Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 5
January 14, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The powerhouse programs often seem to be the same from boys basketball season to season.
But one of the most entertaining parts of high school hoops is how a team can change its level of success substantially from year to year as players move up to varsity and graduate each spring.
The below list of last week's 10 impressive squads includes a number that are off to strong beginnings to 2013-14 after lesser performances a season ago. (Records are based on results reported to the MHSAA Score Center.)
1. Holland (6-0, Class A) – The Dutch finished a game under .500 last season, but have opened by beating some of the best from the state’s west side plus solid Mount Pleasant.
2, Detroit Henry Ford (6-1, Class B) – The Trojans already are halfway to equaling last season’s win total and have posted some of their most impressive over Ann Arbor Huron and Rockford.
3. Negaunee (7-1, Class C) – The Miners are the only team undefeated in the Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference after handing rival Ishpeming its first loss of the season, 57-55, last week.
4. Ann Arbor Huron (5-1, Class A) – The River Rats have jumped out to a nice lead in the Southeastern Conference Red and earned a solid win over Detroit East English during holiday break.
5. Boyne City (6-0, Class C) – Call it clutch; the Lake Michigan Conference-leading Ramblers already have three league wins by five or fewer points.
6. Rochester Adams (6-1, Class A) – The Highlanders have lost a combined two games over the last two seasons, with this winter’s lone defeat a mere three-pointer during the opening week.
7. Fennville (6-1, Class C) – The Blackhawks are off to their best start of the young decade, with the lone loss a four-pointer to traditional Class D power Wyoming Tri-unity Christian.
8. Flint Carman-Ainsworth (6-1, Class A) – The Cavaliers have won their first four Saginaw Valley Association South games by an average of 23 points per.
9. Mount Pleasant (5-1, Class A) – Four of those five wins have put the Oilers on top of the always-competitive Saginaw Valley Association North.
10. Bloomfield Hills (5-1, Class A) – The Black Hawks' first season after emerging from the merge of Lahser and Andover is off to a great start, with the only loss a one-pointer to Rochester and last week’s 13-point win over Southfield-Lathrup most impressive.
PHOTO: Ann Arbor Huron got past East Lansing during the Holiday Hoops Invitational at Michigan State's Breslin Center and is off to a 5-1 start. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
D4 Preview: New Era, Familiar Contenders
March 13, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Division 4 has replaced Class D this year as the boys basketball tournament classification for Michigan’s smallest high schools, and some familiar teams from the previous era will return to the Breslin Center on Thursday to help usher in a new one.
Reigning Class D champion Southfield Christian and Wyoming Tri-unity Christian have won eight MHSAA Finals in this sport between them. Dollar Bay joins Southfield Christian as a returnee from last season, making the Semifinals for the second straight, and Frankfort is making the trip to East Lansing for the second time this decade.
Division 4 Semifinals – Thursday
Dollar Bay (21-4) vs. Southfield Christian (19-6), 5:30 p.m.
Frankfort (20-5) vs. Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (22-3), 7:30 p.m.
Division 4 Final – Saturday, 10 a.m.
Tickets cost $10 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session (Divisions 4 and 1). All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a pay-per-view basis. The Divisions 2, 3 and 4 championship games will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit’s primary channel, while the Division 1 Final will be shown live on Fox Sports Detroit PLUS. All four championship games will be streamed live on FoxSportsDetroit.com and the FOX Sports app. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
Below is a glance at all four semifinalists. Click on the name of the school to see that team’s full schedule and results from this season. (Statistics are through teams' Regional Finals.)
DOLLAR BAY
Record/rank: 21-4, unranked
League finish: Second in Copper Mountain Conference Copper
Coach: Jason Kentala, 12th season (105-120)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 67-64 over No. 6 Pellston in Quarterfinal, 65-56 over No. 10 Munising in Regional Semifinal, 70-55 over Chassell in District Semifinal.
Players to watch: Ashton Janke, 6-3 fr. F (16.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg); Connor LeClaire, 6-0 soph. F (13.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg).
