Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 7
January 22, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Last week was unkind to many who had enjoyed perfect runs through most of the first half of this boys basketball season.
We started last Monday with 34 unbeaten teams – and ended with only 22, as five of 10 in Class D and three of seven in Class A were among those to suffer first defeats.
Of course, the best teams rarely make it through an entire season unscathed – and often that’s a good thing. Five of eight teams on this week’s “Watch List” below have lost at least once and a couple have three defeats – but are still making major impressions as we roll along toward March.
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 Renaissance 60, Detroit Cass Tech 57 – More on Renaissance’s surge below, but this one announced it as Cass Tech had been in the talk as the best in Class A.
2. Kalamazoo Central 55, Mattawan 47 – The Maroon Giants are quietly off to another strong first half, sitting alone in first in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East after handing Mattawan its first loss of the season.
3. Maple City Glen Lake 54, Frankfort 45 – The Lakers had quite a week, handing Frankfort its first loss to move into a three-way tie atop the Northwest Conference before defeating Lake Michigan Conference leader Traverse City St. Francis two days later.
4. Rochester 71, Berkley 55 – Rochester moved into first place alone in the Oakland Activities Association Blue while handing Berkley its first loss overall.
5. Buckley 62, Manton 60 – These teams went a combined 47-6 last season in both making it to the Breslin Center; they are a combined 13-6 with high aspirations again this winter.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Detroit Renaissance (8-3) – The Phoenix finished 6-14 only a season ago, but the rise has been sharp and impressive over the last two months. Right after downing Cass Tech last week, Renaissance also defeated Class B contender Detroit Henry Ford – which beat the Phoenix by three Dec. 19. The three loses this season are by a combined nine points; Renaissance fell early by four to Flint Carman-Ainsworth and then by a basket to Ann Arbor Huron in overtime (those two are 15-3 combined).
Okemos (7-3) – Last week’s 60-55 win over East Lansing requires context; Trojans all-stater Brandon Johns was unable to play, reportedly resting a lingering knee injury. Regardless, the victory pushed the Chiefs into a first-place tie with Grand Ledge in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue after Okemos finished fourth and 12-9 overall last season. The only losses this winter were to the Comets, DeWitt and Troy Athens (24-6 combined) in December; the Chiefs are 4-0 in 2018.
CLASS B
Coloma (9-0) – A 54-49 overtime win over nonleague foe Kalamazoo Hackett on Saturday didn’t enhance Coloma’s standing atop the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore, but did further the Comets’ standing as a team to watch statewide (Hackett fell to 9-2). Coloma improved from five wins two seasons ago to 13 and second in the Lakeshore last winter, and it has a one-game lead on Fennville heading into their second meeting this season Friday. The Comets won the first 71-64 on Dec. 8.
Fremont (7-2) – After two seasons winning only six games apiece, Fremont improved to 13-8 last winter and has continued to climb. The Packers have won five straight to rise to first place in the Central State Activities Association Gold despite suffering a loss to third-place Reed City during a 2-2 start. They are perfect this month and started the run with a 54-49 win over second-place Big Rapids.
CLASS C
Capac (9-0) – The Chiefs have nearly guaranteed their first winning season since 2010-11, and are set up to play for more. Coming off an 8-13 finish a year ago, Capac finds itself tied for first in the Blue Water Area Conference with Richmond, and they’ll meet for the first time next week. The Chiefs handed former co-leader Almont its first league loss Friday, 41-35, and have won six games by double digits.
Ottawa Lake Whiteford (7-2) – The Bobcats’ Division 8 championship football success seems to be following into the winter, as they moved into first place alone in the Tri-County Conference with a 63-42 win over Sand Creek on Thursday. Next up is second-place Petersburg-Summerfield, and a victory would be coach John Rice’s 500th. Whiteford’s only losses this winter are to Class A Temperance Bedford and also much larger Toledo Waite.
CLASS D
Ashley (9-1) – The Bears have run off nine straight victories to move into first place in the Mid-State Activities Conference with a matchup against second-place Carson City-Crystal coming up this week. Ashley won nine games total a year ago – and had 19 victories over the last five seasons combined entering this winter. The lone loss was by only three to Portland St. Patrick in its opener.
Bellevue (8-0) – Last season’s 23-2 run – an improvement of five wins from the solid season before – might have been just another step as the Broncos are surging again. The most impressive win may have come Thursday, 45-39 over Camden-Frontier which sent the Redskins to 9-3. The Broncos also beat Class C Carson City-Crystal and Lakeview to win the Central Montcalm Holiday Hoops Tournament, and have a two-win lead in the Southern Central Athletic Association West.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Grand Rapids Christian (6-2) at East Grand Rapids (9-1) – These two sit together at the top of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold after Christian was first and EGR only fifth last season.
