GRCC Earns 1st Final with Size, Surprise
March 23, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s victory celebration had a championship feel Friday night.
The Cougars hadn’t locked down their first MHSAA boys basketball title yet. But it was impossible to not understand their heightened excitement.
Leading from start to finish, GRCC eliminated New Haven with a 69-53 Class B Semifinal win at the Breslin Center, in the process ending the reigning champion’s 52-game winning streak.
And if that was at all a surprise, how the Cougars got there was just as stunning.
Junior guard Austin Braun, carrying a 7.8 points-per-game average heading into the week, scored 31 while Mr. Basketball finalist Marcus Bingham, Jr., watched the final five minutes from the bench after fouling out.
“I got a couple buckets early and my teammates just really got me going, just getting me hyped on the bench,” Braun said, “and just telling me, ‘If they don’t stop you, just score the ball.’
“It helps when you have two bigs and Darrell (Belcher) and Devin (Boyd) were great players around me. It just opens up a lot for me.”
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (24-2) will play for that first championship against Benton Harbor at 6:45 p.m. Saturday in the final game of this boys basketball season.
Those bigs – the 6-foot-11 Bingham and 6-8 senior Jacob Polakovich – were plenty effective in a number of ways Friday.
Bingham had 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Polakovich had eight points and eight rebounds. But their larger impact came defensively. Bingham had six blocks, and together the tandem played a significant role in New Haven’s 30-percent shooting from the floor.
The Rockets’ 6-7 junior star Romeo Weems put together a solid line with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven steals. But even he was off his usual sharpness, making only 7 of 25 shots from the floor.
New Haven (26-1) as a team entered the week making 49 percent of its shots, with Weems connecting on 53 percent.
“We adjusted our shots. We saw it on film and we went to attack them,” New Haven coach Tedaro France II said. “We wanted to jump stop and pump fake. (But) they changed our shot selection a lot, disrupted our shots in the paint with some of their size.”
Braun, meanwhile, was just about perfect offensively. He made 8 of 9 shots from the floor, including his lone 3-point try, and 14 of 16 free throw attempts. He also had three assists and three steals.
The first of those steals came between buckets as he scored the game’s first four points. The free throw shooting came in handy at the end, as Braun drilled nine over the final five minutes to help the Cougars extend an 11-point lead to 18 after Bingham’s night was done.
“I knew he could score like that,” Polakovich said. “It’s just always been a matter of having a lot of mismatches inside with me and Marcus and being able to crash. … (But) a lot of people don’t realize he’s capable of doing that every single night. He’s a lot more than just a really great passer.”
Bingham did finish with 11 points despite a tough 3-of-11 shooting night as well, and grabbed 13 rebounds with six blocked shots. Weems was followed by senior guard Tavares Oliver, Jr., with 15 points and senior forward Ashton Sherrell with 12 points and seven rebounds.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Marcus Bingham, Jr., gets a hand on Romeo Weems’ shot Friday at the Breslin Center. (Middle) GRCC’s Austin Braun puts up a shot with Ronald Jeffrey III defending.
Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 7
January 27, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan’s high school boys basketball teams are this week reaching the regular-season’s midpoint and the heart of league play from the Ohio and Indiana borders to the top tip of the Upper Peninsula.
You’ll see that move toward emphasizing conference play reflected in much of this week’s Breslin Bound report – although it’s tough to not be most excited about another showcase coming up this weekend that will match up championship contenders from two of the MHSAA’s four divisions.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Flint Beecher 70, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 61 – The Bucs moved up to No. 2 in Division 3 MPR with a major win over the No. 2 team in Division 2 at the Horatio Williams Freedom Classic.
2. Clarkston 55, Detroit King 41 – The Wolves also made Freedom Classic headlines with arguably their best of a solid set of wins this winter.
3. Gaylord St. Mary 59, Pellston 54 – The Snowbirds pushed back into the Ski Valley Conference mix by handing the first loss this season to Pellston.
4. Grand Blanc 80, Kalamazoo Central 73 – The Bobcats are now 9-3 against one of the toughest schedules in the state, and followed up this Friday win with another seven-point over Ferndale on Saturday.
