Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 7
January 23, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This week is expected to see the first MHSAA record fall during a history-making season in Michigan boys basketball.
Powers North Central can both tie and then surpass the 65-game winning streak built by Chassell’s teams from 1956-58. Barring the unexpected, the two-time reigning Class D champion would win its 66th straight on Friday – and then start work on pushing the newly-set record even farther out of reach.
Friday's game will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv, and we'll report more on the streak's significance next week. And of course, it's only one of a number of games and teams highlighted in this week’s Breslin Bound report powered by MI Student Aid.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit East English 71, Detroit Martin Luther King 57 – While its loss to Detroit Osborn on Jan. 13 remains a bit of a shocker, East English has bounced all the way back and with this win improved to 9-1 and moved into a first-place tie with King atop the Detroit Public School League East Division 1.
2. Buckley 50, Frankfort 38 – The Bears earned the upper hand both in the Northwest Conference and among the north’s Class D elite by remaining undefeated in handing Frankfort its first loss this season.
3. Hillsdale 74, Dundee 54 – This also was a meeting of undefeated teams, with Hillsdale prevailing to keep the top spot alone in the Lenawee County Athletic Association while making a nice statement in Class B as well.
4. Mount Pleasant 68, Saginaw 60 – The Oilers took a couple of tough losses early in the Saginaw Valley League North season, but they’re back in second place with this first win over league leader Saginaw since 2010.
5. Benton Harbor 62, Muskegon Heights Academy 60 – Coming off an overtime win over Stevensville Lakeshore, Benton Harbor passed another tough test edging a Heights team that is 8-4.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Marquette (9-1) – Since falling to Petoskey on opening night, Marquette is unbeaten. The Redmen handed Negaunee its first loss, 57-53, to start last week, and have a two-win lead on the rest of the Great Northern U.P. Conference after finishing second and only 11-9 overall last winter.
Romulus (7-2) – Somewhat quietly, Romulus has re-established itself in the Class A hunt. The Eagles always load their schedule with tough opponents, and although losses came to Clarkston and Detroit U-D Jesuit (combined 18-2), Romulus put up wins last week against Saginaw Arthur Hill, Dearborn Fordson and rival Belleville.
CLASS B
Ludington (8-0) – Counting the end of last season, Ludington has won 15 of its last 16 games, including handing Muskegon Heights Academy (mentioned above) one of its two losses this winter. That win has the Orioles sitting in first place alone in the rebuilt Lakes 8 Athletic Conference.
New Haven (9-1) – Coming off last season’s Quarterfinal march, New Haven is the team to chase in the Macomb Area Conference Blue with its last eight wins all by at least 22 points. That lone loss came by six to Macomb Dakota, a likely contender again after making the Class A Semifinals a year ago.
CLASS C
Norway (10-0) – With the school’s girls team also 10-0, it’s a great time to play basketball at Norway. The boys’ success has included handing Iron Mountain its only loss (48-44) on Dec. 16 and winning the rest of its games this winter by double digits – including 56-44 last week over reigning Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference co-champ Negaunee.
Kalamazoo Hackett (8-0) – A 53-50 win over rival Kalamazoo Christian on Friday was the latest highlight to a perfect start that has Hackett atop the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley standings. Going back to last season’s Quarterfinal run, Hackett has won 32 of its last 33 games.
CLASS D
Carney-Nadeau (6-3) – Life could be easier than playing in the same league as undefeated Powers North Central and one-loss Bark River-Harris, but the Wolves deserve some credit as well for upping the reputation of the Skyline Central Conference West after last week handing Munising its only loss, 59-46. Carney-Nadeau’s losses were to those league frontrunners and Friday at the Milwaukee Academy of Science.
Jackson Christian (6-3) – After opening 2-3 with those losses all to Class C teams with winning records, Jackson Christian has won four straight to take the lead in the Southern Central Athletic Association East. All of the wins have been by 10 or more points, and two of those three losses were by a combined five points.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Wayne Memorial (7-2) at Clarkston (10-0) – Much-improved Wayne can tie last season’s win total with an upset of the Class A-contending Wolves.
Tuesday – Sand Creek (9-0) at Ottawa Lake Whiteford (8-1) – This sounds like a great football matchup, but the boys basketball teams too are tied for first in the Tri-County Conference; Whiteford did beat Sand Creek in football to win the league title in that sport.
Tuesday – St. Johns (8-2) at East Lansing (10-0) – Both are leaders of Capital Area Activities Conference divisions, St. Johns in the Red and East Lansing in the Blue, but this could be a mighty upset for a Redwings team that has won two more games already than all of last season.
Wednesday – Michigan Center (8-0) at Napoleon (8-1) – These two are both undefeated in the Cascades Conference and also part of the same Class C District, making this the first of three possible matchups.
Friday – Bark River-Harris (8-1) at Powers North Central (9-0) – If the Jets beat Rock Mid-Peninsula on Tuesday, this matchup of the leaders in the Skyline Central Conference West could see North Central set the MHSAA boys hoops record with a 66th consecutive victory.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant downed Saginaw last week for the first time since 2010. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Breslin Bound: Boys Report Post-Break
January 7, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first full week of January means changing lanes for the high school boys basketball season, with many of the mega nonleague matchups in the rear-view mirror and league championship chases up ahead.