Tuesday – Warren DeLaSalle (7-2) at Detroit U-D Jesuit (8-2) – This will be the first of two meetings (at least) between the current co-leaders of the Detroit Catholic League Central.
Tuesday – Grandville Calvin Christian (7-1) at Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (10-2) – Both should be in the Class C statewide mix again after Covenant was runner-up last season and Calvin was runner-up in 2016.
Tuesday – Coloma (9-0) at Kalamazoo Christian (9-0) – The leaders of the SAC Lakeshore and Valley, respectively, have made similar big moves in their divisions with a similar opportunity to gain a little more statewide acclaim.
Thursday – West Bloomfield (5-4) at Clarkston (10-1) – The overall records don’t look close, but West Bloomfield trails the Wolves by just a win in the OAA Red after both made the Class A semifinals last season (and Clarkston won it all).
PHOTO: Ottawa Lake Whiteford coach John Rice provides some pointers for his 7-2 Bobcats. (Photo by Cari Hayes.)
Senior-Dominated Falcons Finish Freeland Careers in Best Way Imaginable
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 14, 2026
EAST LANSING – Not many teams had a sense of urgency to win it all as big as Freeland’s this season.
And Saturday night, they capped off a run to a title that went well beyond just this year.
Led by its 12 seniors – and two senior student managers – Freeland claimed its first Boys Basketball Finals title, defeating Hudsonville Unity Christian 42-32 in the Division 2 championship game at the Breslin Center.
“To go back home with this big thing (trophy) and do something that no Freeland boys team has ever done, win a state championship, is pretty special,” senior guard Wilson Huckeby said. “Not just for me, but for all these guys, I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Everyone that saw the floor for the Falcons in the Final will graduate, and they’ll go out in the best way they could imagine.
The game started slowly, as the Crusaders led 6-4 after the first quarter with the teams going a combined 4-of-19 from the field.
Some space opened up during the second quarter, but not much, as Unity Christian held a 17-15 lead at the half.
It was Freeland, though, that started to find a groove toward the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth, going ahead by 13 with under three minutes to play.
“In the locker room, you walked in and it was just poised and composed,” Freeland coach John Fattal said. “Everyone knew in that locker room what the second half was going to look like. Everyone knew in our locker room what the belief looked like. Everyone understood that these guys were going to handle pressure, were going to make free throws, they were going to handle everything that Unity Christian threw at them, everything the environment threw at them, and they were just poised and composed the whole second half.”
The run was highlighted by 3-pointers from Tristan Comer and Connor Lasceski on back-to-back possessions, stretching a three-point lead to nine.
“Obviously I’m extremely confident in the shot,” said Comer, a 6-foot-6, 260-pound center who will play offensive line at Michigan State next year. “But I gotta give it to my teammates for setting me up with the perfect pass. I’ve only been able to develop a shot like that because of Coach Fattal and how he runs his practices and how he teaches when to take those shots.”
Comer finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Falcons (26-3), while Huckeby had 12 points, six rebounds and four steals. Senior Cooper Wagner had five points and six assists, and Lasceski had six points.
“Every shot (Huckeby) made was contested,” Unity Christian coach Scott Soodsma said. “We kind of screwed up a little right before half. We went to a zone and all of the sudden I think we forgot and left that kid open. He’s a great player. If you would have told me that Huckeby and Comer had 24 total, one of those could score 24 on their own. So, yeah, it was just one of those nights where I thought our defense didn’t let us down and it was right there. I thought we just weren’t able to put the basketball in the basket.”
Jack Kamminga led Unity Christian (25-4) with 14 points and five rebounds.
Unity Christian lost senior guard Brogan Sherd early in the third quarter to a leg injury. He was carried back to the locker room and returned on crutches to watch the end of the game. Owen VanderWaal was also limited because of an injury.
“We were down a little horsepower and we had a hard time scoring, that was the issue,” Soodsma said. “Those are our top two leading scorers and both of them are down on the bench. I thought Jack really stepped up and made a couple key baskets. (Kyler) Berghuis did a great job on Huckeby fighting over all those screens. But we couldn’t score. If you would have told me we were going to hold them to 42 points, I’m thinking we win that ball game by 10. I thought we’d get to 55, probably. But, tonight, it just wasn’t meant to be.”
PHOTOS (Top) Freeland’s Wilson Huckeby attempts to cut between a pair of Unity Christian defenders during the Division 2 Final on Saturday. (Middle) Unity’s Kyler Berghuis (3) dribbles into an opening just inside the arc. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)