East Lansing Downs Reigning Champ to Earn Chance at 1st Title Since 1958
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 14, 2025
EAST LANSING – Kelvin Torbert can't count all the times he's been to the Breslin Center to watch others celebrate MHSAA basketball championships.
But Torbert may not have to wonder what those moments are like any more after helping resilient East Lansing to a 51-44 win over 2024 champ Orchard Lake St. Mary's in Friday's first Division 1 Semifinal.
"My dad would always get us front row seats, and he'd show me how teams were running an offensive set or how to play defense," said Torbert, a junior point guard. "He said one day I'd be there to play. It's something I've always dreamed about – playing in a state final."
The Trojans (27-1) stormed into their first since 1958 by overcoming a couple of potential fatal shortfalls on offense while playing outstanding defense on OLSM's Trey McKenney, named as the state's Mr. Basketball Award winner earlier this week. East Lansing was also virtually flawless down the stretch after trailing much of the second half, including 39-38 with 6:27 to go. But the Trojans closed out the game with a 13-6 run that included hitting 7 of 8 huge free throws over the last 53.7 seconds.
"We knew we could beat Orchard Lake St. Mary, and that's no disrespect to them," said East Lansing coach Ray Mitchell, whose team will enter Saturday's 12:15 p.m. title game on a 22-game winning streak. "We felt we matched up well with them. We think we have the most athletic starting lineup in the state, and we played that way."
East Lansing had to brush aside two streaks where offense was at a premium. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (20-7) scored the game's first 10 points in keeping the Trojans off the scoreboard for the first 3:22. Then in the third quarter, East Lansing managed just three points during the first four minutes. The Trojans trailed 39-36 with 7:16 left.
Mitchell said there is one strength which saves the Trojans when the offense sputters: defense.
"We've been in that situation before, and we've settled down. We know how to win," said Mitchell, whose team has limited opponents to an average of 42 points per game in the tournament. "We start with defense every single day. Basic drills and being in the right place. They've connected with that. We feel we're the best defensive team in the state."
The Trojans' defense on McKenney was solid. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound all-stater did score 21 points, but was a modest 7-of-18 from the floor, including missing six of his nine 3-point attempts. Much of that credit goes to the Trojans' Jayce Branson, a senior guard assigned to shadow McKenney, who entered the game averaging nearly 23 points per game.
"Trey is a nice player, hard to guard," said Branson, an offseason travel teammate of McKenney's since eighth grade. "My mindset was to stop him. He's their leading scorer, and they run their offense through him. I just wanted to stop him, and I did. I've seen his moves on tape and when we're together – I've studied all that."
Torbert finished with 19 points, six rebounds and two assists. Kingston Thomas, a sophomore guard, added 12 points and seven rebounds. He was clutch in the fourth quarter, when he hit a short jumper, another shot along the baseline and added a layup in the space of 2:26 to turn a 39-38 deficit into a 46-41 lead with 53 seconds left.
"Obviously it was a back-and-forth game and it wasn't our best night, but (East Lansing) had a lot to do with that," Orchard Lake St. Mary's coach Todd Covert said. "Sometimes the ball bounces for you and sometimes the right way for the other team. It was two great teams out there. I would've thought if we held a team to 40-some points we would be in good shape."
McKenney said it was a combination of East Lansing defense and his team connecting on just 16-of-49 shots, including only 3-of-16 from 3-point range.
"I didn't hit my shots," he said. "They played good defense ... but we let them get in transition, and that's their game. It was a close game we just didn't win."
The Trojans' Cameron Hutson said it'll be a thrill to actually play in a championship game Saturday rather than viewing it from the stands.
"I've been here a handful of times, and I've definitely thought of this moment," he said. "When we needed a big shot or free throw, I was ready to knock it down."
PHOTOS (Top) East Lansing’s Jayce Branson throws down a dunk during his team’s Division 1 Semifinal win Friday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Trojans’ Cameron Hutson works to get to the basket as St. Mary’s Trey McKenney defends. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Breslin Bound: Boys Report Post-Break
January 7, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first full week of January means changing lanes for the high school boys basketball season, with many of the mega nonleague matchups in the rear-view mirror and league championship chases up ahead.
But first we have a few weeks of catching up to do after another highlight-filled holiday break showed us a few more contenders to keep an eye on as we settle into the local portion of our annual winter hoops run.
Breslin Bound is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or fill in scores we’re missing, email me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Canton 64, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 57 – The Winter Jam at Lawrence Tech was filled with great matchups, but Canton’s win over the reigning Class B runner-up – GRCC’s lone defeat – was the most impressive.
2. Benton Harbor 79, Saginaw 70 – These two are MHSAA championship contenders most seasons, and the Tigers moved to 10-0 with this win at Grand Blanc’s GottaGetIt Classic as they continue to build on last year’s Class B title.
