Clarkston, Loyer Dazzle at Breslin Again
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 24, 2018
EAST LANSING – Foster Loyer hasn’t enrolled yet at Michigan State University, but it’s safe to say he’s already plenty comfortable on his future school’s basketball court.
A day after torching the Breslin Center nets for 42 points in a Semifinal, Loyer poured in 40 more Saturday to lead Clarkston to an 81-38 win against Holland West Ottawa in the MHSAA Class A championship game.
“To be honest, I think playing in front of this atmosphere and this stage, I think it definitely helped being here last year,” Loyer said. “For me there were no nerves coming in. I thought our team, honestly, when we came in we weren’t bright-eyed or scared of playing in a big place. Having been here that helped me, and coming into the game I had the mindset to attack. I’ve been working on my shot quite a bit, so I was happy a few of them went down.”
It was the second straight title for the Wolves (26-1), who gave longtime coach Dan Fife the first of his storied career a year ago.
“The first one was pretty special for me, but this one here really was special,” Fife said. “From the day we left this building (a year ago) everybody started talking about back-to-back, and I know how hard that is because it took me so long to get the first one. To think that these kids could look up to that, it’s just a tremendous challenge. I can’t say enough about these kids.”
Saturday’s game marked the end of an amazing four-year run for Loyer and his classmates, as the Wolves were 97-6 during the Class of 2018’s tenure. It’s the best four-year run in Fife’s 36 seasons as Clarkston coach.
“These kids have been fun to work with,” Fife said. “I don’t know how it started last year – I’m sure Foster had something to do with it – but we started getting in the huddle and leaving the huddle with ‘Family,’ and these kids are extremely close. They have a good relationship on and off the floor, and I’ve gotta believe that’s going to carry on forever. This kind of moment, back-to-back, is incredible. These kids have played with a bulls-eye for four years, and to continue to play like they have and meet every challenge is really a tremendous success story about who they were as kids, and how they went about business.”
Fittingly, the final shot of Loyer’s career was a 3-pointer to put him at 40 points and tied for the seventh-best scoring performance in an MHSAA Finals game. The 2018 Mr. Basketball winner finished 14 of 19 (73 percent) from the field and 6 of 11 (54 percent) from 3-point range in the game, and was 26 of 36 (72 percent) from the floor on the weekend.
He left the court he’ll play his college basketball on to a standing ovation, and he leaves Clarkston as the program’s all-time leading scorer.
“Foster Loyer is a pretty darn good player,” Holland West Ottawa coach Steve Windemuller said. “To see him in person is really special, because he is a special player. What he did today, it looked it was pretty effortless at times. I wish him all the best at Michigan State. Coach (Tom) Izzo’s got a good one.”
Loyer, who also had seven assists, was far from alone in his hot shooting, as the Wolves were 29 of 49 (59.2 percent) from the field, and 13 of 22 (59.1 percent) from 3. C.J. Robinson scored 18 points, while Taylor Currie had 13 points to go with 10 rebounds.
And it all started quickly, as Clarkston’s first four makes were from 3-point range, helping it to a 19-6 lead after one quarter, and a 49-20 lead at halftime. Holland West Ottawa (25-3), meanwhile, struggled from the jump, shooting 2 of 13 (15.4 percent) from the field in the opening quarter.
“Clarkston is really good,” Windemuller said. “If that’s any news to anybody, you’ve been living under a rock or in a cave. They were obviously really, really good today. It’s just one of those things, we get to play them one time, and I’m not sure us playing them 10 times was going to make a difference. Today wasn’t quite the way we wanted to end it, the way we wanted to play, for sure. But congratulations to them; they’re one heck of a team.”
Xavier Wade led West Ottawa with 13 points, while Liam Cavanaugh had 10. It was a rough ending, but the Panthers won’t let that take away from the deepest postseason run in program history.
“We’re thankful for the opportunity to be here,” West Ottawa senior Tyler Bosma said. “Obviously it’s not the way we wanted to go out, but I was very lucky to be part of the biggest run in West Ottawa history. I’m very thankful for that. I’m thankful for my teammates, coaches, our students, everybody that came out and supported us today and throughout the whole season. It’s really special to see and to be a part of that.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Clarkston’s Foster Loyer drives to the basket during Saturday’s Class A Final. (Middle) The Wolves’ C.J. Robinson works to get past Holland West Ottawa’s Jason Fairfield.
Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 5
January 9, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
How quickly can a lackluster season become a distant memory?
Ask a few of the teams we’ve highlighted in this week’s Breslin Bound Boys Report, powered by MI Student Aid.
Two of the eight on our “Watch List” this week have already won more games this winter than in all of 2015-16, and a third team could equal last season’s total by the end of this week.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Clarkston 60, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 47 – The Wolves remain undefeated at 8-0 after handing Carman-Ainsworth its first loss (and later in the week doing the same to Walled Lake Western).
2. Detroit U-D Jesuit 71, Romulus 58 – The Cubs finished nonleague play at 5-2 and with one more solid win over a Class A power heading into the Detroit Catholic League schedule.
3. Ann Arbor Skyline 74, Belleville 71 – Skyline is tied for the lead in the Southeastern Conference Red, but handing Belleville its first loss may have surprised a few even though Skyline has broken 70 points five of the last six games.
4. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 55, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 51 – This neighborly rivalry game hadn’t meant this much in a while, with both now in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White and Central handing Northern its first loss of the season.
5. Holt 59, Okemos 49 – This gave the Rams an early co-lead with East Lansing in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue and added to a 4-2 start with those losses by a combined seven points.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Davison (6-1) – After watching the football team make a nice jump in the fall, the basketball team is doing the same coming off a 5-16 finish. The only defeat was to one-loss Carman-Ainsworth.
Bloomfield Hills (6-1) – The Black Hawks are two wins better than at this point a year ago, with their only loss to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. They should provide a nice challenge to Clarkston in the Oakland Activities Association Red.
CLASS B
Hillsdale (6-0) – The Hornets are always in the mix, and got off to another fast start this winter after ending last year’s 18-win campaign with a three-point loss in their first District game. Last week’s double-overtime win over Onsted might be the best so far.
Wyoming Kelloggsville (5-0) – The Rockets could be in the midst of another of the most significant turnarounds in the state this winter, going 7-15 a year ago but most recently handing a one-point loss to reigning Class C runner-up Grandville Calvin Christian.
CLASS C
Maple City Glen Lake (5-0) – The Lakers opened this season by avenging last year’s season-ending loss to Traverse City St. Francis, and since they’ve played to a first-place tie in the Northwest Conference with rival Frankfort. Thursday opponent Buckley will provide another major test.
Munising (6-0) – After finishing 11-10 and falling in its first postseason game last winter, Munising is more than halfway to a better finish. This start included an avenging of that season-ending loss to Rock Mid-Peninsula and three victories total by five or fewer points.
CLASS D
Bellevue (4-0) – The Broncos have been riding a nice run the last few seasons, winning 18 games a year ago. They already own a win over Climax-Scotts, the team with which they shared the Southern Central Athletic Association West title last winter.
Marcellus (4-1) – The Wildcats also are on the rebound, having already surpassed last season’s three wins. The lone loss was a three-pointer to Constantine during the season’s first week.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Grand Rapids Christian (4-0) at Wayland (4-1) – These two and Wyoming look like the contenders in the O-K Gold, with Christian one to chase both in the league and Class A statewide.
Tuesday – Bellaire (5-1) at Gaylord St. Mary (5-1) – These two are contenders in the Ski Valley Conference, but also stand to be among Class D’s best from just below the bridge.
Friday – Saginaw (6-1) at Saginaw Arthur Hill (4-2) – One of the oldest rivalries in state history remains one of the best, with this and the Feb. 3 matchup likely to decide the Saginaw Valley League North title winner.
Friday – Holt (4-2) at East Lansing (6-0) – The Trojans have high hopes in Class A this season, but first comes taking care of the CAAC Blue and a strong field including the Rams (also mentioned above).
Saturday – Detroit East English (5-0) vs. Kalamazoo Central (5-0) at Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills – Arguably the top matchup of the Floyd Mayweather Classic, this one pits two of the best in Class A.
PHOTO: Grand Rapids Christian, driving to the basket, downed Holland West Ottawa on Dec. 28 as part of its 4-0 start. (Photo by Tim Reilly.)