Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 12
March 2, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Coaches often talk about getting hot at the right time – in other words, playing their best basketball on the eve of when it counts most.
This is that time – and the teams below are among those carrying some nice momentum into the final week of the regular season with the start of the MHSAA Tournament approaching.
Class A
Auburn Hills Avondale (15-3) – The Yellow Jackets have won nine straight since falling to Oakland Activities Association Blue co-leader West Bloomfield on Jan. 23, beating the Lakers by one Feb. 17 and then Oxford by one Friday to keep pace atop the standings.
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (17-3) – The Big Reds closed the regular season with five straight wins to finish second in the Macomb Area Conference Red and finish five wins better than a year ago with the postseason still to play.
Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills (17-3) – The Bengals clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold title over four others with at least 10 wins this winter. Two of the losses were to teams a combined 35-4 – Lansing Everett and Goodrich.
Stevensville Lakeshore (17-2) – The Lancers own a one-win lead in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West with one game to play and after going an uncharacteristic 10-12 a season ago. Lakeshore split this winter with second-place Benton Harbor, last season’s Class B runner-up.
Class B
Big Rapids (14-5) – The Cardinals weathered a three-game losing streak in mid-January to hold on for a share of the Central State Activities Association Gold championship, and will win it outright if second-place Newaygo falls in its league finale. Big Rapids’ most recent four losses were by a combined nine points.
Frankenmuth (14-4) – The Eagles avenged an early three-point loss to rival Millington by beating the Cardinals 51-35 on Friday to pull into first place in the Tri-Valley Conference East – and they can clinch the title outright against eighth-place Otisville-LakeVille on Thursday. Four TVC East teams have won at least 14 games.
Lakeview (15-4) – Despite a loss to second-place Kent City on Feb. 20, Lakeview came back to clinch the CSAA Silver championship with a 72-57 win over Hesperia on Friday. The Wildcats also won the CSAA last season before the league split into divisions for 2014-15.
Williamston (16-4) – The Hornets closed the regular season with a 65-58 win over rival Lansing Catholic, creating a shared Capital Area Activities Conference White championship between the two after Lansing Catholic had won the first meeting Jan. 23. Williamston has won seven straight.
Class C
Carney-Nadeau (12-6) – The Wolves can’t catch Class D contender Powers North Central in the Skyline Central Conference West, but they did win five straight before falling to Crystal Falls Forest Park in overtime Friday. Forest Park also is Class D; Carney-Nadeau opted to play up in Class C this season.
Hanover-Horton (18-1) – Only one-loss Jackson Lumen Christi, in December, has been able to edge Hanover-Horton, which clinched the Cascades Conference title with a 61-54 win over third-place Michigan Center last week. The Comets also won the league in 2013-14.
Ithaca (17-2) – The Yellowjackets have been chasing Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary in the TVC West since falling to MLS on Jan 16, but regained a share of first place with a 52-49 win in their rematch Friday. Ithaca has won 11 straight and finishes with winless Merrill.
Southfield Christian (15-3) – The three-time reigning Class D champions are in Class C this season and having similar success during the regular season; the Eagles clinched the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue title last week, and among the few missteps are impressive losses by one to Detroit Pershing and two to Ann Arbor Pioneer.
Class D
Allen Park Inter-City Baptist (16-3) – Staying in the MIAC Blue, Inter-City Baptist’s only league losses were to Southfield Christian – and the only other defeat came to Class A Allen Park on the first Friday of the season. The Chargers have 10 wins against opponents from other classes.
Baldwin (14-4) – The Panthers have won nine straight and can clinch a share of the West Michigan D League title with two more this week; they trail Onekama by a win, but Onekama has only one league game remaining. Baldwin also beat Class B Paw Paw (12-7) during the current streak.
Bellevue (14-5) – The Broncos have a slim chance at sharing the Southern Central Athletic Association West title, but can eclipse last season’s win total with one more this week and have earned at least 14 victories for the third straight season despite opening 6-4.
Jackson Christian (12-6) – The Royals are among those who dealt Bellevue an early loss, and they long ago clinched the SCAA Central title. Jackson Christian finishes this week against Battle Creek St. Philip and then opens with the Tigers in next week’s District.
