Highlight Reel: Class C Semifinals
March 26, 2015
By John Johnson
MHSAA communications director
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian and Flint Beecher advanced to the MHSAA Class C Boys Basketball Final with Semifinal wins Thursday at the Breslin Center.
Click below for highlights from all four teams that took the court.
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian 48, Boyne City 45
Huckaby Leads NorthPointe - Preston Huckaby of Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian led all scorers in a Class C Semifinal against Boyne City with 26 points - two of them on this layup off a steal.
Ramblers Roar Back - Boyne City went on a 10-0 fourth-quarter run and pulled to within a point on a layup by Tanner Kruzel.
Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Flint Beecher 71, Hanover-Horton 43
Beecher Buc Bomber - Samuel Toins hit 6 of 8 from 3-point land for Flint Beecher in the Class C Semifinal against Hanover-Horton. Here's one his treys from the first quarter.
Double-Double For Laketa - Preston Laketa led Hanover-Horton with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Here he scores on a putback.
Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
PHOTO: Hanover-Horton’s Bryce Walker (12) works to get past Beecher defenders Samuel Toins (20) and Jordan Roland.
Moment: Beecher Practice Made Perfect
March 27, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Flint Beecher boys basketball team had prepared for situations like what it faced with five seconds left in its March 24, 2016, Class C Semifinal against Detroit Loyola.
And after watching a 15-point lead dissolve into a two-point deficit during the second half, the Bucs called on a big-time player to come through with a big-time shot to save their championship aspirations.
Malik Ellison took a handoff from teammate Aquavius Burks on the wing, took a dribble left, jutted back right and dropped a 3-pointer from five feet behind the line to give Beecher a 60-59 win. Two days later, the Bucs won another Class C title.
Said Ellison after: “In practice we run that play all the time. (Coach) gives us a situation, like we’re down two and we’ve got to get a bucket. At first on my pump fake, I was like, should I pass? Then I saw (the defender) jump, got a little angle with my arm, and knew it was going in. I felt it.
“Every day I go in the gym, either the Y or I stay after practice, and it’s shots like that just for times like this. I just pulled it through today.”
Click to read Second Half's coverage – Beecher Survives on Last-Second Shot – and watch the game-winner below with coverage from the NFHS Network.