5. Traverse City West 47, Cadillac 46 – The Titans are only 5-6 overall but could make a move in the Big North Conference after handing co-leader Cadillac its first loss this season.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Hamtramck (9-2) The Cosmos have flown a bit under the radar, but sit second in the Michigan Metro Athletic Conference Blue with an opportunity to make a loud statement. Hamtramck fell to league leader River Rouge 54-49 on Jan. 10, but a win in the rematch Tuesday arguably would be one of the program’s best in some time. The Cosmos’ only other defeat this season came to Warren De La Salle Collegiate, 65-62 in overtime Dec. 20.
Mount Pleasant (10-0) Reigning Saginaw Valley League Red champion Mount Pleasant is off to another fantastic start after winning its first 18 games last season. A 66-58 win over SVL Blue co-leader Flint Carman-Ainsworth a week ago was particularly impressive, even as the only single-digit victory surrounded by much larger margins in the Oilers’ other nine games.
DIVISION 2
Croswell-Lexington (10-1) A three point December loss to 9-1 Flint Southwestern is all that has kept Croswell-Lexington from perfection this winter – and only a few others have come close to breaking up the success. The Pioneers have nine double-digit wins and Friday against Almont can finish an unbeaten first half in the Blue Water Area Conference.
Fremont (10-0) The Packers’ 102 points last week against Howard City Tri County likely caught even casual fans’ attentions. But it was just a highlight from a greater body of work that is setting Fremont up for a run at a third straight Central State Activities Association Gold title. The Packers are perfect through the first run of the league schedule, thanks in part to a three-point win over Newaygo and four-pointer over Grant. Fremont also downed Lakes 8 Activities Conference co-leader Ludington.
DIVISION 3
Hanover-Horton (7-1) The Comets face Napoleon on Wednesday for first place in the Cascades Conference as they continue to pursue a third-straight league championship. All seven wins so far have been by 10 points or more, and the one defeat looks pretty good too – 68-66 to Division 1 one-loss Grand Rapids Union. A Feb. 10 matchup with Ypsilanti Arbor Prep could be telling of the team’s possibilities come tournament time.
Ravenna (10-0) The Bulldogs have climbed from six to 11 to 15 wins, respectively, over the last three seasons, and seem likely to continue the rise after a flawless first half. Ravenna leads the West Michigan Conference by a game over Muskegon Oakridge, which gave the Bulldogs their closest game so far – a six-point battle Jan. 16.
DIVISION 4
Alanson (8-1) Alanson improved from five wins in 2017-18 to 10 last season and could equal that latter total before the end of January. The Vikings are undefeated since falling to Bellaire 61-54 in their season opener, and they’ve hung tough in tight times with three wins by three points or fewer. That success has sent Alanson into a tie for first place in the Northern Lakes Conference with Ellsworth, which hosts the Vikings on Friday.
Hillsdale Academy (8-1) After playing in the 2018 Class D Semifinals but falling back to 9-13 last season, the Colts rank No. 5 in Division 4 MPR and sit tied for first in the Southern Central Athletic Association East despite losing Dec. 19 to co-leader Camden-Frontier. Hillsdale Academy will get another chance at C-F on Feb. 11 and also can boast a win over SCAA West co-leader Bellevue.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Hudsonville (9-0) at Holland West Ottawa (8-2) – The reigning Ottawa-Kent Conference Red champion Eagles will try to hold off second-place West Ottawa in the first of their two meetings.
Tuesday – Iron Mountain (9-0) at Negaunee (10-0) – The Mountaineers took three wins from the Miners last season, outpacing them to win the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Iron and then eliminating Negaunee in a Regional Semifinal.
Friday – Oscoda (9-0) at Mio (8-1) – The two top teams in the North Star League Big Dipper again, Mio is just behind reigning champion Oscoda after the Owls won the first matchup Dec. 12.
Friday – Stevensville Lakeshore (9-0) at Portage Central (8-0) – This matchup for first place winds up the first half of the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West schedule.
Saturday – Ypsilanti Lincoln (7-1) vs. Benton Harbor (9-1) at Grand Rapids City – The headlining matchup of the Redhawk Showcase Classic might be one of the most entertaining regular-season games of this entire season.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Alma improved to 7-3 last week with wins over Shepherd and Frankenmuth. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)