De La Salle Continues Championship Year with 1st Hoops Title
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 26, 2022
EAST LANSING – Triston Nichols has had quite the high school sports season so far.
The Warren De La Salle Collegiate junior standout helped the football team win a Finals championship in the fall and then helped deliver the same result on the hardwood four months later.
The Pilots pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat 2021 champion Grand Blanc 67-58 in Saturday’s Division 1 title game at the Breslin Center.
It was De La Salle’s first Finals basketball title. The Pilots finished Class B runners-up in 1982.
“I actually brought (my football championship ring) with me, and I think it’s my good luck charm,” said Nichols, who had 17 points, including two timely 3-pointers in the second half, and five rebounds.
“It was definitely harder to win this one than football, and we went through adversity and we just did our job throughout the season. We locked in, and our connection got better and better.”
While there were high expectations that the football team could win a championship in the fall, duplicating that feat in basketball seemed unlikely after De La Salle finished fourth in the Detroit Catholic League Central and lost four of its last six games in the regular season.
Pilots’ junior Nino Smith, who led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points, said the rigors of their league helped prepare them for this historic run.
“Earlier in the season we went to double overtime against (Orchard Lake) St. Mary’s and showed a lot of resiliency even though we came up short,” Smith said. “A lot of games in the Catholic League came down to last possessions, so I think that really helped us.”
De La Salle (19-7) led 27-24 at the half, but watched its lead evaporate as Grand Blanc pulled away with a 14-4 surge and went up 38-31 midway through the third quarter.
The Pilots countered with a 10-0 run to regain the lead as senior Tamario Adley converted back-to-back three-point plays during that stretch.
Adley finished with 12 points and was 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
“The kids were able to fight through adversity and it’s in their mental make-up to continue to fight, and the last few comebacks have gone our way,” De La Salle coach Gjon Djokaj said.
The Pilots held a slim 42-40 lead entering the final quarter, but never relinquished it thanks to several clutch plays and made free throws.
“We made winning plays down the stretch, and I thought overall we got contributions from a lot of different players at different times,” Djokaj said. “That’s what we’ve been built on all season long, and I’m happy to be going out with a state championship and the way we got here.”
Junior guard RJ Taylor kept the Bearcats (21-5) within striking distance in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 28 points and seven 3-pointers.
“He's a heck of a player and made it tough on us,” Djokaj said. “He made individual-effort plays that I haven't seen in a while from one player. He should hold his head up high for the way he competed and carried his team.”
Tae Boyd added 14 points and eight rebounds for Grand Blanc, which won its first Finals basketball title a year ago.
“This was an unbelievable run, and everybody counted this team out from the beginning of the year. Nobody believed in this team,” Grand Blanc coach Mike Thomas said. “I take my hat off because they were out there fighting for themselves, and I take my hat off to Warren De La Salle too, and their student section. That was an unbelievable crowd to where I think that was a really great advantage for them, and they created a lot of emotion and momentum.
“They deserved to win. They outplayed us and outworked us and made more free throws in the end.”
PHOTOS (Top) Warren De La Salle players raise their championship trophy Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Pilots’ Michael Sulaka (33) attempts to redirect a shot by Grand Blanc’s Tae Boyd (1). (Below) De La Salle’s Nino Smith (0) is defended by the Bobcats’ RJ Taylor (10). Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Benton Harbor Wait Ends in OT Thriller
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 24, 2018
EAST LANSING – Carlos Johnson knew it was good when it left his hand. His Benton Harbor coaches and teammates knew it, too.
The star sophomore hit the biggest shot on a Saturday night full of them – a 3-pointer with 10 seconds to play – to give the Tigers a 65-64 overtime win against Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the Class B championship game.
As the final seconds expired, the northwest corner of Breslin Center began celebrating Benton Harbor’s first MHSAA boys basketball title since 1965.
“I was hoping (senior Elijah Baxter) would get me the ball for the last one,” Johnson said. “I passed it to him, and I was like, ‘Oh, I hope he passes it back.’ I was ready for the shot, and I knew it was gonna go in. I was just thinking to go for the kill the whole time. When it left my hand, my eyes lit up and I said, ‘Oh, that’s going in. Straight water.’”