PHOTO: Ithaca's 60-51 win over Freeland on Jan. 30 was part of a current 11-game winning streak. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
U-D Jesuit Wins Matchup of Undefeated
March 25, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Detroit U-D Jesuit’s first trip to the Class A Semifinals in 2014 was filled with awe.
The second trip, last season, ended in disappointment.
There was no longer awe Friday, and no less excitement – just a laser-like focus on taking the next step for the first time in program history, led by the best player to wear a Cubs uniform.
Senior guard Cassius Winston has played prominent roles in getting U-D Jesuit to the Breslin Center the last three seasons, and his 27 points and 12 rebounds were one of a few reasons the Cubs got past Macomb Dakota 72-51 in a matchup of undefeated teams considered the best in Class A heading into the postseason.
“Like I’ve said before, this is the final to my high school career, and I don’t think I’ve had a successful high school career unless we can win a state championship,” Winston said. “It means the world to finally get over that hump. We came in two years expecting to win it and came up short. Now we made it past that hump to make it to Saturday, so we’ve got to finish it off.”
The Cubs (27-0) will face North Farmington in Saturday’s noon Class A Final.
U-D Jesuit and Dakota were ranked 1 and 2, respectively, by The Associated Press at the end of the regular season, and both were playing to make an MHSAA Final for the first time. Dakota also was riding a perfect run, with the loss Friday ending its season at 26-1.
The Cubs’ 2014 run ended with a 10-point Semifinal loss to eventual runner-up Bloomfield Hills. Last winter, U-D Jesuit edged a point closer, losing by nine to eventual champion Detroit Western International.
The Quarterfinal win over No. 4 Ypsilanti Community on Tuesday to make this third straight trip definitely was worth celebrating. But Cubs coach Pat Donnelly said hoots and hollers were replaced by a quieter focus that showed him again that his players were all business.
“We did discuss the last two years and the feeling that we had leaving here Friday afternoon, and we talked about that throughout the season,” Donnelly said. “That allowed us to win the Quarterfinal and be very focused walking off the floor. … I think you saw the result of that today.”
It was quickly apparent during an 18-3 run that began 2:41 into the game and ended 2:28 into the second quarter with U-D Jesuit up 25-9. The lead grew to as many as 25 points as the Cubs also held Dakota to its second-fewest in a game this season.
The more sizable U-D Jesuit outrebounded the Cougars 39-24 and also shot 58 percent from the floor to Dakota’s 35 percent success rate, which got off to a cool 19-percent first-half start.
Winston, who will next play at Michigan State and was named the state's Mr. Basketball on Monday, made 8 of 16 shots from the floor in front of a Breslin crowd that included a full lower bowl and a number of fans in the upper bowl as well.
“That was probably the hypest game I ever played in,” Dakota junior Jermaine Jackson said. “Cassius is a great player. Mr. Basketball coming in, that’s a tough task.”
Junior Gregory Eboigbodin added 13 points and 18 rebounds for U-D Jesuit. Senior guards Steven Marshall and Tavin Allison led four Dakota players in double figures with 13 points apiece, and Jackson and sophomore Thomas Kithier each scored 12. Kithier also had nine rebounds and four assists.
Donnelly said he told Dakota coach Paul Tocco after not to let a Breslin loss take anything away from an excellent season, as the Cougars were now experiencing what the Cubs had experienced twice before.
“Obviously we’re disappointed, but we’ve very proud of the season we had,” Tocco said. “I know the experience of losing to Clarkston in the Regional championship last year was a big-time motivator for us to move beyond that point. It motivated our entire program. And we took another step, two steps, beyond that this year.
"To get here, I’m not going to lie – it’s a lot of fun. We tried to treat it as a business-type trip. We weren’t just happy to be here. We just got outplayed tonight.”
The Boys Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
PHOTOS: (Top) U-D Jesuit’s Ike Eke (1) launches a shot over the outstretched hand of Macomb Dakota’s Thomas Kithier. (Middle) Dakota’s Jermaine Jackson (1) works to get past U-D Jesuit’s Elijah Collins.