3. Flint Beecher 57, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 50 – The Division 3 Bucs are up to 8-0 this winter after winning a rare matchup with this one of their Division 1 neighbors.
4. Detroit Martin Luther King 45, Kalamazoo Central 43 – The Crusaders came up with arguably their best win of a great start by handing the Maroon Giants their lone defeat during Friday’s Muskegon Classic.
5. Muskegon 55, East Kentwood 53 – The Big Reds are 3-2 while playing another tough early slate, and this win over the Falcons at the Hall of Fame Classic has been the highlight.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (7-1) – The Rockets are climbing after finishing 10-12 and tying for fifth in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black a year ago and winning just three games total in 2016-17. Annual league favorite Muskegon awaits, of course. But Reeths-Puffer has looked up to the task so far with wins over Ludington and Holland West Ottawa and the only defeat by five Dec. 7 to one-loss Zeeland West.
• Saginaw Heritage (5-1) – Since opening with a loss to still-undefeated Sanford Meridian, the Hawks also are perfect – and compared to a 3-4 start last season. They started the new year with a 64-53 win over Frankenmuth as they seek to build on last season’s 14-7 finish.
DIVISION 2
• Flat Rock (7-1) – Just 6-15 two seasons ago, Flat Rock improved to 18-6 and second in the Huron League last winter and last week edged Grosse Ile 42-40 after splitting with the Red Devils in 2017-18. Flat Rock’s only loss this season came by four Dec. 11 to Temperance Bedford. On Friday, the Rams get the first of two opportunities against reigning league champ Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central after being swept by the Falcons last season.
• Holland Christian (6-0) – The Maroons jumped 10 wins last season to finish 14-8 and second in the O-K Green, and might be starting on another leap. Holland Christian handed Maple City Glen Lake its only loss this season, 48-44 on Dec. 28 at the Lakeshore Cup at Grand Haven, and then downed Petoskey 66-59 the next day. Up next is reigning O-K Green champ Hudsonville Unity Christian, which defeated the Maroons three times last season.
DIVISION 3
• Kalamazoo Hackett (6-1) – The Irish bounced back from their only loss, to Division 1 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, by handing Schoolcraft a 72-56 defeat Dec. 18. That win has Hackett just ahead of Schoolcraft in first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley standings after the Irish finished second to Kalamazoo Christian (and 18-4 overall) a year ago.
• North Muskegon (7-0) – The Norsemen’s encore to last winter’s 20-4 finish has been perfect, including handing Ravenna the latter’s only defeat, 61-51 on Dec. 21. That victory has North Muskegon one win ahead of the Bulldogs in the West Michigan Conference, and no other opponent has come closer than 14 points.
DIVISION 4
• Athens (8-0) – After going 16-5 last season, Athens has big games this week against Jackson Christian and Battle Creek St. Philip (both 5-3) as it goes for a perfect first half. Union City gave the Indians their closest game Dec. 20, an eight-point win, and Athens came up big in December against Hillsdale Academy – which, although struggling, was a Class D semifinalist a year ago.
• Camden-Frontier (9-0) – The Redskins have the early lead in the Southern Central Athletic Association East after finishing second to Hillsdale Academy last winter, and doubled up the Colts in their Dec. 13 meeting. Camden-Frontier also repeated as the Pat Paterson Holiday Tournament champion with double-digit wins over Hillsdale and Reading to get halfway to besting last year’s 17 wins.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Novi (3-3) at Canton (5-1) – Novi beat Canton by five in last season’s Kensington Lakes Activities Association semifinals and then by two when they met again in a District Semifinal; they were the Chiefs’ only defeats of the season.
Tuesday – Macomb Dakota (6-1) at Sterling Heights Stevenson (6-1) – These two are tied for first in the Macomb Area Conference Red after Dakota edged Stevenson for the title by a win a year ago.
Thursday – Bellevue (6-0) at Camden-Frontier (9-0) – Both lead or are tied for the lead in their respective divisions of the SCAA, plus might end up among the top-ranked in all of Division 4.
Friday – Frankenmuth (4-3) at Bridgeport (7-0) – The same may not end up true this winter, but a year ago Bridgeport’s sweep of Frankenmuth gave the Bearcats the Tri-Valley Conference East title ahead of the runner-up Eagles.
Saturday – Grand Blanc (7-2) at Kalamazoo Central (5-1) – Coming off a key league matchup with Davison on Friday, Grand Blanc heads west to see another statewide Division 1 contender in Central.
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PHOTO: Flint Beecher’s Earnest Sanders works for post position during his team’s win over Flint Carman-Ainsworth on Dec. 27. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)