The shot, and an ensuing, frantic defensive stop, sent the Benton Harbor bench and cheering section into hysterics as they celebrated a long awaited return to glory for a program that was among the state’s most dominant more than a half century ago.
It was a history the Tigers embraced, wearing shirts for warm-ups that read, “Farnum Boyz” an homage to their gymnasium and its namesake, former Benton Harbor coach Don Farnum, who led the team to back-to-back titles in 1964 and 1965.
“It means a lot to the program, it means a lot to the school system, and it means a lot to the city,” Benton Harbor coach Corey Sterling said. “This is going to bring us together, this community. Everything is going to go forward now, thanks to these awesome guys right here. They brought the city back. We’re going to go forward from now on and stay positive with one another.”
While a star sophomore led the way with 24 points, 11 rebounds and the game-winning shot, Benton Harbor is otherwise a senior-dominated team, with five playing a major role. And those seniors had been pointing to winning this title since they were in eighth grade – the last time the Tigers made the Class B Final and came up just short in 2014.
“It means a lot to us, because previously it was a weight on our shoulders that it had been so long, but it was a big motivation,” senior guard Dennie Brown said. “Since we were (youngsters) in fourth grade and middle school, we said we were going to win. We didn’t want to be too cocky; we wanted to be humble also with it. We put the pedal to the metal and worked in practice every day.”
The Tigers trailed for most of the four-minute overtime session, and were down 64-62 when Johnson collected a rebound with less than 20 seconds to play. When he got the ball near the top of the 3-point line, he saw his defender backing off him and let the winning shot fly.
“The feeling of it, I can’t even describe it,” Johnson said. “It was just like everything just came to me. I looked up and all I could see was nothing but the lights and Michigan State, and I was like, ‘Oh God, I did that.’”
The game-winner wasn’t the only do-or-die shot with the clock winding down for the Tigers on the night. Senior Shawn Hopkins hit another just to get what was already a back-and-forth contest to overtime.
As Baxter lost control of the ball driving down the lane during the closing seconds of regulation, he saved it from going out of bounds and found Hopkins cutting to the basket. Hopkins avoided the shot-blocking attempt of 6-foot-8 Catholic Central senior Jacob Polakovich to hit a layup and tie the game at 55 as the buzzer sounded.
“I was just thinking be aggressive trying to get to the rim, hopefully draw a foul and get to the line,” Baxter said. “It didn’t go that way, but it’s the state championship game, so you have to show heart and hustle, so I just kept going and trying to save it. Shawn was just in the right spot. It was like a brother thing; he just knew to cut to the rim while I was going out of bounds.”
Hopkins finished with nine points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers (27-1), while TJ Jones had 10 points and Devan Nichols added nine. Baxter dished out six assists to go with his seven points.
Catholic Central (24-3) hit its fair share of big shots down the stretch as well. Junior Darrell Belcher hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter to put his team up 54-51. He hit another big 3 in overtime to give the Cougars a four-point lead with about two minutes to play. Michigan State-bound senior Marcus Bingham also hit a big 3-pointer in overtime to give the Cougars an early lead.
Belcher and Bingham each finished with 21 points, and Bingham added 13 rebounds. Polakovich added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
But in the immediate aftermath of the loss, disappointment was overshadowing those great performances for Catholic Central.
“It was a really tough way for us to end our season,” Catholic Central coach TJ Meerman said. “I just told our guys, we just got out of the locker room, and I just spent a few minutes telling them how thankful I am, how thankful our staff is, how thankful our school is to have young men like we have up on stage in front of you.
“The game didn’t end the way we wanted it to. We battled, we battled all year long. I’m proud of our guys, and congratulations to Benton Harbor on a big win.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Benton Harbor’s Carlos Johnson (11) blocks a shot during Saturday night’s Class B championship game. (Middle) The Tigers’ Shawn Hopkins looks for an open teammate.