Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 11
February 19, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Only a few boys basketball teams remain this season that look unstoppable with the playoffs set to begin in two weeks.
Those squads top this week's list of recent high achievers. But in a bit of irony, they are followed by teams that over the last week knocked off highly-regarded opponents and made things look as wide open as ever.
1. Detroit Pershing (19-0) – Considered Michigan’s best regardless of class all season, Pershing beat Cass Tech 80-61 to claim the Detroit Public School League championship.
2. Grand Blanc (16-0) – The Bobcats have improved from 12 to 14 to now 16 wins over the last three seasons and won the KLAA West championship by four games.
3. Climax-Scotts (17-0) – The Panthers aren't a surprise after making last season’s Class D Final before falling to Southfield Christian, but they look like the favorites to finish with a win this time.
4. Detroit Country Day (13-3) – The Yellow Jackets beat Class A power Saginaw Arthur Hill in a big way last week, 86-61.
5. Dowagiac (16-1) – The Chieftains last week earned their best win of a great run by beating Otsego, which had only one loss as well; expect them to meet again in the Wolverine Conference championship game.
6. Midland (13-4) – The Chemics have had a solid winter and are third in the Saginaw Valley Association North, but they made a statewide wave by beating reigning Class A champion Saginaw 64-59 last week.
7. Rockford (12-6) – The Rams have had a couple tough runs this season after finishing Class A runner-up a year ago, but won a key rematch by beating East Kentwood 44-40 last week after losing by six to the Falcons at the end of January.
8. Southfield Christian (14-4) – The reigning Class D champion earned three wins last week including one of its best this season, 47-46 over also highly-regarded Allen Park Inter-City Baptist.
9. Redford Thurston (13-4) – The Eagles entered last week’s game against Dearborn Heights Robichaud 3-3 over their last six, but then avenged a 29-point loss by beating Robichaud 65-55 in their rematch.
10. Goodrich (13-4) – The Martians won their seventh game in eight tries by beating previously one-loss Frankenmuth 53-44 to cap off last week.
PHOTO: Detroit Pershing's Kahlil Felder (12) led his team to the Detroit Public School League championship and was named Mr. PSL for this season. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit PSL.)
'Secret Weapon' Thomas Plays Lead Role as East Lansing Ends Title Wait
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2025
EAST LANSING — East Lansing High School boys basketball coach Ray Mitchell called sophomore Kingston Thomas his “secret weapon.”
Going forward he’ll have to refer to Thomas as just a weapon, because the secret is out.
On a team chock-full of seniors and juniors, Thomas made a massive impact Saturday despite not having any plays called for him. His double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds helped lift the Trojans to a 66-46 victory over Wayne Memorial in the Division 1 Final at the Breslin Center.
Cameron Hutson led all scorers with 20 points, and Kelvin Torbert scored 16 as East Lansing won its first championship since 1958.
Carlos Medlock Jr. and Jaylohn Allen each scored 14 points for Wayne Memorial, which was making its first Finals appearance.
“These guys have been preparing for this pretty much all their lives. I told them it was their destiny,” Mitchell said. “They’ve been working toward this. They’ve been connected, they’ve been a family for so long, they deserve this. I couldn’t ask for much more from a group of 15 kids.
“It’s a wonderful thing that we can top it off with this championship.”
The Trojans (28-1) absorbed an early punch from Wayne Memorial, which led 16-12 after the first quarter thanks to 10 points from Medlock. But Zebras coach Steve Brooks knew the advantage came with an asterisk.
“The lead was fake because we were shooting long bombs, and that’s not how you win a basketball game,” he said. “We weren’t executing anything at all. They weathered the 3-point storm at the beginning, and they started beating us to every 50-50 ball.”
Hutson’s layup as the first quarter ended ignited a 21-0 barrage that turned the game permanently in East Lansing’s favor. His three-point play put the Trojans up 17-16 just over a minute into the second quarter, and the rout was on.
Thomas scored 12 points in the quarter, during which East Lansing outscored Wayne Memorial 21-4. The Trojans also finished the half with a massive 25-13 rebounding advantage, with Thomas collecting nine.
“I was just crashing as hard as I could, which helped me get rebounds, and most of the rebounds I got were putback layups,” Thomas said. “So I went hard to the basket, and good things came from it.”
A pair of Torbert layups put East Lansing ahead 43-27 midway through the third quarter before the Zebras (25-4) clawed back with seven straight points to cut the lead to single digits.
Hutson made a layup, Torbert canned two free throws and Thomas cashed in a three-point play to help reset the Trojans. Hutson’s layup with four seconds to play in the quarter pushed the lead to 52-34.
During the final quarter, Hutson found Torbert then Jayce Branson on two alley-oops that brought the sizable East Lansing crowd to its feet. Hutson said the support from the crowd has been consistent and huge.
“Almost all of our games the students, the people who support us, they travel,” he said. “So it was no surprise they were going to pack this arena. They’ve been showing up the whole year, and when it finally mattered in the big championship, they were there.”
Containing Medlock proved to be a group effort as Mitchell called on several players to silence the junior guard who was coming off a 29-point outing in the Semifinals. After scoring 10 in the first quarter, Medlock scored only four the rest of the way and was held to 11 points under his season average.
“We were letting him get to his sweet spots, we were letting him drive,” Mitchell said. “He’s a great player, but we wanted to try to force him to use his weak hand and try to help a little bit sooner, so we made those adjustments.”
The significance of claiming the school’s first championship banner in 67 years was not lost on the Trojan players.
“I think this means a lot to the community,” senior guard Brian Windham said. “We always look at that banner every day at practice, so it’s a lot of motivation. I’ve been looking at it since I was a freshman, I’ve been wanting to be here, so it’s been a lot of motivation and it means a lot to the community.”
Not long after Thomas’ sophomore season ended, Mitchell couldn’t help but look forward to what’s coming.
“He’s definitely one of the best sophomores in the state,” Mitchell said. “He’s a big-time player, so he’s kind of like our secret weapon. Watch out for him next year. It’s his coming-out party.”
PHOTOS (Top) East Lansing’s Kelvin Torbert throws down a dunk during East Lansing’s Division 1 championship win Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Wayne Memorial’s Austin Tory (1) pops a jumper as the Trojans’ Cameron Hutson gets a hand up to defend. (Below) Hutson and Brian Windham celebrate as their team wraps up the title. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)