Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 11
February 24, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Sunday was historic as for the first time, Boys Basketball District brackets were released with the top two teams separated to opposite sides, according to rankings produced by the Michigan Power Ratings formula.
While that was just another preliminary step for teams hoping to be Breslin Bound over the next month, more are to come this week as the state’s best finish off league titles or prepare to make their memories when the tournament begins in 14 days.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. River Rouge 58, Benton Harbor 52 – The Panthers (17-1) further cemented themselves among Division 1 championship favorites with a close win against one of the best in Division 2 in the Tigers (16-2).
3. Howell 75, Canton 71 (3OT) – The Highlanders locked up their first Kensington Lakes Activities Association West title since 2017 by outlasting co-runner-up Canton – a good thing because Howell fell three days later to also-second-place Northville.
3. Erie Mason 62, Blissfield 58 – The Eagles (13-3) avenged their lone league loss, by two to Blissfield (15-2) on Jan. 21 – to take over first place in the Lenawee County Athletic Association.
4. Coldwater 56, Battle Creek Pennfield 52 – After being upset by Jackson Northwest three days before, league leader Coldwater (11-6) hung on against one of three other teams in Pennfield (11-5) sitting within a game of first place in the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference.
5. Ypsilanti Lincoln 108, Chelsea 102 (2OT) – This didn’t have bearing on a league title – Lincoln (15-2) had already clinched the Southeastern Conference White and Chelsea (11-6) is fourth – but it was the first time since 1998 that two teams in Michigan combined to score at least 210 points.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Muskegon (15-2) The Big Reds locked up their seventh Ottawa-Kent Conference Black title last week and have won 77 of their last 78 league games. Their only instate loss this season was 54-51 to Grand Blanc (15-3) – with the other defeat by 10 to Chicago Curie in December. They’ve been otherwise successful during an impressive nonleague slate that’s included wins over Ferndale (8-9 against the state’s ninth-strongest schedule), Saginaw (10-7) and Belleville (15-3) and with Kalamazoo Central (13-4) coming up next week.
River Rouge (17-1) Saturday’s win over Benton Harbor goes well with other nonleague victories over Ypsilanti Lincoln (15-2), Detroit Martin Luther King (13-5) and North Farmington (12-5) – and with Romulus (14-3) and Southfield Christian (13-3) coming up. Rouge’s only loss was 63-60 in overtime to Grand Rapids Catholic Central – the top-ranked team by MPR in Division 2. The Panthers also won their fifth-straight league title, going undefeated in the Michigan Metro Athletic Conference Blue thanks in part to sweeps of Hamtramck (14-3) and Ecorse (10-6).
DIVISION 2
Frankenmuth (14-2) – Two Tri-Valley Conference East teams are ranked among the top eight in Division 2 by MPR, Frankenmuth at No. 8 following No. 3 Bridgeport. The Eagles beat the Bearcats on Feb. 7 and trail in the standings by a game with two left. Frankenmuth also boasts solid wins over Jack Pine Conference co-leader Sanford Meridian (14-3) and Freeland (10-7) twice, and with room for a boost with Flint Southwestern (13-3) and Alma (12-6) coming up this week.
Otsego (17-1) The Bulldogs have won 15 straight and clinched the Wolverine Conference North championship, their third straight, and they can move to 24-0 in league play over those three seasons with a win over Allegan on Friday. The only loss was by 17 to Grand Rapids Catholic Central (see above) on Dec. 14. Only one team since – Battle Creek Lakeview – has come within nine points. Otsego also has an 11-point win over Edwardsburg, which it could see in next week’s conference crossover.
DIVISION 3
Iron Mountain (16-0) Returning a pair of stars from last season’s Division 3 runner-up run, Iron Mountain predictably has been dominant. The Mountaineers can clinch a share of the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference East title Tuesday and own a 69-51 win over second-place Negaunee (15-2) in from their first meeting Jan. 28 – they meet again March 5 to likely decide the title outright. Gladstone, with a 15-point loss Jan. 6, has come the closest to Iron Mountain so far.
