Class C Final: Beecher Legacy Grows
March 24, 2012
EAST LANSING – Antuan Burks and Monte Morris sat together during the 2008 Class C Final and watched Flint Beecher come up just three points short of winning an MHSAA championship.
They agreed they’d be back to finish the job.
The Buccaneers gave it a run at the 2010 Semifinals, and again last season. This winter, not only did they again play into the final weekend of the season – the Bucs put together arguably the best in the program’s illustrious history.
Beecher capped a perfect run with a 74-60 win over Traverse City St. Francis in Saturday’s Class C Final at Breslin Center. The championship is the Bucs’ first since winning Class B in 1987 – and made good on that middle school dream of its current varsity captains, Burks and Morris.
“We sat by each other here saying we’re going to finish it. We’re going to bring a championship home,” Burks said. “We made history today.”
And in a number of ways.
Beecher finished 28-0, becoming the 12th team in MHSAA history to win that many in one season. Flint has gained national renown for its hoops prowess and tradition, and this championship was the first for the city’s public schools since Flint Northern won Class A in 1995. This title came after Beecher’s runner-up finishes in 2008, 2003 and in Class B in 2000.
Bucs legend Roy Marble, who later played at Iowa and in the NBA, called the team Friday night and offered encouragement for the Final and a reminder about the legacy of Beecher basketball.
“It’s incredible. The only thing that I can say is we’ve got the full support of all the Beecher alumni,” Bucs coach Mike Williams said. “It’s humbling to be considered and to be known right up there with all those great teams that have played in the past at Beecher and to add to the legacy Beecher has. That’s the main thing.”
This Beecher team will be remembered in part for its incredibly fast pace of place, and the Bucs got going quickly Saturday. They had six fast-break points and constantly pushed the tempo in taking a 23-9 by the end of the first quarter.
Beecher pushed the advantage to 41-21 by halftime.
“Just going by what the defense did to us, they dictated that we needed to push the ball up the floor. That’s our game anyway,” Williams said. “The faster we play, the better. We can just run up and down the floor and play freestyle basketball, but we can also slow it down in the halfcourt. With the road we went through to get here, we played every style.”
St. Francis (25-3) didn’t go quietly, though. The Gladiators cut the deficit to 12 with 2:10 to play in the third quarter, and multiple times seemed on the verge of making the game a lot closer.
Senior center Sean Sheldon finished with game highs of 22 points, 19 rebounds and six blocks, and senior point guard Devin Sheehy capped his high school career with eight assists.
“The style of game we play, I figured if we could be close at halftime, usually we make a second-half run,” St. Francis coach Keith Haske said. “I really thought in the second half we went to their level, really played some good basketball.”
Morris led Beecher with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Burks had 16 rebounds and six assists. Senior Jequarius French added 14 points and senior Cortez Robinson scored 11.
With one more season to play, Morris has an opportunity to make more history at Beecher. As the reigning two-time Associated Press Class C Player of the Year, it’s more or less expected.
But like Marble did for this team, Saturday is a moment Morris will be passing on long after his days at Beecher are done.
“Knowing I can come back after our guys graduate, and just talk to the guys that are playing and let them know how we made the state championship and had an undefeated season,” Morris said, “that’s wisdom I can take and explain to younger guys that are coming up.”
Click for box score or to watch the game and press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Beecher players together hoist the champion’s trophy after Saturday’s Class C Final. (Middle) Beecher junior Monte Morris splits Traverse City St. Francis defenders on his way to the basket. (See more at Terry McNamara Photography.)
P-W Power Trio Combines for 56 Points to Send Pirates to Saturday
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 12, 2026
EAST LANSING — Pewamo-Westphalia head coach Dominic Schneider knows his team is dangerous enough when seniors Grady Eklund and Trent Piggott are playing well at the same time.
But add sophomore Logan Farmer to that mix? It’s a three-headed monster that Schneider said takes his team to another level.
“He’s a great counterpart for Trent and Grady,” Schneider said of Farmer. “It’s hard to guard us when we have all three guys cooking like they were.”
That certainly was on display in Thursday’s Division 3 Semifinal against Flint Elite, where Eklund, Farmer and Piggott combined for 56 points in a 63-37 Pirates win.
P-W (26-2) advanced to the Division 3 championship game for the first time since winning it all in 2019. The Pirates will meet Pontiac Arts & Technology at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
As has often been the case this year, Eklund led the way, scoring 27 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the field. He also had seven rebounds and five assists.
Farmer finished 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting from the field, while the 6-foot-5 Piggott, the team’s best interior presence, provided 10 points and 14 rebounds.
It was a little bit of vindication for Pewamo-Westphalia, which lost in the Semifinals last year to eventual champion Riverview Gabriel Richard.
“I wouldn’t say a lot felt different,” Eklund said. “Same place, same time of year, different opponent though. We liked our odds going into this game, and we finished it.”
Making its first appearance in a Semifinal, Flint Elite finished 21-5. Sophomore A.J. Smith scored 17 points to lead the way for the Warriors.
Coming off an emotional overtime win over Onsted on Tuesday, Flint Elite head coach Greg McMath said that game might have emptied his team’s tank a bit.
“I thought we came out weird,” McMath said. “We played a great game in the Quarterfinals the other night. Went to overtime. I don’t think we were able to come out with the energy we have been playing with. I don’t think we really had the legs. But we have to credit our opponent. I think they took that away. They took away a lot of our first options, and we didn’t ever get to our second option on offense.”
Trailing 26-14 at halftime, Flint Elite started the third quarter off strong, scoring six straight to cut the Pewamo-Westphalia lead to 26-20.
But the momentum was short-lived, as Pewamo-Westphalia countered with a 14-2 spurt to take a 40-22 lead with 1:20 to go in the third.
The Pirates ended up taking a 44-31 lead into the fourth quarter and kept it growing from there. Eklund hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Pirates a 50-31 lead with 6:25 left, and then a layup with 4:23 remaining to put Pewamo-Westphalia up 55-33.
“They were on a mission, Schneider said of his players. “It didn’t matter that this was a Semifinal game on the Breslin Center floor. They were going to get the job done.”
Leading 15-10 after the first quarter, Pewamo-Westphalia went on a 9-0 run to start the second, taking a 24-10 lead with 2:30 remaining until halftime.
Flint Elite didn’t score in the second quarter until there was 1:57 remaining until the half.
PHOTOS (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia’s Grady Eklund (10) drives to the basket while defended by multiple Flint Elite players Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Elite’s Kaydin Banks (20) elevates to defend P-Ws Trent Piggott near the basket. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)