Buckley Rides Into Season Finale Again
March 22, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Buckley’s cart may have come before the horse earlier this season.
The horse arrived Thursday night at the Breslin Center.
Bears coach Blair Moss referred to the old saying to describe how his team – returning almost entirely intact from last year’s Class D runner-up run – got rolling a little slowly this winter.
But Buckley has found its stride – and hit it especially right with about seven minutes to play in Thursday’s 65-55 Semifinal win over Hillsdale Academy.
The Bears outscored the Colts 17-6 to pull away after trailing by 12 early in the third quarter.
“Last postseason, when we lost to Powers North (Central), I said we’d be back here,” said Buckley senior Austin Harris, noting the 78-69 defeat against the Jets in the 2017 championship game. “And I believed in my team and I knew. We got in the gym and worked really, really hard. I think our success in this, hard work really paid off. We believe in ourselves.”
Buckley (21-5) will face Southfield Christian in Saturday’s 10 a.m. championship game.
The Bears’ entire starting five returned this season from the team that fell just one win short of a first MHSAA boys basketball championship a year ago.
They started this season 3-3 – although those losses were to Kalamazoo Hackett, McBain and Frankfort, which all ended up winning at least 18 games.
“I think I put the cart before the horse. We knew where our goal was at, but we forgot we had 20 games in between,” Moss said. “I saw flashes of us, and I tried to pinpoint what we were doing and not doing right. So I told them before the tournament started, let’s not worry about records, let’s not worry about who’s scoring, let’s just play for each other.”
Hillsdale Academy (19-7), making its first trip to the Semifinals after winning its first Regional title last week, got behind by eight points early in the second quarter. But the Colts, following the lead of 6-foot-7 senior Peter Kalthoff, launched a 15-3 run over the final two minutes of the first half and first two of the second to take a 43-31 lead. Kalthoff had six of his team-high 17 points during that stretch.
Buckley’s veteran lineup began chipping away. Harris had eight points including two 3-pointers, and the Bears hit four 3-pointers total over the final six minutes of the third quarter to take back a one-point lead.
Harris started the closing run with another 3-pointer, and senior Joey Weber had seven of his 15 points over the final 4:25 of the game.
Weber also had nine rebounds, four assists and four steals, and senior forwards Denver Cade and Brock Beeman both added 11 points – Cade also dishing four assists.
Kalthoff added 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots to go with his 17 points, and senior guard Michael Craig added 14 points and five assists.
“I’m proud of my guys and the way they battled, not just tonight, but in the other 27-some other games to get to this point,” Hillsdale Academy coach Tim Wells said. “Looking at some of the stats in preparation for tonight, these guys (four-year seniors Kalthoff, Craig and Nolan Sullivan) have won 74 games in four years – that’s fantastic. So by the time we got to now, we started talking about this moment, this is your reward.”
“As much as it stings to lose this game, look where we got to play. I know it’s bigger than that, (but) it was pretty incredible,” Sullivan added. “I knew we could do it. But to actually do it is something that’s absolutely incredible.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Buckley’s Joey Weber (5) and Hillsdale Academy’s Nolan Sullivan work for a loose ball during their teams’ Class D Semifinal. (Middle) Hillsdale Academy’s Peter Kalthoff takes a step toward the basket Thursday.
D2 Preview: Embrace the Unexpected
March 13, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Anything is possible during the basketball postseason, and this weekend's Division 2 bracket tells some of that story with at least a few surprises in contention for this season's championship.
But there’s no debating this weekend’s contenders haven’t earned their ways to East Lansing.
River Rouge has looked like a contender all along after making the Semifinals in 2018. Harper Woods Chandler Park was one of three undefeated teams in Division 2 at the end of the regular season but still had to get by New Haven, which was tied for the top spot in the final Associated Press poll. Hudsonville Unity Christian got here in part by defeating Benton Harbor, the other No. 1-ranked team when the playoffs began. And Ludington has pulled off the improbable – which we’ll detail below.
Division 2 Semifinals – Friday
Ludington (14-10) vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian (24-2), 5:30 p.m.
River Rouge (22-2) vs. Harper Woods Chandler Park (21-0), 7:30 p.m.
Division 2 Final – Saturday, 6:45 p.m.
Tickets cost $10 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session (Divisions 3 and 2). All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a pay-per-view basis. The Divisions 2, 3 and 4 championship games will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit’s primary channel, while the Division 1 Final will be shown live on Fox Sports Detroit PLUS. All four championship games will be streamed live on FoxSportsDetroit.com and the FOX Sports app. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
Below is a glance at all four semifinalists. Click on the name of the school to see that team’s full schedule and results from this season. (Statistics are through teams' Regional Finals.)
