Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 3
December 18, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The third week of this Michigan high school boys basketball season was topsy-turvy, to say the least.
The first month of the season always includes a lot of sorting out as top teams face off in nonleague play – and in the end, of course, the most important games are when those teams potentially meet again at the end of the winter.
But after how some of the state’s best took turns defeating each other last week, we might have a hard time knowing what to expect down the road.
Breslin Bound is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or fill in scores we’re missing, email me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Okemos 63, Rockford 29 – The headliner of the Battle of I-96 Classic at Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills went to Okemos, which moved to 6-0 with its second-biggest victory of the season.
2. Rockford 65, Muskegon 47 – This Friday night stunner of the annually contending Big Reds was set for the top spot on this list until Saturday’s matchup with the Chiefs; Rockford fell to Muskegon by 16 a year ago.
3. Grand Rapids Catholic Central 50, Grand Rapids Christian 45 – The was expected to be the big game of the week for the Cougars, but wasn’t even their closest as they then survived with a two-point overtime win over Grand Rapids Covenant Christian on Friday.
4. Detroit U-D Jesuit 57, Grand Blanc 44 – The Cubs have had one of the toughest early schedules in the state, and this win was made more impressive when Grand Blanc beat Flint Carman-Ainsworth by 10 to end the week.
5. Ann Arbor Skyline 66, Belleville 56 – The Eagles came back from a loss earlier in the week to Sterling Heights Stevenson to win their fifth straight against Belleville, which rebounded last season to make the Class A Quarterfinals.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• Grand Rapids Northview (3-0) – The Wildcats have held on through three overtimes over their last two games to keep a perfect start intact, the most recent Friday in a 77-69 win over always-powerful Wyoming Godwin Heights. Northview is looking to take another step after improving five wins to 15-7 last winter.
• Utica Eisenhower (5-0) – The Eagles have nearly equaled last season’s seven wins and haven’t played a game in single digits since defeating Romeo by five on opening night. Eisenhower can make an even louder statement tonight against another quick starter in Sterling Heights Stevenson.
DIVISION 2
• Alma (6-0) – The Panthers are off to another fast start in trying to build on last season’s league and District championships. Alma has three double-digit wins but also has pulled out victories of six or fewer points against Fowlerville, Frankenmuth (in overtime) and Carrollton.
• Williamston (6-0) – The Hornets can make an argument as the Lansing area’s best team and have high aspirations after going 22-3 and falling to eventual champion Benton Harbor in the Quarterfinals last season. Despite needing overtime against Howell last week, Williamston is winning this winter by nearly 19 points per game.
DIVISION 3
• Carson City-Crystal (5-0) – The Eagles have shared three straight Mid-State Activities Conference championships and already own a one-win advantage in the league standings this winter thanks to a 47-41 win over reigning co-champ Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart two weeks ago. A 46-35 win over Division 2 Lansing Eastern last week was eye-catching.
• Hanover-Horton (5-0) – League titles and 20-win seasons are frequent accomplishments for the Comets, and they appear on the way toward chasing both again. Hanover-Horton took a big step toward repeating as Cascades Conference champ with a 66-56 win over reigning league runner-up Michigan Center last week – the Comets’ closest game so far.
DIVISION 4
• Bessemer (4-1) – The Speedboys fell from sharing a league title two seasons ago to finishing third last winter, but look like the team to chase in the Copper Mountain Conference’s Porcupine Mountain division again. Bessemer handed 2017-18 Class D semifinalist Dollar Bay a 73-60 loss last week, Dollar Bay’s first regular-season defeat since Feb. 17, 2017.
• Carney-Nadeau (4-0) – The Wolves frequently are league title contenders but might be the team to beat in the Skyline Central Conference Small-school division. Although the 61-43 win Thursday against Powers North Central did not count in the league standings, it was a good sign against the reigning league champ.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Detroit Martin Luther King (2-0) at Detroit Cass Tech (3-1) – The last time these two met, King advanced in last season’s District with a two-point overtime win. They are back in the same league this winter.
Tuesday – Clinton Township Clintondale (5-0) at Madison Heights Madison (6-0) – It’s early in the Macomb Area Conference Silver, but this could end up one of the most meaningful games of the league schedule.
Tuesday – Utica Eisenhower (5-0) at Sterling Heights Stevenson (4-1) – Noted above as well, this could be telling as the MAC Red gets rolling. League foes Roseville and Macomb Dakota also are off to strong starts.
Tuesday – Escanaba (3-1) at Marquette (4-2) – Marquette swept Escanaba to win last season’s Great Northern Upper Peninsula Conference title by one victory.
Wednesday – Wyoming Godwin Heights (1-3) at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (3-0) – Against strong competition, Godwin Heights is off to a slow start. But it’s all relative, and GRCC won’t take the Wolverines lightly.
