Moment: Rouge Repeats with Late Surge
March 27, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
With 14 MHSAA Finals championships, River Rouge remains the historic standard for Michigan high school boys basketball. And until just a few seasons ago, legendary coach Lofton Greene topped the state’s all-time wins list in this sport.
Rouge again met Muskegon Heights in the 1972 Class B Final after defeating the Tigers 71-65 in the previous season’s championship game. This time, late-game heroics helped Rouge pull out a 65-64 win, earning the program its 12th championship and last under Greene’s guidance.
The Panthers trailed 64-57 with less than a minute to play. Ralph Perry scored with 45 seconds left to make the deficit five, and he also was fouled. He missed the ensuing free throw, but teammate Byron Wilson put back the offensive rebound to get their team to within 64-61. Leighton Moulton pulled them within a point on a jumper with 23 seconds left. After a Heights turnover, Moulton attempted to drive for the game winner but was fouled before he could get off a shot. With only two seconds left on the clock, and needing to make at least the first free throw to send the game to overtime, he connected on both to seal the win.
Click to read a look back from the MHSAA “Legends of the Games” archives, and see below for 27 minutes of film from the game that remains a classic in state hoops history.
PHOTO: River Rouge’s Leighton Moulton pulls up for a jumper during the 1972 Class B Final. (Photo courtesy of the Lofton Greene Family Archives.)
Highlight Reel: Class A-B Semifinals
March 26, 2016
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
The Finals field is set for the MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament, presented by Sparrow Health System, with the last four teams determined during Friday’s Class A and B Semifinals at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
To watch a game in its entirety and order DVDs, click the score of the game below. Here are Friday’s highlights:
Class A
Detroit U-D Jesuit 72, Macomb Dakota 51
Winston Makes It Happen - Cassius Winston scored a game high 27 points for U-D Jesuit, but also had 12 assists, including one on this play.
Transition Dunk - Here's a back-and-forth sequence in the second half of the Detroit U-D Jesuit vs. Macomb Dakota Class A Semifinal that ends up in a dunk for Dakota's Thomas Kithier.
North Farmington 60, Lansing Everett 48
Quick Three - Billy Thomas hit two 3-pointers in the first minute of the second half to extend North Farmington's lead against Lansing Everett in this Class A Semifinal. Thomas finished with 26 points.
Vikings Score Off Steal - Here's a steal by Lansing Everett's Victor Edwards converted into a fastbreak basket by Jamyrin Jackson, who led all scorers in this Class A Semifinal with 27 points.
Class B
Detroit Henry Ford 70, Williamston 48
Hot Hornet - Williamston's Riley Lewis led all scorers in a Class B Semifinal with Detroit Henry Ford with 32 points, including an old-fashioned three-point play on this sequence.
Bey Putback - Detroit Henry Ford had a 21-point performance from Kavon Bey - getting two here on a putback against Williamston in this Class B Semifinal.
Stevensville Lakeshore 61, Big Rapids 60
Davenport Double - Watch Big Rapids' Jeffrey Davenport with the great defensive play at one end of the court, and then he doubles his pleasure with a layup at the other end.
Breakaway Basket - A huge play in the closing moments of the Class B Semifinal between Stevensville Lakeshore and Big Rapids was this fastbreak basket by Lakeshore's Gibson Archer. Archer finished the game with 15 points.
The Boys Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
PHOTO: Everett's Jamyrin Jackson (11) drives toward the basket while North Farmington's Jacob Joubert (5) blocks his path.