Lights-Out Loyer Leads Clarkston to Final
March 23, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Warm-ups don’t count, but it seemed like Foster Loyer couldn’t miss while getting ready for Friday’s first Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
The last four seasons, that’s been a good sign for Clarkston.
The Wolves’ senior point guard went on to make 12 of 17 shots from the floor and score 42 points – becoming the fifth player ever to drop at least 40 in a boys basketball Semifinal – in leading reigning champ Clarkston back to the Class A Final with a 74-49 win over Warren DeLaSalle.
Loyer scored 17 of his team’s 23 first-quarter points, on 6 for 10 shooting, as the Wolves quickly built a double-digit lead that never fell below nine points the rest of the game.
“When he gets going, there are not a lot of people who can stop him,” Clarkston senior backcourt mate CJ Robinson said. “When he gets going like that, we try to key on getting him the ball. He knocks shots down for us, and it opens things up for others, and he does a good job of finding everybody.”
Clarkston (25-1) will attempt to finish a repeat at 12:15 p.m. Saturday against Holland West Ottawa.
Loyer drained seven 3-pointers among his 12 field goals and all 11 of his free throw attempts – against a DeLaSalle defense focused on slowing down the recently-named Mr. Basketball Award winner and Michigan State recruit.
“I don’t think in 31 years of being a varsity coach that anyone has remotely scored that many points,” Pilots longtime leader Greg Esler said. “I think about when we were here in (20)07, Manny Harris had 13. But the thing about Loyer that’s so good is he’s so deceiving – he reminds you of Cassius Winston in the fact that he’s not the most athletic guy, he might not be the fastest but all of a sudden he’s shooting the 25-footer and getting to the rim and making everybody on his team better. So there’s no question, he’s a winner.”
Those comparisons, of course, are high praise – Harris, who went on to star at Michigan, had 14 for Detroit Redford in a Semifinal win over the Pilots that season, and DeLaSalle saw its share as well of Detroit U-D Jesuit’s Winston, who’s currently running the point for MSU.
Longtime Clarkston coach Dan Fife extended the praise to include Robinson, who had nine points and five assists while sharing a game-high 31 minutes on the floor.
“When you’ve got two guards who can play like this, it makes it a lot easier to coach,” said Fife, who’s in his 36th season. “My first year coaching, we had a bunch of bigs, and our guards weren’t near like this, we played Flint Central and we just got tattooed because we couldn’t handle the pressure. These guys handle the pressure.
“The two of them feel comfortable, and it makes everybody else relax a little bit.”
As a team, it was a smooth performance. The Wolves had only 10 turnovers to 11 assists and made 53 percent of their shots from the floor.
“I think as a point guard, for both of us, it’s important that we’re in control of the pace of the game, that we play how we want to play,” Loyer said. “Just to come out and throw that first punch and get an early lead is very important for us.”
Of course, Clarkston has more than great guards – senior forward Taylor Currie, headed to Wisconsin after graduation, chipped in 16 points and 12 rebounds and had the first basket of the game. As a team, the Wolves outrebounded the Pilots 36-19.
Senior forward Luke Pfromm led DeLaSalle (19-8) with 17 points, while senior forward Jordan Winowiecki had 12 and senior forward Kole Gjonaj had 10. Senior guard Justin Fisher had nine assists.
PHOTOS: (Top) Clarkston’s Foster Loyer launches a shot during Friday’s Semifinal win over Warren DeLaSalle. (Middle) DeLaSalle’s Justin Fisher had nine assists and four points for the Pilots.
Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 12
March 2, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We’re a week from the start of the MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament, but the playoff atmosphere has taken over these last few weeks of the regular season as well.
Today’s report looks at a number of teams that wrapped up championships over the last seven days and others that have the opportunity to do the same over the next seven before our three-week trip to Breslin Center begins.
“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. Grand Blanc 74, Mount Pleasant 60 – The Bobcats (16-3) added to their Saginaw Valley League Blue title by handing SVL Red champion Mount Pleasant (17-1) its only loss.
2. Orchard Lake St. Mary's 61, Detroit U-D Jesuit 54 – The Eaglets (18-1) added the Bishop Tournament title to their Detroit Catholic League Central championship, which they also earned just ahead of runner-up Jesuit (12-7).
3. Canton 58, Belleville 56 – The West co-runner-up Chiefs (13-6) earned a rematch with champ Howell for the Kensington Lakes Activities Association overall championship by downing the KLAA East-winning Tigers (15-4).
4. Traverse City Central 35, Traverse City West 32 – The Trojans (16-3) earned themselves an opportunity to claim a share of the Big North Conference title by finishing a sweep of West (7-11) that saw both games decided by a combined five points.
5. Lansing Everett 63, East Lansing 60 – The Vikings (11-9) are guaranteed to finish third in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue, but affected the league title big-time last week by following a 15-point loss to Okemos with this upset of the formerly co-leading Trojans (16-2) that gave the Chiefs the championship outright.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Detroit Cass Tech (17-1) Mr. Basketball Award finalist Tyson Acuff has led the Technicians to within a basket of a perfect season so far. Cass Tech defeated Detroit Douglass 66-41 on Feb. 14 to add the Detroit Public School League Tournament title to its PSL West championship, and it’s only slip-up was a one-point loss to Flint Carman-Ainsworth on Dec. 30. Wins over Macomb Dakota (17-3), Saginaw (10-8), Canton (13-6), Mumford (11-8) and East Kentwood (11-8) also are among the most notable.