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PHOTO: Alma is off to an unbeaten start this winter, earning a victory last week over Essexville Garber. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Southfield Christian Claims 3-Peat in D
March 22, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – First one and then a second starter fouled out of Saturday’s Class D Final as Southfield Christian tried to catch Adrian Lenawee Christian with only a few minutes remaining.
Fortunately for the Eagles, they had a few more players left with experience finishing a championship run.
Southfield Christian had never during the last three seasons played from situation it faced early Saturday afternoon. But a number of its players had helped win one or both of two straight MHSAA championships – and that no doubt assisted those left on the floor as they claimed a third.
Junior guard Bakari Evelyn scored five of his game-high 28 points after teammates Lindsay Hunter IV and Damarco White fouled out in the fourth quarter, and 2013 championship game standout Marlo Brown also scored during the same stretch as Southfield Christian claimed its third straight MHSAA title with a 63-61 nail-biter over Adrian Lenawee Christian.
“It was tough once I saw we were losing Lin and Damarco for a few quarters. My whole objective was to keep the game as close as possible,” Evelyn said. “I thought we were going to come out with the win, through the whole game and everything. It was good to finally be right.”
Evelyn, who started last season’s Class D Final and came off the bench in 2012 as a freshman, also had seven rebounds, four assists and four steals and handled the ball almost exclusively after Hunter fouled out with 16 points, 3:47 left to play and the Eagles trailing 54-51.
The 6-foot-6 White fouled out just more than a minute later with only two points, but five rebounds and five blocked shots after spending most of his morning defending Lenawee Christian’s trio of 6-7 post players.
But Evelyn had plenty of help down the stretch. Sophomore guard Jalen Bouldes played only 38 seconds during the closing minutes, but scored, was fouled and made the ensuing free throw to give Southfield Christian a 56-55 lead with 3:09 to play. Brown scored a minute later to push the lead to three. Evelyn then made five of six free-throw attempts over the final 1:13 to keep Lenawee Christian just a few points short.
“We’ve never had this where all of our main guys were in foul trouble. Other guys like Harding (Fears) and Benny (Cookinham) had to step up,” Eagles coach Clennie Brundidge said. "I’d put (Hunter and White) back in here and they’d get another foul. I told them that at the end, our depth was going to win this.”
Fears grabbed eight rebounds in 12 minutes and junior guard Kameron Garner – a starter last season who this winter came off the bench – had five points and five rebounds despite taking a hard fall during the first half. Brown had only four points, but both baskets put Southfield Christian up at points in the game.
Lenawee Christian (21-5), an honorable mention in the Class D poll heading into the postseason, came back from an early nine-point deficit to make it back-and-forth over the final three quarters.
Senior center Kingsley had 22 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the floor and with sophomore forward Maxwell (11 points) allowed the Cougars to slow the game’s tempo and keep Southfield Christian’s usually active fastbreak to only 11 points.
“We wanted them to come beat us at our game, and I think for the most part we were able to control tempo,” Lenawee Christian coach Scott McKelvey said. “Our free-throw shooting hurt us (19 of 31), but we got opportunities and we couldn’t ask for anything more than that. It’s a team that probably no one in the state thought we could beat.”
“If we could’ve had two more minutes,” Kingsley added, "I’m pretty confident we could’ve changed something.”
Senior forward Grant Hohlbein, also set to accept an MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award later Saturday, added 15 points for Lenawee Christian. The Cougars’ Semifinal on Thursday was its first since 2001, and the championship game berth was their first ever.
Brundidge said that after seeing Lenawee Christian in a summer game, he knew that was the team his Eagles would face if they returned for a third straight Final. Southfield Christian’s only loss this season was to Class A No. 5 Saginaw Arthur Hill, and it finished 26-1 and 74-5 over the last three seasons – good to tie for eighth-most wins over a three-season span.
“I’m in awe,” Hunter said. “My freshman year we lost in the first round of Districts to (Bloomfield Hills) Roeper, went 2-19. I never thought we’d be sitting here in this position with three state championships.”
Click for the full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Southfield Christian’s Bakari Evelyn (22) works to get to the rim around Adrian Lenawee Christian’s Maxwell and Grant Hohlbein. (Middle) Lenawee Christian’s Nick Mewborn dribbles upcourt with Southfield Christian’s Kameron Garner defending.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Southfield Christian uses a block to start a fast break, resulting in a basket – and one – for Jalen Bouldes. The free throw gave the Eagles the lead to stay in the Class D finale. (2) With 12 seconds to go, Grant Hohlbein of Lenawee Christian scores on an inbounds pass and draws a Southfield Christian foul. Hohlbein completed the three-point play to pull his team within a point at 62-61.