Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 6
January 15, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We’re heading into the midpoint of this boys basketball season, and the surprises keep coming.
Detroit Henry Ford and Grand Ledge were full of them last week, and Berkley has been one of the state’s most intriguing all season. We touch on those a little bit below, along with a number of others that most recently caught our attention.
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. Detroit Henry Ford 63, Detroit Cass Tech 60 – The Trojans should be back in the Class B title talk after handing a first loss to one of the major favorites in Class A.
2. Grand Ledge 59, East Lansing 53 – The Comets are 6-1 but weren’t getting much attention until this upset broke East Lansing’s 45-game regular-season winning streak.
3. Frankfort 69, Buckley 53 – The Panthers handed the reigning Class D runner-up this defeat after falling to Buckley by 39 and then only three last season.
4. Detroit Cass Tech 85, Muskegon 78 (OT) – The Technicians did not waste time bouncing back from the Henry Ford loss, downing Muskegon in overtime the next day at Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills.
5. Macomb Dakota 64, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley 62 – The Cougars took big losses early to Detroit U-D Jesuit and New Haven, but are undefeated in the Macomb Area Conference Red after handing Chippewa Valley its first defeat in the league and overall this winter.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Ann Arbor Skyline (7-0) – The Eagles have been building toward a start like this, even winning the Southeastern Conference Red title a year ago. They started the new year with a 20-point win over second-place Ann Arbor Pioneer on Saturday and have impressive wins by 14 over Belleville, one over Detroit Pershing and 20 over frequent nemesis Ann Arbor Huron.
Berkley (8-0) – The Bears have doubled their win total from last season after going 4-17, and they’re only a few more from guaranteeing a first winning season since 2010-11. They’ve pulled off a few close ones including a two-point victory over MAC Bronze leader Madison Heights Madison a month ago. Next up is Rochester with first place in the Oakland Activities Association Blue on the line.
CLASS B
Detroit Henry Ford (7-2) – The 2015-16 Class B champion still made the Regional last season despite finishing 13-11 overall, and another big run could be on the way. Ford opened this season with a two-point win over 2017 Class A semifinalist West Bloomfield, and has beaten a series of Class A teams including Cass Tech (see above). The losses came to Class A powers Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills and Hazel Park, the latter in overtime.
Ovid-Elsie (5-1) – The Marauders have hovered around .500 the last few seasons, but might have something more in store over the next two months after a fast start. Ovid-Elsie sits atop the Tri-Valley Conference West standings and hasn’t lost since its opener (to still-undefeated Fowler). Coming up Friday is a matchup with second-place Hemlock.
CLASS C
Norway (5-2) – The Knights moved over to the Skyline Central Conference after sharing the Mid-Peninsula Conference title last season and finishing 18-3 overall. They’ve won four straight and hold a half-game lead in the SCC’s Large School division. The two losses came in December in overtime to Powers North Central and by eight to nemesis Iron Mountain, which knocked Norway out of the tournament last season. Those two will face off again Feb. 9.
Sanford Meridian (7-1) – The Mustangs are playing for a second straight Jack Pine Conference championship and already have wins against usual annual contenders Beaverton and Clare. Meridian’s only loss was by 10 in early December to Class A Saginaw Heritage, and it’s got another similar test coming up against Midland Dow in two weeks.
CLASS D
Cedarville (7-2) – The Trojans are approaching the season’s midpoint in position to take back the Eastern Upper Peninsula Athletic Conference title after tying for second a year ago. Cedarville got past reigning champion Pickford 67-59 last week and has lost only to undefeated Hillman and Class B Boyne City.
Frankfort (6-0) – The Northwest Conference sent Buckley all the way to the Class D title game last year, and early this winter it’s Frankfort that could be setting up for a run. The Panthers held onto first place all alone in the league last week with a win over the Bears, and now face the other two teams with only one conference loss – Kingsley on Tuesday and Maple City Glen Lake on Thursday.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Rapid River (7-0) at Powers North Central (6-1) – The Rockets ended North Central’s record 84-game winning streak Dec. 7, but the Jets can make it six straight by taking the rematch.
Tuesday – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (7-2) at Warren DeLaSalle (6-2) – In a strong Detroit Catholic League Central, these are two of the best; DeLaSalle leads and St. Mary’s is third after falling to second-place U-D Jesuit by a point last week.
Thursday – Bellevue (8-0) at Camden-Frontier (8-2) – Both are pushing for Southern Central Athletic Association titles; Bellevue is tied for first in the West and Camden-Frontier is second in the East, and this game counts in the standings for both.