Maple City Glen Lake (14-2) A 75-67 win over Frankfort on Friday finished a season sweep of the second-place Panthers (12-4) and clinched for Glen Lake the Northwest Conference title. The Lakers have won three straight league championships, including the last two outright, and are looking to make a run at a third-straight 20-win season as well. Their only losses were to Charlevoix (14-3) and Division 1 Traverse City West, and they beat Division 1 Saginaw Heritage (9-7) on Jan. 20 at Saginaw Valley State.
DIVISION 4
Hale (15-3) The Eagles have locked up the North Star League Little Dipper championship – their third consecutive – and despite losing two of their last three league games to second-place Posen (by one) and then Friday in a crossover that counts in the standings against Big Dipper champion Oscoda (by five). Those two and an earlier defeat to Oscoda (17-0) are the only losses this winter, and Hale did win its first meeting with Posen (12-4) by 16. The Eagles also have nice wins over Rogers City (11-7) and Mio (11-5).
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (11-5) The Defenders are 10-2 after a 1-3 start and sit tied for first in the Alliance League with Wyoming Potter’s House Christian (11-6), which they face Friday. Tri-unity always loads its nonleague schedule with bigger opponents, and all five losses have come to Division 3 teams with 11 or more victories. Tri-unity also is one of five teams in its league with 11 or more wins, making its place at the top even more impressive. The Defenders take on four teams with double-digit wins over the next two weeks.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Detroit U-D Jesuit (11-6) vs. Detroit Loyola (13-2) at Bloomfield Hills Marian – This winner faces Wednesday’s Orchard Lake St. Mary’s/Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice winner for the Detroit Catholic League Bishop championship.
Tuesday – Grand Rapids Northview (12-6) at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (14-4) – After handing Forest Hills Central its only O-K White loss Friday, Northern must beat third-place Northview to keep in the mix for a shared league title and then root for Northview to beat Central on Friday so it can claim the outright championship.
Friday – Mount Pleasant (16-0) at Grand Blanc (15-3) – The Saginaw Valley League Blue champion hosts the winner from the Red in a matchup of top Division 1 teams statewide.
Friday – Ann Arbor Huron (16-1) at Kalamazoo Central (13-4) – The Maroon Giants start off the week hosting Stevensville Lakeshore (14-3) and finish with another of the best from Division 1.
Friday – Traverse City St. Francis (15-2) at Charlevoix (14-3) – St Francis will likely clinch the Lake Michigan Conference title Tuesday, but second-place Charlevoix still will enjoy a chance to avenge its earlier 42-33 loss to the Gladiators.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Menominee's Keagan Monroe drives to the basket while being surrounded by Ishpeming defenders Ben Pruett (23), Breck Bell (22) and Griffin Argall (34) and teammate Keaton Uecke. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)
Grant, Carrying Perfect Record Into Final Weeks, Quietly Making Statewide Name
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
February 12, 2026
Don’t expect to see Dan George yelling and screaming and snapping clipboards.
In fact, he rarely raises his voice and doesn’t write down any Xs and Os during timeouts, instead calmly talking to his team, often with his hands in his pockets.
“You can’t teach during a timeout, there’s not enough time,” explained George, 73, a longtime college coach who came out of retirement and is now in his second year as the head coach at Grant.
“I just want to refocus everyone and reinforce what we’ve taught at practice.”
Those lessons from the old ball coach appear to be hitting home with the Tigers, who are one of the few remaining unbeaten teams in the state, with a spotless 19-0 record heading into Friday’s home game against Reed City.
Grant, which has already clinched its second-consecutive Central State Activities Association Red title, still has not cracked the Top 10 in the Division 2 Associated Press state rankings. The Tigers were among the “others receiving votes” in the latest poll.
