EAST LANSING – Experience did indeed win out in the second Division 3 Boys Basketball Semifinal on Thursday at Breslin Center.

Last year, Riverview Gabriel Richard lost in the Semifinals in heartbreaking fashion as Detroit Old Redford hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win. 

Returning all five starters from that team, Gabriel Richard used its experience to good use and didn’t let Pewamo-Westphalia get close during the second half, earning a 66-45 victory. 

The Pioneers advanced to Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. championship game and will play Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac in a matchup of programs that have never played in a Final.

“Last year at this time we lost at the buzzer, and those ghosts were in here a little bit when we came into the building,” Gabriel Richard coach Kris Daiek said. “But we squashed those early.”

Seniors Luke Westerdale and Nick Sobush both scored 22 points to lead the way for Gabriel Richard (24-2), which shot 51.9 percent from the field (27 of 52) overall and 36.4 percent (8 of 22) from 3-point range. 

Westerdale went 0-for-5 from 3-point range in last year’s game against Old Redford, something he said was on his mind all year but quickly erased when he made his first 3-pointer of the game.

“I’ve honestly thought about that the entire year,” he said. “All 365 days. For the first play, for a 3 to fall, it was a sense of relief.”

The Pioneers also forced 13 Pewamo-Westphalia turnovers while committing just five of their own. 

Daiek said his team used Old Redford’s game-winner last year as fuel the entire offseason.

“I knew it was going to spark us,” he said. “These guys used that shot to become where they are right now.”

Junior Grady Eklund scored 16 points, and junior Trent Piggott had 11 for Pewamo-Westphalia (24-4). 

The Pirates were making their first trip to the Semifinals since winning the Division 3 title in 2019. 

“The farther you go in the tournament, the more the losses hurt,” Pewamo-Westphalia head coach Dominic Schneider said. “I know right now you see the tears in their eyes. You see how much they care, and that is what brings you back as a coach. The kids care and put it all on the floor. Tonight wasn’t our night. They hit more shots than us and were the better basketball team.”

Gabriel Richard led 27-24 at halftime before starting to separate itself late in the third quarter. 

The run began when Westerdale drove the lane and fed a perfect alley-oop pass to Drew Everingham, who finished with a thunderous dunk to give the Pioneers a 44-32 lead.

Everingham and Westerdale then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put Gabriel Richard up 50-34 lead with 42 seconds to go in the third quarter. 

“After that, it was over, I felt like,” Sobush said. 

The Pioneers didn’t let up in the fourth, putting the game away by going up 61-39 with 3:17 remaining on a layup by Westerdale. 

Gabriel Richard led 15-12 after the first quarter following an Eklund half-court shot that beat the buzzer.

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PHOTOS (Top) Drew Everingham (11) dunks during Riverview Gabriel Richard's Semifinal win Thursday. (Middle) Gabriel Richard's Nick Sobush (1) drives to the basket.