Thursday – Maple City Glen Lake (5-1) at Frankfort (6-0) – The Panthers also must survive Kingsley on Tuesday to keep their perfect start going, and Glen Lake is aiming to gain a share of first place in the Northwest Conference too.
Friday – Hazel Park (8-0) at West Bloomfield (3-3) – Hazel Park and reigning Class A champion Clarkston have been the talk of a strong OAA Red, but West Bloomfield also is undefeated in league play after opening with three tough nonleague losses including two by only two points apiece.
PHOTO: Berkley, here against Clawson in December, is one of this season’s biggest surprises. (Photo courtesy of C&G Newspapers.)
Nieto Closes Magnificent Madison Career as Team's All-Time Leading Scorer
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
April 2, 2025
Antonio Nieto has never met Pete Bagrow, but he’s closely following in the footsteps of a fellow Adrian Madison basketball player.
Last month, Nieto passed Bagrow to become the all-time leading scorer in Madison boys basketball history. Nieto was the first player in school history to break the 1,000-point barrier and will play college basketball at Siena Heights University, just like Bagrow.
“Tell him I said congratulations,” said Bagrow, a 1984 Madison graduate and now general manager of sales at a car dealership in Texas. “But, kid him a little that he had the 3-point shot and played in more games.”
In an age where it seems more and more players are surpassing 1,000 points and piling up large scoring totals, Nieto was a steady, consistent player during his four years at Madison. He reached 30 points just twice in his career – with his career high 31. He made a career-high 28 3-pointers this season – a figure surpassed by 20 players in Lenawee County alone.
“I think it is interesting that in my 20 years at Madison, and all of the good players we have had, none scored 1,000 points,” said Madison coach Erik Thompson. “Antonio made it a goal his freshman year and got it. He’s a basketball-only kid. He loves the game.”
Nieto benefited from the MHSAA’s five-quarter rule as a freshman, where he could play four quarters of junior varsity and stick around for another quarter as a varsity player. He practiced with both teams – one before school and one after.
“The other guys accepted me, so it was good,” he said. “It took a little bit of adjusting to get used to varsity, but not too much.”
By his sophomore year he was averaging in double figures. His junior year he averaged 18.1 points a game, and it started to dawn on him that 1,000 points was within reach.
“I’d see his name on the (record) board,” Nieto said about Bagrow. “After my sophomore year, I started thinking about 1,000 points. Last year, I would sort of keep an eye on where I was. I knew I could get it this year.”
The mission was accomplished during a 12-game Madison win streak this season that included a 43-37 win over previously-unbeaten Onsted, which was ranked among the top five teams in the state in Division 2 at the time. That win helped Madison clinch its first league championship in a decade.
“That was big,” Nieto said. “We knew we could beat them. The first time we played them, we watched film and we were confident, then the game came and they beat us by 25. Even in the locker room after that game, we knew that the next time we played we could get them.”
Nieto’s 15 points in that game helped Madison secure the upset, and it was during that victory that he reached 1,000. Before that, Madison was the only team in Lenawee County history without a 1,000-point scorer.
Nieto said his game evolved over his four years, especially thanks to hitting the weight room.
“I got a lot stronger,” he said. “I put up a lot of shots in the gym, too.”
Madison went through some changes during Nieto’s varsity career as well. The school was in the Tri-County Conference his freshman and sophomore seasons but moved to the Lenawee County Athletic Association last year. His freshman season was also the first time Madison played in Division 2.
This season the Trojans shared the LCAA title with Onsted, the first trophy won during Nieto’s four seasons.
“We had a good season. I’m satisfied,” Nieto said. “I wish we would have won more. I think we won 55 games in my four years. That’s pretty good.”
Nieto chose to stay close for college, selecting Siena Heights, which is just a few miles from his home. Among reasons is his close-knit family.
“My sister always comes to my games, my mom and dad and my uncles,” he said. “They all sit in the same spot and sit together. I know they are there.
“Sometimes my mom will get after me about playing defense. It helps me having them there.”
His basketball family is close-knit, too.
“Not that we weren’t a family last year, but I think this year we really became a close family, all the players and coaches,” he said. “I think that is what helped us get over the top.”
Madison’s 18 wins this season were the most for the Trojans since 2015-16.
The school celebrated Nieto becoming the all-time leading scorer, something Bagrow doesn’t recall happening when he was in school.
“I think they painted the number 974 (his career point total) on a piece of plywood and hung it in the school. I think the guy I passed had the record for only two or three years,” he said. “I can’t believe the record has held this long. That’s 40 years.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Adrian Madison’s Antonio Nieto (4) puts up a shot during a game this season. (Middle) Nieto, holding a banner, celebrates his 1,000th career point surrounded by family. (Top photo by Tyler George.)