'Hooping for a Cure' a Slam Dunk
March 29, 2012
Brent Crossman was 12 years old in 1982 when his mother, now Sonja Reithan, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
It was impossible for him to understand at that point all that she went through with chemotherapy and a mastectomy. Thankfully, she survived.
He was much older when his sister Kenna Crossman died in 1998 after battling a brain tumor.
Charlotte High School's “Hooping for a Cure” players vs. teachers basketball games began as a way to honor his mom and raise money for the American Cancer Society. But this month’s game, the fifth in what is now an annual event, hit home again for the Orioles community.
On Jan. 2, Tina Droscha – whose son Adam is the senior class president – died after a 14-year battle against breast cancer. Then, on Feb. 4, former standout athlete Blake Rankin (class of 2011) died after fighting mouth cancer.
“I tell people, I wish I was one of these guys who just picked this cause and decided to be passionate about it. But it picked me,” said Crossman, who was the girls varsity coach from 1998-2007 and also has coached baseball and golf at the school. “When I lost my sister in 1998, it changed my life. I watched her go from a wonderful, healthy person with no issues to bed-ridden and I’m-carrying-her-to-the-bathroom kind of stuff.
“It got me all fired up. I was passionate and gung-ho about it. And when I started coaching basketball and became a teacher here, I was active and involved anyway and I knew I had avenues others didn’t have.”
This season's Hooping for a Cure game was played March 10 and raised $6,500.
It is set up with the usual four quarters – but with freshmen playing the first, sophomores the second, juniors the third and seniors the fourth. Each grade has 15 players made up of both boys and girls. They take on a team of teachers and staff that also rotates in and out of the line-up.
The first game raised roughly $2,000. That donation doubled the next year.
This year, Crossman’s crew sold more than 900 “Hunt for a Cure” shirts in honor of Rankin, a passionate outdoorsman (and the teams also wore them for the game). Balls autographed by Michigan State coaches Tom Izzo, Suzy Merchant and Mark Dantonio were raffled, and spectators also were treated to performances by local and school dancers and the Orioles’ drum line. Droscha and his band Smash the Hall played after the game.
PHOTOS courtesy of Charlotte High School.
Future Becomes Now as Freshman Oliver Pulls Douglass Past Dollar Bay
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 12, 2026
EAST LANSING — Judging by the Detroit Douglass and Dollar Bay rosters Thursday, one thing is for certain:
The day’s first Division 4 Semifinal might not be the last time those two schools – located 553 miles apart on opposite ends of the state – hook up at the Breslin Center over the next few seasons.
In a matchup between teams with rosters dominated by underclassmen, Douglass had a little too much on this occasion, advancing to the Division 4 championship game for the first time since winning it all in 2021 with a 58-47 win.
Douglass head coach Pierre Brooks had high praise after the game for Dollar Bay head coach Jesse Kentala and how he prepared his team, and knows the Hurricanes could be running into the Blue Bolts again.
“I heard about the young guys they have on their team,” Brooks said. “I think Coach told me they were here in 18 or 19. So hey, I wouldn’t mind seeing them again.”
One advantage Douglass had Thursday – and will if they meet again in the near future – is freshman Damani Oliver.
Entering the game leading his team in scoring at over 22 points a game, Oliver played like someone beyond his years, scoring 17 of his 21 points during the second half to help Douglass pull away.
“I (didn’t) see too many (Detroit) Lions games this year because every Sunday, he’s calling me to get into the gym,” Brooks said. “He’s definitely put in the work and I’m glad in the second half he decided to really pick it up.”
Holding a 22-17 lead at halftime, Oliver started the third quarter with a four-point play and finished the third with 10 points to help Douglass take a 40-35 lead into the fourth.
The Hurricanes put the game away from there, going up 51-38 with 3:44 remaining on a basket by sophomore Quinn Davis.
He also scored 14 points for Douglass, which didn’t shoot the ball well from the perimeter. Douglass was just 4 of 20 from 3-point range, but made that up a bit with a 30-22 rebounding advantage.
Junior Baron Colbert scored a game-high 23 points for Dollar Bay (24-3), which was making its first Semifinal appearance since 2019. With just three seniors, three freshmen and two eighth graders on the roster, Dollar Bay should be heard from again.
Kentala just hopes that if his team returns next year or beyond, the weather will be a little better.
Many of the school and community’s fans couldn’t make it down to the game as expected because the Mackinac Bridge was closed due to a winter storm.
“It’s been a great ride,” Kentala said, talking about his team’s tournament run. “I thought our plan was right. I thought these guys executed it just beautifully. I thought we did everything in our power. I thought we kept them guessing. We mixed up our zone and man pressure. I thought we attacked, I thought we were fearless, I thought we were tough. Sometimes the shots don’t fall, and (Oliver) really stuck a few key shots. A really nice player.”
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Douglass’ Kamari Howard (12) gets a shot up over Dollar Bay’s Liam Tourtillott (20) during Thursday’s first Division 4 Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) Tourtillot makes a move into the lane while guarded by Douglass’ Dimauvion Smith-Powe (35). (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)