Outlook: Dollar Bay graduated an all-stater and brings only one starter back this weekend from last season’s Semifinal team, but is on a roll with 14 wins over its last 15 games. The lone loss during that string came to CMC Copper champ Chassell, and Dollar Bay avenged it six nights later at the District. Senior guard Brendan LeClaire (9.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.5 apg) is that one returning starter from a year ago, and sophomore guard Davin Hill adds another 12.4 ppg. The Blue Bolts are hitting on 32 percent of their 3-point shots this winter, a big plus as some of these players get their second looks at the Breslin rims.
FRANKFORT
Record/rank: 20-5, unranked
League finish: Second in Northwest Conference
Coach: Dan Loney, first season (20-5)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 53-51 (OT) over honorable mention Big Rapids Crossroads, 41-38 (Regional Final), 62-59 (OT) and 63-58 over Leland.
Players to watch: Will Newbold, 6-0 sr. G (14.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.1 apg); Jack Stefanski, 6-3 soph. G (14 ppg, 17.9 rpg).
Outlook: Frankfort is making its third trip to the Semifinals and first since 2014. This time the team is led by Loney, formerly an assistant for four seasons before taking over the program. Frankfort finished behind only Division 3 No. 4 Maple City Glen Lake in the Northwest Conference and has navigated two overtime wins and a third by three points during the postseason – the two overtime victories put the team at 4-0 this season in games that went past regulation. This is also the second straight season the Panthers have reached 20 wins, and four starters plus the top scorer off the bench are all seniors.
SOUTHFIELD CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 19-6, No. 3
League finish: First in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue
Coach: Josh Baker, eighth season (179-30)
Championship history: Class D champions 2018, 2014, 2013 and 2012.
Best wins: 55-30 over honorable mention Adrian Lenawee Christian in Regional Final, 79-53 (District Semifinal), 61-51 and 69-52 over Novi Christian.
Players to watch: Jon Sanders, 6-1 sr. G (16.5 ppg, 56 3-pointers); Da’Jion Humphrey, 6-2 jr. G (16.4 ppg, 45 3-pointers, 6.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg).
Outlook: Reigning Class D champion Southfield Christian is making its third straight appearance in the Semifinals, with Humphrey and Sanders both starters on last season’s title winner and junior forward Rahmon Scruggs (7.4 ppg) the top sub during the 2018 Final. Junior guard Noah Rheker adds another 11.6 ppg and had made 45 3-pointers heading into this week as well. The Eagles started this winter 2-5 facing mostly Division 1 and 2 schools; they also have wins this season over West Bloomfield and Detroit Country Day, and their only loss since Jan. 5 came to Division 2 contender River Rouge.
WYOMING TRI-UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 22-3, No. 5
League finish: Second in Alliance League
Coach: Mark Keeler, 32nd season (599-188)
Championship history: Four Class D titles (most recent 2011), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 62-31 over No. 2 Bellevue in Quarterfinal, 68-56 over No. 4 Marcellus Howardsville Christian in Regional Semifinal, 58-40 over No. 9 Martin in District Final, 62-53 over Muskegon Heights Academy in Regional Final.
Players to watch: Bennett Sinner, 6-0 sr. F (12.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.8 spg); Brayden Ophoff, 5-10 sr. G (11.5 ppg, 42 3-3-pointers).
Outlook: Tri-unity has made at least the Quarterfinals four of the last five seasons and the Semifinals now for the first time since 2016. This Defenders team has the program’s best record since finishing Class D runner-up and going 25-3 in 2013. Tri-unity hasn’t lost since Jan. 22, and two of the defeats came to Division 3 No. 2 Pewamo-Westphalia and honorable mention Potter’s House Christian. Sinner earned an all-state honorable mention last season. Freshman guard Brady Titus adds another 12 ppg.
PHOTO: Southfield Christian’s Jon Sanders drives to the basket during his team’s Regional Final win over Adrian Lenawee Christian. (Photo courtesy of C&G Newspapers.)