming the Pat Paterson/Williams Tournament at Jonesville with victories of 27 and then 62 points; no team has come closer than 12.
Millington (5-0) – The Cardinals’ first of two losses last season didn’t come until the regular-season finale, and they’ve looked similarly impressive early including putting up 101 points in a win over Reese before beating one-loss Vassar 61-45.
Warren Michigan Collegiate (6-1) – The New Haven loss aside, Michigan Collegiate is only two wins from equaling last season’s total and opened the New Haven Rocket Classic with an overtime victory over Mount Clemens.
Union City (5-0) – The Chargers also have made a quick turnaround from last season’s 8-14 run to open with five wins of 22 or more points this winter.
Class D
Akron-Fairgrove (4-0) – The reigning Michigan Summit League co-champion will begin league play Tuesday with a flawless record and three victories by 12 or more points.
Bark River-Harris (4-0) – The Broncos already have proven they can win close with a five-pointer over Rock Mid-Peninsula, a two-pointer over Big Bay de Noc and a five-point victory over Stephenson.
Mio (4-0) – The Thunderbolts look to be contenders in the new North Star League Big Dipper division with three league wins and all four so far by 15 or more points.
Waterford Our Lady (6-0) – The Lakers are the lone Class D team at 6-0 and have yet to allow an opponent closer than 13 points – Novi Franklin Road Christian and one-loss Harbor Beach were the only two to put up that challenge.
PHOTO: Laingsburg (in red) clamped the Pewamo-Westphalia offense in defeating the reigning Class C runner-up 42-34 on Dec. 18. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
Class B: Moves like Magic
March 23, 2012
EAST LANSING – The first time Detroit Country Day faced this Lansing Sexton team during a Finals weekend, the Yellowjackets won an MHSAA championship.
But coach Kurt Keener knew that night in 2010 wouldn’t be the last his team would run into these Big Reds.
The rematch came in last season’s Semifinals – a Sexton win that was a little about revenge, but more about earning a chance to break a 51-season title drought.
When the top-ranked Big Reds faced No. 3 Country Day in yet another Semifinal on Friday, it was about finishing one of the most incredible two-season runs in MHSAA history. And Sexton earned that opportunity with a 74-59 win.
“We’ve come a long way since we started this out our sophomore year,” said Sexton senior Jeff Cain, one of six current Big Reds who played on the 2010 team. “We had a shaky start, 6-4 I think, and people started to doubt us. But we had a team meeting, we got it together, and we’ve been on a roll ever since.”
In the Lansing basketball community, that team meeting has become legendary. It’s impossible to argue with the results.
Since falling to Country Day 71-47 in the 2010 Class B Final, Sexton has gone 52-3 and won its first MHSAA title – last season, also in Class B – since 1960. Now the Big Reds will face No. 7 Stevensville Lakeshore in the last championship game of the winter, at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Keener has seen more than most over 34 seasons and 653 wins. So when he raves, it comes with an extra punch.
His biggest Friday came for Sexton’s 6-foot-6 senior Denzel Valentine, this season’s Associated Press Class B Player of the Year and a Michigan State recruit. He had 12 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and five steals – and drew a Keener comparison as the best big passing guard since Lansing Everett legend Magic Johnson.
Senior Anthony Clemmons (Iowa) led with 21 points, and senior guard Bryn Forbes (Cleveland State) followed with 19. Junior forward Jalen Hayes added 12. Total, the Big Reds shot 59 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Yellowjackets by 12. Sexton led by at least 10 for the final 15:31.
“We played a tough schedule, but that’s the best basketball team we’ve played this season,” Keener said. “They have no weakness. They have no weak player."
And yet, the Big Reds (26-1) made enough mistakes – like 19 turnovers – to look forward at Saturday’s Final with some added motivation.
“You don’t always win pretty,” Sexton coach Carlton Valentine said. “(But) I don’t give them enough credit. They work hard. They execute the game player. They find a way to win games. We weren’t the smartest offensively tonight, but we made plays when we needed to.”
Country Day finished 21-6. Senior Robert Puleikis led the Yellowjackets with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Austin Price had 11 points and sophomore Edmond Price had 10.
Click for box score or to watch the game and press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTO: Sexton senior Jeff Cain drives past Country Day senior Robert Puleikis during Friday's Semifinal. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.)