Kings of the Detroit PSL
February 23, 2012
The Detroit Martin Luther King boys basketball team came into this season riding high hopes – and high outside expectations too as many saw the Crusaders among teams to beat in Class A this winter.
And King made good right away, with a 10-1 start that included wins over Detroit Country Day and Bay City Western.
That made the Crusaders' Jan. 20 game at Detroit Pershing arguably the biggest in the Detroit Public School League this regular season -- and King's 87-78 loss to the Doughboys a letdown that spiraled into three losses in four games heading into the PSL Tournament.
“In retrospect, we look at it as almost a blessing in disguise,” King coach Pierre Brooks said. “It was kind of a reality check. We needed to go back to the drawing board, clean up some things as far as strategy. I think we peaked at the right moment.”
It’s tough to argue with that. King avenged that Pershing loss by beating the Doughboys 76-69 in Thursday’s PSL Final at Detroit Mercy’s Calihan Hall. The PSL championship is King’s first since 1999, and the performance earned the team one of Second Half's High 5s this week.
Climbing out of that downturn started with a team meeting. Brooks, for his part, didn't have to do much talking. The Crusaders have eight seniors, led by four-year varsity players Dennis Norfleet and Malik Albert. They were bent on finishing with a flourish instead of a disappointment.
And Brooks had a sound plan. King is known for aggressive man-to-man pressure defense. So in the tournament, Brooks put his team in a zone. That new look seemed to throw off opponents – the Crusaders won their four PSL Tournament games by an average of 10 points, and also avenged an earlier loss to Crockett by beating the Rockets 69-67 in a semifinal.
Albert, who leads the team scoring 23.1 points per game, had 29 in the final including 16 in the fourth quarter. Freshman center William Abbott, who averages 2.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, added 12 and 13, respectively.
Brooks, who also coached under Benny White for three seasons at King before taking over the program last winter, said his players have begun to come down from the celebration and refocus on their next goal. They host their Class A District beginning March 5. And on the other side of the bracket is Detroit Southeastern, which also beat King last month and in the District Final a year ago.
“We’ve got guys who have been on varsity the last four years … (and) they’ve been through it all in terms of highs and lows,” Brooks said. “They constantly talk about how they want to end their senior year. They’ve got that desire and passion.”
PHOTO courtesy of the Detroit Public Schools League.
Lenawee Christian Earns Saturday Return
March 20, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – From 1998-2001, Adrian Lenawee Christian’s boys basketball team made four MHSAA Quarterfinals and advanced to three Semifinals.
Senior guard Brad Harrah remembers and is reminded every day.
“Every time I come out to practice, I see those banners and they remind me of the last time we were here,” he said. “It just drives our team.”
It helped drive the Cougars on Thursday into an MHSAA Final for the first time.
Lenawee Christian survived a third-quarter comeback by sharp-shooting Cedarville to advance to its first boys basketball championship game with a 67-58 victory in the final Class D Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
“It just means everything to us. As one of our players said, it’s our only option. We don’t have any other option but to come out and win this game and come out and win Saturday,” Harrah said. “Just to get back to where the program was, and take it a step farther, is just incredible.”
The Cougars (21-4) will face two-time defending champion Southfield Christian at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Total, Lenawee Christian has made the season’s final week eight times over the last 17 years. Its last three Quarterfinal runs were stopped by Class D powerhouse Wyoming Tri-unity Christian – but this week the Cougars were able to break through with an overtime win Tuesday over Battle Creek St. Philip.
Lenawee Christian took a one-point lead Thursday on junior Nick Mewborn’s 3-pointer before the first-quarter horn, and pushed the advantage to 10 by halftime.
But Cedarville (24-2) just needed a few more minutes to heat up.
The Trojans made 8 of 15 shots from the floor during the third quarter, and junior forward Brad Causley scored 15 of his 22 points during the period as Cedarville pulled within 48-47. The Trojans then tied the score 49-49 on another Causley bucket 28 seconds into the fourth quarter.
“Being such an experienced team and having a great tradition, we knew they would have a run and were going to come back,” Lenawee Christian coach Scott McKelvey said. “They have so many great shooters on their team, and we had to weather their run. … I thought we did a great job keeping our composure.”
The key was getting the ball in the post to 6-7 senior forward Kingsley, who finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Sophomore 6-7 center Maxwell had 12 points, including the go-ahead basket to break the fourth-quarter tie and another bucket to push the lead back to six with 5:33 to play.
Senior guard Grant Hohlbein also added 15 points and seven rebounds for Lenawee Christian – with six of those points coming in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans also cooled off substantially, making only 2 of 16 shots from the floor during the final period.
“Every coach in America says when you’re making shots, you look good,” Cedarville coach Dave Duncan said. “But I’m proud of our effort – it was a pretty gutsy effort I felt like we played with in the second half.”
Junior guard Joey Duncan also had 22 points for the Trojans and grabbed nine rebounds. Senior center Dann Stenback added 12 points and five rebounds.
Cedarville made its third Quarterfinal in four seasons this week, with the Semifinal berth its first since 2009.
Click for a full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTO: (Top) Adrian Lenawee Christian’s Nick Mewborn works to find an opening in the Cedarville defense during Thursday’s Class D Semifinal. (Middle) Cedarville's Joey Duncan attempts to drive past a Lenawee Christian defender.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Grant Hohlbein keyed an 8-0 fourth quarter run for Adrian Lenawee Christian with a pair of baskets, including this baseline drive. He ended the game with 15 points. (2) Brad Causley had 22 points and nine rebounds for Cedarville in the Class D Semifinal. Here he scores on a putback off a blocked shot.