Breslin Bound: Boys Report Post-Break
January 8, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Holiday break and all that comes with it – no school, but plenty of "classics" and "showcases" – has come to an end. But in its wake, we see a little better how some of the state's best stack up heading into league play that will dominate the next two months.
Here are 10 teams that made some of the biggest waves over the last few weeks. Records and scores are based on those submitted to the MHSAA.com Score Center.
1. Saginaw Arthur Hill (7-0) – This is shaping up as the Lumberjacks’ season among powers in the Saginaw Valley Association. Its best win of break definitely came Friday, 75-54 over rival and reigning Class A champion Saginaw High.
2. East Kentwood (6-0) – The Falcons’ run at the Muskegon Hall of Fame Classic was the most impressive among those that played in a holiday event. East Kentwood beat two teams considered elite – Grand Rapids Christian 52-48 and then Muskegon 85-77.
3. Ann Arbor Pioneer (5-2) – The Pioneers have played a nicely-loaded schedule and opened with losses to Detroit Country Day and Holt. But a 62-60 win over Detroit Southeastern highlights a 5-0 run since that also has included two more victories by four points or fewer.
4. Wayland (7-1) – The Wildcats’ turnaround this winter has been a speedy one. They won only six games all of 2011-12 – but have fallen this season only to Wyoming Godwin Heights and by just a point, 72-71.
5. Harbor Beach (6-1) – The bounce-back after winning the Division 8 football title might’ve been too quick for the Pirates, who fell on opening night. But they haven’t lost since, and handed previously-perfect Reese a 58-44 defeat on Thursday.
6. Detroit U-D Jesuit (5-1) – The Cubs appear to be a contender in the Detroit Catholic League Central after beating Warren DeLaSalle 73-62 on Friday. Jesuit’s only loss was by three to Cleveland St. Ignatius earlier last week.
7. Ypsilanti (4-1) – After opening this season with a one-point loss to Wyandotte Roosevelt, the Phoenix have been tough. Best wins were by two in overtime over a solid Saline team and by seven over emerging Detroit Denby.
8. Decatur (7-0) – The Raiders ended last season losing four of their final five games. But they've rebounded nicely, and handed Eau Claire its first loss, 57-54.
9. Hemlock (5-1) – The Huskies look to be back in the hunt in the Tri-Valley Conference Central despite an early loss to Shepherd. Friday’s 49-44 win over Saginaw Nouvel avenged one of their few during last season’s 19-5 run.
10. Sparta (5-2) – The Spartans are riding a four-game winning streak that included one-point wins over Grand Rapids Creston and Muskegon Oakridge. The latter is Oakridge’s lone loss this winter.
PHOTO: Saginaw Arthur Hill's Jalen Adams (14) finishes a powerful slam in his team's win over rival Saginaw High on Friday. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Fowler Earns Opportunity to Finish Season Same Way as Eagles Started
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 13, 2025
EAST LANSING — Fowler began the season Dec. 3 with an opening-night road win over reigning Division 4 champion Wyoming Tri-unity Christian.
On Saturday, the Eagles will end the season with a chance to officially dethrone the Defenders as champions.
Fowler did its part to set up the rematch during the second Division 4 Semifinal on Thursday, earning a 59-43 win over Allen Park Inter-City Baptist.
“We’re both completely different teams since that time, but I think we both know what we are going to get from each other,” Fowler head coach Kam Riley said of Tri-unity. “We knew there was a chance we could see them at the end of the year. We’re excited for the opportunity.”
The Eagles advanced to their first championship game since 2002 on the strength of 3-point shooting and rebounding.
Fowler didn’t shoot great from the field overall, connecting on 21 of 58 attempts. But nearly half of those made field goals were 3-pointers.
Fowler made 8 of its first 17 shots from 3-point range to build a 19-point lead during the second quarter and finished 10 of 27 from beyond the arc for the game, as seemingly everyone associated with Fowler was making them from deep – even a Fowler student dressed in an eagle costume hit a half-court shot during a contest before the fourth quarter started.
Seniors Asher Koenigsknecht and Aaron Simon both scored 15 points, and senior Jacob Halfmann had 14 for Fowler (25-3).
The Eagles also controlled the boards, holding a 44-32 rebounding advantage with 15 offensive rebounds.
Senior Alex Halfmann and junior Joe Epkey both had 10 rebounds for Fowler.
“We anticipated it could be hard to shoot in a gym like this,” Riley said. “We don’t play here a lot. We knew we had a size advantage. Just an incredible effort by our guys crashing the glass.
Fowler held a 36-17 lead with 3:08 remaining in the first half and extended the margin to 38-22 by halftime, never letting Inter-City Baptist pull closer than 14 points the rest of the game.
Fowler committed only one turnover in the first half and seven for the game against an Inter-City Baptist team that had an experience advantage given it played in the Semifinals at Breslin Center last year.
“We just told each other that it was another game,” Koenigsknecht said. “Don’t make the court put any more pressure on you. Just do your thing like we have all season.”
Inter-City Baptist (24-5) was led by junior Ethan Esse, who scored a game-high 25 points. The silver lining for the Chargers is that they should be well-equipped for another run next year with just one senior on the roster.
But that didn’t make a second-straight Semifinal loss hurt any less.
“We were a team that was averaging 23 assists to nine turnovers a game,” said Inter-City Baptist head coach Mark Kraatz, whose team had nine assists Thursday. “It just wasn’t the way we’ve been playing. We didn’t share it. We didn’t get the assists that I thought. Rebounding, assists and then they shot it well. They played well.”
PHOTOS (Top) Fowler's Asher Koenigsknecht (3) gets up a 3-point shot as Inter-City Baptist's Ethan Esse (22) attempts to get a hand on the ball Thursday. (Middle) Inter-City Baptist's Carlos Jackson (11) considers his options with Fowler's Joe Epkey defending.