Breslin Bound: Boys Report Post-Break
January 4, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We knew plenty of favorites to watch when boys basketball season tipped off during the second week of December.
But we were able to add a few more to the list of hopefuls after another eventful holiday break.
Each week during the regular season, we’ll glance at four teams from each class that have caught our attention. Results and records below are based on schedules posted at MHSAA.com.
Class A
Belleville (3-1) – Keep an eye on the emerging Tigers, who opened with a loss to St. Clair Shores Lake Shore but started the holiday break with a 13-point win over Oak Park and finished it with a 62-59 win over annual contender Saginaw at the Motor City Roundball Classic.
Hudsonville (6-0) – The Eagles made a statement with a 77-69 win over reigning Class B champion Wyoming Godwin Heights during the first week, but backed it up with a Cornerstone Holiday Tournament win over Grand Rapids Christian, 68-55.
Northville (6-0) – A sweep of Walled Lake Northern and Bloomfield Hills gave Northville the championship at its own invitational last week and a chance to start the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Central schedule undefeated.
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (5-0) – The Cougars topped off 2015 with a 27-point win over Davison at the Roundball Classic and hope to at least duplicate last season’s 9-1 start.
Class B
Detroit Henry Ford (3-2) – Last season’s Class B runner-up stumbled at first with losses to North Farmington and Detroit Edison Public School Academy, but had a big break with wins over Lowell (72-66), Farmington (73-53) and then Chicago Hyde Park (75-73) at the Roundball Classic.
Frankenmuth (4-0) – Two of the Eagles’ wins have come in overtime, but both were key – 67-62 in double overtime over league rival Bridgeport, and then 63-59 in a single extra period over Class A Bloomfield Hills in the Roundball Classic.
Hillsdale (5-0) – The Hornets have won 44 straight regular-season games including a sweep at the Jonesville Invitational at the start of the break; Lenawee County Athletic Association contender Onsted will look to break the streak Friday.
New Haven (3-1) – The Rockets’ lone loss was to Class A Detroit East English, and they came back to beat Mount Clemens by 26 and St. Clair Shores South Lake by 15 to claim the championship of their home tournament.
Class C
Detroit Edison Public School Academy (5-1) – The Pioneers are looking like they’ll factor into the Class C title race with success so far against a strong group of Class A and B teams, including a 68-55 win over Lansing Everett and a 70-61 victory over Detroit Henry Ford.
Flint Hamady (4-0) – Three teams in the Genesee Area Conference Blue remain undefeated as we start 2016, but reigning champion Hamady looks like the one to chase again with three double-digit league wins followed by a 70-68 nail-biter over Windsor Catholic Central at the Roundball Classic.
Negaunee (6-0) – The Miners are looking good to build on last season’s 18-4 finish and have already beaten two of the opponents – Escanaba and Marquette – they lost to last season; Negaunee has put up more than 80 points twice, including 92 in a win last week.
North Muskegon (3-1) – After opening 1-4 last season but finishing 16-8, North Muskegon is starting out stronger with its only loss to Class B Muskegon Oakridge and nice local wins over Muskegon Catholic Central and Muskegon Western Michigan Christian.
Class D
Climax-Scotts (4-1) – The Panthers are off to a quick start in the Southern Central Athletic Association West, with four double-digit wins including three over league opponents; the only loss came last week to a homeschoolers team.
Lansing Christian (2-2) – Put the Pilgrims’ start in perspective; the losses were to Class B Olivet and Leslie, which are a combined 6-3, and the wins were over Class C Carson City-Crystal and frequently-strong Class D Fowler.
Novi Franklin Road Christian (4-2) – A 2-6 start turned into a 9-13 finish last season, but Franklin Road added wins over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett and Waterford Our Lady to a solid start this time.
Pittsford (4-0) – The Wildcats boys are matching their elite girls team so far, thanks in part to a 65-61 double-overtime win over Sand Creek at the start of the break; Pittsford's boys finished 12-9 a year ago.
PHOTO: Northville, here during a 70-61 win over Westland John Glenn on Dec. 15, are 6-0 this season. (Click for more photos from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Teams of the Month: Hart Girls & Boys Basketball
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 23, 2023
Few communities in Michigan this winter celebrated as many sizable basketball achievements as small-town Hart.
The 2,000-resident Oceana County seat, about seven miles off the Lake Michigan shore and sitting about 20 miles south of Ludington and 30 north of Muskegon, celebrated accomplishments by both its girls and boys basketball teams that carried statewide significance – and made choosing either over the other’s impossible.
The Hart girls and boys basketball teams are the MHSAA/Applebee’s “Teams of the Month” for February, and this announcement is coming toward the end of March as both just kept winning and adding to their season-long lists of feats.
The Pirates girls made the first major headline when they defeated second-place Mason County Central 51-32 on Feb. 10 to clinch the outright West Michigan Conference Rivers championship. The Hart girls had also won the formerly one-division WMC in 2021-22, and this year’s run ran their league winning streak to 31 games.
Then the boys took their turn, clinching a share of the Rivers championship Feb. 17 with a 67-51 win over North Muskegon and then the title outright by defeating Mason County Central 63-45 on Feb. 23. This league title received some statewide buzz as it was the Hart boys’ first since 1963.
A week later, Hart’s boys finished a 22-0 regular season – becoming the only boys team, and joined by only three girls teams – to go 22-0 this first season that MHSAA member schools were allowed to play 22 games instead of the previous longtime maximum of 20.
The Hart boys then drew into one of the strongest Districts in the state in any division, with the Division 2 group at Big Rapids including four league champions. The Pirates opened with a win over the host Cardinals – winners of the Central State Activities Association – before ending their season at 23-1 with a loss to Big North Conference co-champ Cadillac in the District Final.
The Pirates girls, meanwhile, had clinched their Division 3 District with a third win over Mason County Central, and then won a Regional by edging two-time reigning Finals runner-up Kent City 37-34 – in the process also avenging Hart’s first loss of this season, from Dec. 20. The Regional title was the Hart girls' first since 1992.
Next up was 23-1 Buchanan – and Hart made its biggest statewide splash by handing the Bucks a 45-41 Quarterfinal defeat that sent the Pirates to the MHSAA Girls Basketball Semifinals for the first time.
Hart would end up falling to eventual champion Hemlock 57-26 at Breslin Center, finishing the season 24-4.
“I said it the other day: We’re kinda overlooked. Last year we had a really good team, probably one injury away from another run like this,” said Hart girls basketball coach Travis Rosema during the press conference after the Semifinal. “It started with people investing into the girls. Now that players like Aspen (Boutell) and Abbey (Hicks) have made this run, I saw so many young faces. … We left this morning, the elementary school was packed, and every kid had a sign. It’s a positive impact (and) it’s going to be a lot moving forward.”
The Pirates girls were keyed by Hicks, a junior, sophomore Addi Hovey and Boutell, one of three senior starters.
The boys were paced by senior Parker Hovey, who went over 1,000 points for his career and will continue at Hope College.
Past Teams of the Month, 2022-23
January: Taylor Trillium Academy bowling - Report
December: Byron Center hockey - Report
November: Martin football - Report
October: Gladwin volleyball - Report
September: Negaunee girls tennis - Report
(PHOTOS by Kara Raeth/CatchMark SportsNet.)