But first we have a few weeks of catching up to do after another highlight-filled holiday break showed us a few more contenders to keep an eye on as we settle into the local portion of our annual winter hoops run.
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. Canton 64, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 57 – The Winter Jam at Lawrence Tech was filled with great matchups, but Canton’s win over the reigning Class B runner-up – GRCC’s lone defeat – was the most impressive.
2. Benton Harbor 79, Saginaw 70 – These two are MHSAA championship contenders most seasons, and the Tigers moved to 10-0 with this win at Grand Blanc’s GottaGetIt Classic as they continue to build on last year’s Class B title.
3. Flint Beecher 57, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 50 – The Division 3 Bucs are up to 8-0 this winter after winning a rare matchup with this one of their Division 1 neighbors.
4. Detroit Martin Luther King 45, Kalamazoo Central 43 – The Crusaders came up with arguably their best win of a great start by handing the Maroon Giants their lone defeat during Friday’s Muskegon Classic.
5. Muskegon 55, East Kentwood 53 – The Big Reds are 3-2 while playing another tough early slate, and this win over the Falcons at the Hall of Fame Classic has been the highlight.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (7-1) – The Rockets are climbing after finishing 10-12 and tying for fifth in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black a year ago and winning just three games total in 2016-17. Annual league favorite Muskegon awaits, of course. But Reeths-Puffer has looked up to the task so far with wins over Ludington and Holland West Ottawa and the only defeat by five Dec. 7 to one-loss Zeeland West.
• Saginaw Heritage (5-1) – Since opening with a loss to still-undefeated Sanford Meridian, the Hawks also are perfect – and compared to a 3-4 start last season. They started the new year with a 64-53 win over Frankenmuth as they seek to build on last season’s 14-7 finish.
DIVISION 2
• Flat Rock (7-1) – Just 6-15 two seasons ago, Flat Rock improved to 18-6 and second in the Huron League last winter and last week edged Grosse Ile 42-40 after splitting with the Red Devils in 2017-18. Flat Rock’s only loss this season came by four Dec. 11 to Temperance Bedford. On Friday, the Rams get the first of two opportunities against reigning league champ Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central after being swept by the Falcons last season.
• Holland Christian (6-0) – The Maroons jumped 10 wins last season to finish 14-8 and second in the O-K Green, and might be starting on another leap. Holland Christian handed Maple City Glen Lake its only loss this season, 48-44 on Dec. 28 at the Lakeshore Cup at Grand Haven, and then downed Petoskey 66-59 the next day. Up next is reigning O-K Green champ Hudsonville Unity Christian, which defeated the Maroons three times last season.
DIVISION 3
• Kalamazoo Hackett (6-1) – The Irish bounced back from their only loss, to Division 1 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, by handing Schoolcraft a 72-56 defeat Dec. 18. That win has Hackett just ahead of Schoolcraft in first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley standings after the Irish finished second to Kalamazoo Christian (and 18-4 overall) a year ago.
• North Muskegon (7-0) – The Norsemen’s encore to last winter’s 20-4 finish has been perfect, including handing Ravenna the latter’s only defeat, 61-51 on Dec. 21. That victory has North Muskegon one win ahead of the Bulldogs in the West Michigan Conference, and no other opponent has come closer than 14 points.
DIVISION 4
• Athens (8-0) – After going 16-5 last season, Athens has big games this week against Jackson Christian and Battle Creek St. Philip (both 5-3) as it goes for a perfect first half. Union City gave the Indians their closest game Dec. 20, an eight-point win, and Athens came up big in December against Hillsdale Academy – which, although struggling, was a Class D semifinalist a year ago.
• Camden-Frontier (9-0) – The Redskins have the early lead in the Southern Central Athletic Association East after finishing second to Hillsdale Academy last winter, and doubled up the Colts in their Dec. 13 meeting. Camden-Frontier also repeated as the Pat Paterson Holiday Tournament champion with double-digit wins over Hillsdale and Reading to get halfway to besting last year’s 17 wins.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Novi (3-3) at Canton (5-1) – Novi beat Canton by five in last season’s Kensington Lakes Activities Association semifinals and then by two when they met again in a District Semifinal; they were the Chiefs’ only defeats of the season.
Tuesday – Macomb Dakota (6-1) at Sterling Heights Stevenson (6-1) – These two are tied for first in the Macomb Area Conference Red after Dakota edged Stevenson for the title by a win a year ago.
Thursday – Bellevue (6-0) at Camden-Frontier (9-0) – Both lead or are tied for the lead in their respective divisions of the SCAA, plus might end up among the top-ranked in all of Division 4.
Friday – Frankenmuth (4-3) at Bridgeport (7-0) – The same may not end up true this winter, but a year ago Bridgeport’s sweep of Frankenmuth gave the Bearcats the Tri-Valley Conference East title ahead of the runner-up Eagles.
Saturday – Grand Blanc (7-2) at Kalamazoo Central (5-1) – Coming off a key league matchup with Davison on Friday, Grand Blanc heads west to see another statewide Division 1 contender in Central.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Student Financial Services Bureau located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information, including various student financial assistance programs to help make college more affordable for Michigan students. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 savings programs (MET/MESP) and eight additional aid programs within its Student Scholarships and Grants division. Click for more information and connect with MI Student Aid on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Flint Beecher’s Earnest Sanders works for post position during his team’s win over Flint Carman-Ainsworth on Dec. 27. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)