Zaiden Phillips, a 6-foot-1 senior guard/forward, is the team’s ringleader, averaging 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game.
Phillips is one of three skilled long-range shooters for the Tigers, along with fellow senior Blake Rider (averaging 15 points, four rebounds and four assists) and junior Kohen Obenauf (eight points, six rebounds). On Wednesday at Big Rapids, the game began with each of those three hitting a 3-pointer as Grant took a quick 9-0 lead.
When Big Rapids adjusted its defense, Phillips and others started cutting to the basket in the Tigers’ motion offense, where he is a great finisher. If those cuts result in drawing fouls, he’s also a strong free-throw shooter.
Phillips and Rider are Grant’s two senior starters (the other three are juniors) and best friends, and their many years of hanging out and playing basketball together is evident in their on-court chemistry.
Junior Austin Gragg is the team’s “big man” at 6-3, averaging eight points and six rebounds per game. The final member of the Tigers’ starting five is junior point guard Jack Swanson, who also excels at driving to the hoop and puts up nine points and five rebounds per game.
Grant goes seven deep, with senior Owen Chesebro and junior Jacob Gates the main reserves.
The Tigers had only nine varsity players as the season approached, before Phillips and Rider talked their buddy and fellow senior Rory Fish – a baseball standout – into playing hoops, which allows the team to scrimmage 5-on-5 at practice.
Those practices are where George’s old-school coaching techniques and the players’ developing skills come together.
“In practice, I make them throw six passes before they take a shot, and they also can’t dribble,” said George with a smile. “They learn in a hurry to be looking up and seeing the court.”
The defense is in the capable hands of assistant coach Kirk Rider (Blake’s father), who is also Grant’s athletic director. The Tigers play primarily man-to-man, but it often looks like a zone as they clog the lane to prevent penetration and force opponents to beat them from the perimeter.
The formula has been working to perfection, literally, this winter.
Phillips has garnered the most headlines, earning MVP honors at the inaugural Be Legendary Showcase at Grace Christian in early January, then scoring 22 points in a victory over Montague on Jan. 6 to top 1,000 career points.
He has remained hot recently, scoring 27 against Remus Chippewa Hills and 31 at arch-rival Fremont in back-to-back games last weekend. His shot was slightly off on Wednesday at Big Rapids, and he finished with 14 points.
“When his scoring falls below his average, he will fill the stat sheet with assists, rebounds, and steals,” said George. “He understands the importance of doing the little things.”
Phillips said the key to his scoring, and the team’s consistency, is defense. Grant forces an average of 12 turnovers per game.
“We get after it on defense and cause a lot of turnovers, then we get easy buckets off of those,” said Phillips, who has received college basketball offers from Kuyper College and Grace Christian.
Grant, which has not won a District during Phillips and Rider’s high school careers, will be favored to win the Division 2 District tournament at Sparta, as it has beaten all four of the other teams in the bracket.
“It would mean a lot to get a District this year,” said Rider. “We’ve been close, but we just haven’t got it done. We know that we need to step up our defense and rebounding in the tournament.”
This year’s perfect season comes on the heels of last year’s 20-3 finish, giving Coach George a 39-3 record while wearing Grant’s orange colors, a gaudy 93-percent winning percentage.
Winning basketball games is nothing new for George, who made his mark as the head coach at Jordan College and later as an assistant coach at Grace Christian University, where he coached for 17 years and was part of six National Christian College Athletic Association championship teams.
But hang around George for even a few minutes and you’ll see that winning games is low on his list of priorities.
“I always tell my players that I want to accomplish three things,” said George, who noted he is having a blast because his team is so coachable.
“First is to have fun. Second is to help them become better people, better brothers and better husbands. And third is to see them in heaven someday.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Grant’s Zaiden Phillips, far left, interacts with his teammates before a recent game. (Middle) Veteran coach Dan George talks with a game official. (Below) Phillips considers his next move with George looking on from the sideline. (Photos courtesy of the Grant athletic department).