Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 8
January 28, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Eight weeks of success is enough to expect that any team still undefeated – like our top team among last week's high performers – should keep making noise over the month and a half to come.
But there's something to be said about starting anew on Jan. 1. And we've got a few on this week's list as well that have surged since the calendar year got a new start.
Remember, results and overall records below are those listed in our MHSAA Score Center. Are either incorrect? Please help us out after filling in this brief registration.
1. Big Rapids (11-0) – The Cardinals have won 20 straight regular-season games dating back to the mid-point of last winter and lead the Central State Activities Association.
2. Rochester Adams (10-1) – The Highlanders’ lone loss came against Oxford all the way back on Dec. 14; they’ve won four straight by double figures and are just two wins from equaling last season’s total.
3. Zeeland East (10-2) – The Chix are in first place by a win over two others in the O-K Black and have won four straight including beating league favorite Muskegon 67-61 on Friday.
4. Allen Park Inter-City Baptist (10-2) – Before Saturday’s 14-point loss to Detroit Country Day, the Chargers had won three straight and earlier this month edged reigning Class D champion Southfield Christian by a point.
5. Lansing Waverly (9-2) – The Warriors opened this season with losses to Holt and Jackson Lumen Christi by a combined five points, but since have won nine straight including avenging that loss to the Titans on Friday.
6. Bessemer (10-1) – The Speedboys are undefeated in-state, with their only loss to Washburn, Wis., after winning 10 games total last season.
7. Crystal Falls Forest Park (6-3) – The Trojans opened this winter with two losses, but are on a roll and edged 2012 Class D Semifinalist Carney-Nadeau on Friday, 70-67.
8. Pittsford (9-2) – The Wildcats hit a rough patch from Jan. 11-15, when they lost two games; otherwise, they’re undefeated this season.
9. Temperance Bedford (8-1) – Despite losing to Sylvania Southview of Ohio on Saturday, the Kicking Mules opened with eight straight wins and beat Ann Arbor Pioneer 56-54 the night before.
10. Canton (7-5) – The Chiefs also are running well in January with five straight wins including Friday’s 55-50 victory over Westland John Glenn which avenged their last lost before the run, 53-48 to John Glenn on Jan. 4.
PHOTO: Canton players (in red) try to gather a loose ball during a game against Cincinnati Withrow on Dec. 28 at Detroit County Day. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Beecher Earns Opportunity to 'Complete the Task' with Semifinal Win
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 23, 2023
EAST LANSING — Flint Beecher and Ecorse entered their Division 3 Semifinal on Thursday with at least one common thread of motivation.
Both lost in last year’s Semifinals, so both the Buccaneers and Raiders were looking to leave Breslin Center with some vindication.
Ultimately, Beecher was the team that did so, earning a 64-54 win over Ecorse and advancing to its seventh championship game since 2012.
Senior guard Robert Lee and senior forward Kevin Tiggs both scored 17 points to lead the way for Beecher (23-4).
“We’re not satisfied with this,” Beecher head coach Marquise Gray said. “This is just one part of completing the task.”
The difference in the game turned out to be that Beecher simply had more depth, which eventually wore down Ecorse.
Beecher featured an eight-player rotation, while Ecorse, with the exception of one substitution late in the third quarter, played its starters throughout until the game got away late.
“We figured we would wear them down,” Gray said. “Looking at their bench, we saw that they didn’t have a deep bench. But the focus, energy and effort was on us, and us executing defensively and offensively.”
A big reason why Ecorse was short-handed was because one of its best players, senior Kenneth Morrast, was out after suffering a broken wrist in a Regional Final.
Ecorse head coach Gerrod Abram said he believes his team would have won this weekend’s championship if his squad was at full strength, but also heaped praise on Beecher and its playmakers.
Abram said before Morrast’s injury, his squad didn’t play any zone all year. But after he was injured, Abram said his team had to adjust on the fly and start playing a zone defense that he didn’t want to employ, but had to in order to keep players out of foul trouble.
Senior Malik Olafioye scored 22 points, and sophomore point guard Darrien Reddick scored 14 to lead Ecorse (20-5).
“Extremely proud of the effort we put out,” Abram said. “We knew it was going to be a big task with the way they play. We gave everything that we had. We just ran out of gas at the end.”
Beecher took a 40-34 lead into the fourth quarter, but Ecorse scored the first five points of the fourth to cut Beecher’s lead to one with 6:10 remaining in the game.
The Buccaneers answered, going on a 9-0 run to grab a 49-39 lead with 4:30 left.
Ecorse closed to within seven at 51-44 with 3:37 remaining following a 3-pointer by Reddick, but Beecher responded with four straight points to take a 55-44 lead with 2:42 remaining.
Beecher ultimately punctuated the win on a flying dunk by Lee with 1:09 remaining. Lee was also fouled on the dunk, and he made the free throw for a three-point play to give Beecher a 60-48 lead.
“What I really focused on was just trying to get my teammates involved,” Lee said. “Not try to force shots. Just let the game come to me.”
Now, Beecher will turn its focus to reclaiming its status as the best in the state.
“That’s something we have talked about, remembering the feeling that we had last year when we didn’t complete the job,” Gray said. “Guys have been taking it to heart. It’s not a rite. You have to earn your way here. It’s not a given.”
PHOTOS (Top) Flint Beecher’s Robert Lee Jr. (22) sends a pass into the post during Thursday’s Semifinal win over Ecorse. (Middle) The Bucs’ Kevin Tiggs Jr. (1) pulls in a rebound while Ecorse’s Deontae Jude (11) also grabs for the ball.