HARPER WOODS CHANDLER PARK
Record/rank: 21-0, No. 7
League finish: First in Charter School Conference
Coach: James Scott, fourth season (69-20)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 53-51 over No. 1 New Haven in Quarterfinal, 61-60 (OT) over Detroit Henry Ford in Regional Semifinal, 89-40 over Ferndale in Regional Final.
Players to watch: Andre Bradford, 6-3 sr. G (17 ppg, 4.0 apg); Tyland Tate, 6-6 sr. F (15 ppg, 8.0 rpg).
Outlook: Chandler Park followed up its first Regional title by earning its first trip to the Semifinals, stunning New Haven on Tuesday in one of the rare times an undefeated team likely was the underdog. But the Eagles have won two straight league titles and bring a balanced attack to Breslin. In addition to Bradford and Tate noted above, senior Derrick Bryant Jr. (12 ppg, 10 apg), sophomore Jayland Randall (13 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 spg) and senior Josh Diggs (11 ppg) all average double figures scoring – Randall off the bench.
HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 24-2, honorable mention
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Green
Coach: Scott Soodsma, 27th season (430-189)
Championship history: Class B runner-up 1973 and 1963.
Best wins: 71-45 over Grand Rapids South Christian in Quarterfinal, 63-54 over No. 1 Benton Harbor in Regional Final, 58-49 (District Semifinal), 69-64 and 63-42 over honorable mention Holland Christian.
Players to watch: T.J. VanKoevering, 6-5 sr. F (13.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.1 bpg); Chandler Collins, 6-5 sr. F (10 ppg, 3.1 rpg).
Outlook: Unity Christian will play in its first Semifinal since 1973 riding a 20-game winning streak, and after upsetting reigning Class B champion Benton Harbor and then avenging an earlier loss to South Christian. VanKoevering earned an all-state honorable mention last season and is one of six players averaging at least 6.2 points under longtime leader Soodsma. The Crusaders fill their roles well; senior Noah Wiswary averages four assists per game to go with his 7.8 ppg, while another senior Ryan Takens had made 44 3-pointers entering the week and sophomore Zac Velthouse scores 7.5 ppg with nearly 46-percent success from 3-point range.
LUDINGTON
Record/rank: 14-10, unranked
League finish: Tied for third in Lakes 8 Conference
Coach: Thad Shank, 17th season (265-132)
Championship history: Class B runner-up 2017 and 1953.
Best wins: 65-32 over Alma in Quarterfinal, 49-32 over Escanaba in Regional Final, 50-40 over Standish-Sterling in Regional Semifinal.
Players to watch: Joshua Laman, 6-4 sr. F (15.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 58 3-pointers); Jayden Hathaway, 6-4 sr. C (5.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg).
Outlook: In a tournament filled with surprises, Ludington might be the biggest after entering the postseason with a 9-10 record. The Orioles had lost five of six entering the playoffs, but defeated five teams all with at least 13 wins to get back to Breslin for the second time in three seasons. Laman earned an all-state honorable mention last season and is sure to draw the most defensive attention. Senior Nathan Lange and junior Brayden Porter both add just over six points per game.
RIVER ROUGE
Record/rank: 22-2, No. 4
League finish: First in Michigan Metro Athletic Conference Blue
Coach: Lamonta Stone, seventh season (188-37)
Championship history: Fourteen MHSAA titles (most recent 1999), five runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 78-41 over Division 1 honorable mention Ypsilanti Lincoln, 66-61 over Division 3 No. 1 Flint Beecher, 83-64 over Division 4 No. 3 Southfield Christian.
Players to watch: Nigel Colvin, 6-1 sr. G (13 ppg, 50 3-pointers); Micah Parrish, 6-5 sr. G (12 ppg).
Outlook: Stone, who led River Rouge to the 1999 Class B title, returned this season for his third tenure as leader of the program and with experience also coaching for four college programs. His team has been driving hard after making the Semifinals a year ago, losing only to Benton Harbor and Detroit Martin Luther King and winning its five tournament games by an average of 23 points per. Senior Donavan Freeman adds 10 points per game, and senior Bralin Toney averages 4.8 assists and seven points per contest.
PHOTO: Ludington’s Nathan Lange gathers a loose ball during his team’s Quarterfinal win over Alma. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)