Flint Carman-Ainsworth (15-5) As noted just above, Carman-Ainsworth handed Cass Tech its lone loss –an accomplishment in itself. But the Cavaliers also gave Goodrich (18-1) its only defeat while picking up a pair of wins over Saginaw and Davison (10-9) and one apiece against Arthur Hill (11-9), Grand Rapids Union (12-7) and Flushing (12-8). Carman-Ainsworth finished behind Grand Blanc in the SVL Blue, and the other three teams it lost to have only one loss apiece – Clarkston, Mount Pleasant and Flint Beecher.
DIVISION 2
Hudsonville Unity Christian (15-4) The reigning Division 2 champion has had just a few close slip-ups along the way this winter and always bounced back, and clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title outright by avenging one of those Friday against Byron Center. Those four losses – to Hudsonville, Grand Rapids South Christian, Byron Center and Zeeland East – were by a combined 13 points, and the South Christian defeat came in overtime. The Crusaders do have a two-point win over Holland West Ottawa (13-6) and also defeated first-round District opponent Allendale (13-6) by 16 in December.
Williamston (17-2) A 57-50 loss to Lansing Eastern two weeks ago turned the CAAC Red championship into a shared celebration between the Quakers and Hornets. But it’s been otherwise another strong run as Williamston is up to No. 6 in Division 2 MPR and pushing for what would be a fifth-straight 20-win season. The Hornets’ only other loss came in the opener to East Lansing (16-2), and they beat Eastern (13-5) by 17 in the teams’ first meeting and downed Lansing Catholic (15-4) by 14 also in December. Total, the Hornets have won outright or shared league titles eight straight seasons.
DIVISION 3
Pewamo-Westphalia (16-1) The reigning Division 3 champion quietly has won 15 straight since suffering its lone loss 61-59 to Laingsburg on Dec. 19. P-W defeated Laingsburg 54-36 in the Feb. 7 rematch and leads the Wolfpack in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference standings by half a game. The Pirates additionally have nice nonleague wins over Clare (14-5), Dearborn Advanced Tech (14-5), Carson City-Crystal (10-8) and Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (12-6) as they prepare for another possible postseason run.
Unionville-Sebewaing (16-2) Despite seeing their 31-game league winning streak snapped by Reese in December, the Patriots bounced back to share the Greater Thumb Conference West title with the Rockets. The only other defeat came to Division 2 contender Bridgeport (18-1), although the Patriots will tune up with another tough Division 2 opponent Tuesday at Clio (14-5). USA also has 20-plus point wins over GTC East co-leaders Harbor Beach and Sandusky, and over the 16 wins only Bad Axe has gotten within single digits of the Patriots. USA won their first meeting by one, but Friday’s rematch by 12.
DIVISION 4
Camden-Frontier (16-3) The Redskins trail Hillsdale Academy by a game in the Southern Central Athletic Association East with two to play. But they rank No. 6 in Division 4 MPR, one spot ahead of Hillsdale Academy, thanks in part to splits with the Colts (17-2) and Reading (15-4) and a win over Battle Creek St. Philip (13-6). The only other loss came to Bellevue (16-2). One more win will give Camden-Frontier 17 for the third season in a row, and 18 would be a program high over at least the last decade.
Webberville (14-4) The Spartans are tied for second with Division 3 Burton Bendle (16-3) behind Flint Beecher (18-1) in the Genesee Area Conference – impressive, especially considering Webberville won the second game against Bendle 72-59 on Jan. 28. Webberville last week handed Division 2 Ovid-Elsie (18-1) its lone loss, further justifying it as a team to watch over the next few weeks against opponents its size. The Spartans won 16 games both of the last two seasons and also won their District in 2019, so they could be set to take another step.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Portage Central (16-2) at Stevensville Lakeshore (15-4) – Both sit 8-1 in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West play, with this game's winner claiming the title outright. Portage Central won the first round 41-35.
Tuesday – Grand Blanc (16-3) at Flint Beecher (18-1) – The Flint area has thrived this season with Carman-Ainsworth and Southwestern also providing big boosts, but this has been the most highly-anticipated matchup between the best in and around the city.
Tuesday – Ypsilanti Lincoln (16-2) vs. Ann Arbor Huron (18-1) at Eastern Michigan University – The champions of the Southeastern Conference White and Red, respectively, meet in a potential District Final preview.
Thursday – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (18-1) vs. Detroit Cass Tech (17-1) – As mentioned in discussing both above, this brings together the best of the Catholic League and PSL for the annual Operation Friendship.
Thursday – Benton Harbor (16-2) at Wyoming (18-1) – Both championship hopefuls will enjoy one last test heading into the postseason, Benton Harbor a contender in Division 2 and Wyoming in Division 1.
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: Williamston, here during its first meeting with Haslett, finished a season sweep of the Vikings last week on the way to claiming a share of a league title. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)