Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 7
January 25, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
There may be 25 undefeated boys basketball teams left in Michigan.
But this week will be telling for a quite a few – both those expected to shine this brightly and also for some surprising us along the way.
Each week during the regular season, we’ll glance at four teams from each class that have caught our attention. Results and records below are based on schedules posted at MHSAA.com.
Class A
Canton (12-0) – The reigning league champion Chiefs look like they’ll be tough to stop in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association South again after winning every game of the first run through the division schedule by an average of nearly 15 points per.
Detroit U-D Jesuit (11-0) – Most people’s preseason favorite in Class A hasn’t disappointed – or had an in-state opponent come closer than 10 points. Last week’s lone win, over Detroit Catholic Central, gave the Cubs first place solo in the Detroit Catholic League Central.
Holland West Ottawa (10-0) – The Panthers moved into first place alone in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red with a 58-53 win over former co-leader East Kentwood on Friday – and long ago bested last season’s 6-15 finish.
Macomb Dakota (9-0) – The Cougars showed they were up for stepping into the elite during the first week with wins over West Bloomfield and Clarkston, teams they lost to during the first week last season. In addition to leading the Macomb Area Conference Red, Dakota also has added another impressive win over Lansing Everett.
Class B
Big Rapids (9-1) – The Cardinals picked up a pair of 40-point league wins to hold on to a one-win lead in the Central State Activities Association Gold, but may need to finish a sweep against Grant next week to repeat as champion and this time win the title outright after sharing with Newaygo a year ago.
Leslie (10-1) – Although they’re from one of the smallest schools in Class B, the Blackhawks are riding high with nine straight wins and atop the Greater Lansing Activities Conference after beating reigning champion Lake Odessa Lakewood and former co-leader Stockbridge last week.
Onsted (10-0) – University of Michigan recruit Austin Davis is the player everyone knows, but he’s getting plenty of help as Onsted sits atop the Lenawee County Athletic Association with only second-place Hillsdale coming within striking distance so far.
Whitehall (9-1) – After tying for third in the West Michigan Conference last season, Whitehall leads the league with a 7-0 record through the first round of conference games and has lost only to nonleague Spring Lake.
Class C
Beaverton (8-0) – The Beavers have won 27 straight Jack Pine Conference games and lead the field by two wins in the league standings as they look to repeat; they’ve beaten the three teams tied for second by five, seven and 15 points, respectively.
Iron Mountain (10-0) – The Mountaineers surely have been looking forward to this week for a while after falling to Negaunee in the regular-season finale a year ago – and by doing so, giving up first in the Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference to the Miners. Both are undefeated as they prepare for this week's latest rematch.
Lutheran Westland (9-0) – The Warriors are another team that surely has prepped for this week; after sharing the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Red title with Sterling Heights Parkway Christian last season, they’re tied for first again and play Friday for the first time this season.
McBain (9-0) – The reigning Highland Conference champion is tied for first with rival McBain Northern Michigan Christian, making this week’s matchup much more meaningful than two one-sided Ramblers wins a season ago.
Class D
Alanson (9-0) – A 58-57 win over Boyne Falls to start the new year has Alanson just ahead of the pack in the Northern Lakes Conference; the Vikings tied for second in the league last season.
Lake Linden-Hubbell (9-0) – The Lakes won the Copper County Conference championship last year and have the upper hand in the new Copper Mountain Conference’s Copper Country division with only nonleague Calumet coming within 12 points.
Powers North Central (9-0) – The winning streak is up to 36 straight for the reigning Class D champion, which continues to score like few teams in the state are capable; the Jets have hit 87 twice and scored at least 70 five more times.
Vestaburg (7-0) – This week will be the biggest so far for the Mid-State Activities Conference co-leader as it faces co-leader Carson City-Crystal on Friday after finishing a win ahead of the Eagles for the league title a year ago.
PHOTO: Vestaburg sits tied for first in the MSAC thanks in part to a win over Coleman this winter. (Click for more photos from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Buckley Ends Wait with 1st Semifinal Win
March 23, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Buckley’s boys basketball team waited a long time to make this history – more than 100 years on the court, and then through a double overtime Semifinal on the other side of the Class D bracket Thursday.
But however long it took to earn the program’s first MHSAA championship game berth, it was going to be worth it.
The Bears’ best run ever will reach this season’s final day, as they won their first Semifinal in team history 68-61 over Lansing Christian at the Breslin Center to advance to Saturday’s 10 a.m. Final against two-time reigning champion Powers North Central.
Only twice previously had Buckley made the season’s final week, playing in Quarterfinals in 2010 and 1998. But the Bears have built a dominating 26-0 run this winter keyed by a talented group of juniors who have brought plenty of attention to their small town tucked 20 miles south of Traverse City.
“Speechless. Unbelievable. (I’m sad) it’s over, but I’m glad we’re here,” junior Austin Harris said.
“Sometimes like tonight, I’m just standing out there watching these guys shoot free throws,” junior teammate Denver Cade added, “and I’m like, ‘Man, we did it. We’re here. Let’s just keep winning.’”
That toughest task is next to come. Buckley takes its perfect season into the championship game against the Jets, who needed double overtime in their Semifinal to get past Southfield Christian and extend their nation-best winning streak to 82 straight victories.
That 40-minute classic left Buckley and Lansing Christian waiting a little longer to finish the night. But the Bears were more than ready when they got their chance.
Buckley led for all but 16 seconds during the final 27 minutes against the Pilgrims (19-7), yet by only two after senior Nick Jamieson’s 3-pointer pulled them to within 61-59 with 1:03 to play. But the Bears closed on a 7-2 run making 7 of 8 free throws while Lansing Christian connected on only one shot in four attempts while trying to catch up over that final stretch.
“I thought that might be a problem,” Buckley coach Blair Moss said of the delay. “But these guys came right out. I said let’s go get them, let’s attack them. We’re not scared of anybody. We’ve been doing it all summer long, all fall, and I’m so proud of these guys because they took it right to them.”
Harris led with 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and Cade added 13 points and nine rebounds. Guard Joey Weber, another junior, added 10 points and six boards.
Lansing Christian said good-bye to a strong senior group, with center Preston Granger leading one more time with 15 points and eight rebounds, Forrest Bouyer adding 13 points and Matt Havey scoring 10. All five starters will graduate this spring, but having brought the Pilgrims to their second Semifinal in five seasons.
“I met with them in August … and said what do you want to do?” Lansing Christian first-year coach Chris Mustaine said. “I’m brand new, this is a senior-heavy team. What do you want to do? What do you want to accomplish? Do we want this to be fun, or what are our goals?
“And they laid it out. They said we want to play at Breslin. We want to be the best possible team we can be, and they have spent every day since that day in August trying to do that, all the way up to today. Even in the middle of the fourth quarter, we said how can we get better? And they did; we just came up a couple shots short, a couple missed free throws short of having a shot at it at the end.”
For Buckley, the biggest test is yet to come. But the Bears were looking forward to that challenge already late Thursday night.
“We came down here and we talked,” Moss said, “and we said we’re not going to go home yet.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Buckley’s Ridge Beeman (30) tries to direct a shot around the outstretched arms of Lansing Christian’s Forrest Bouyer. (Middle) The Pilgrims’ Matt Havey (3) pushes the ball upcourt.