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.)
North Farmington Reaches 1st Final
March 25, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – North Farmington coach Todd Negoshian was glad his team drew the second Class A Semifinal on Friday at the Breslin Center.
That meant an opportunity for the Raiders to get here for part of the day’s first game and soak in the atmosphere before taking the floor themselves against Lansing Everett.
And they clearly were ready. North Farmington, playing in its first MHSAA Semifinal, jumped to a 9-2 lead over the first four minutes and never trailed in downing Everett 60-48 to earn an opportunity to play for the program’s first Class A championship.
The No. 5 Raiders (24-2) will take on top-ranked Detroit U-D Jesuit in Saturday’s noon Final. The Cubs ended North Farmington's season in a Regional Final a year ago.
“With (that) being back then our first trip to a Regional Final, we folded a little bit,” North Farmington senior Alex Darden said, recalling the last time his team faced U-D Jesuit. “We weren’t used to the atmosphere. But thankfully we learned from that, and we have 11 seniors this year, and we know what it’s like. Going on this run, we’ve been playing in a great atmosphere for three or four games.
“I think we’ll be prepared – we’ll know what to expect this time.”
Seniors supplied 75 percent of North Farmington’s scoring Friday, led by guard Billy Thomas’ 26 points. Total, eight seniors saw the floor, bringing valuable experience against a team that had more at Breslin – Everett also made the Semifinals last season, and this month became the first team since 2006 and just the sixth Class A team ever to reach this round of the tournament after beginning the postseason with 10 or more losses.
The two starters back from that team – senior guards Jamyrin Jackson and LeAndre Wright – led the charge to keep it close. A Jackson 3-pointer with 3:48 to go in the third quarter took North Farmington’s lead to nine, and another jumper kept the Vikings only nine down heading into the fourth quarter.
Another Jackson 3-pointer pulled Everett within eight points with 4:37 to play. But North Farmington continued to answer and made all six of its free throws over the final minute to keep the Vikings (16-11) at arm’s length.
The Raiders led by as many as 17 during the third quarter and 15 during the fourth, extending again and again every time Everett tried to catch up.
“This season would’ve ended a week, or two, or three weeks ago but we kept coming back and winning games in the third or fourth quarter,” Everett coach Desmond Ferguson said. “We’ve had slow starts all season for a number of different reasons. I don’t know if we’re not warming up good enough or think we can just turn it up. That’s something that’s plagued us all season, and it came back to bite us."
Jackson finished with 27 points and Wright had 10 points, six assists and six rebounds.
Junior Amauri Hardy added 15 points for North Farmington, and Darden had 14 rebounds and four blocks. All five Raiders starters scored at least five points, and eight players saw the floor for at least seven minutes.
“Any time you have kids the caliber that we do, with how unselfish they are, who sacrifice for the betterment of the team so we can keep winning, it shows their true character,” Negoshian said. “When we left the gym this morning (at North Farmington), we talked about how it would be the last time that this group would be in the gym together. We wanted to make the most of it – and we’re doing that right now.”
The Boys Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
PHOTOS: (Top) North Farmington's Alex Darden connects on one of his four blocks during Friday's Class A Semifinal. (Middle) Lansing Everett's Diego Johnson also gets a block, one of his two for the game.