North Central Finishes 3-Peat Perfectly
March 25, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – For the last three seasons and 83 straight games, Powers North Central’s boys basketball team has been perfect.
And for the first eight minutes Saturday, as these Jets played together for the last time, they couldn't have been much better.
Buckley never recovered completely from one of the most impressive opening barrages in recent Finals history. But the Bears did make North Central work to add this latest win, a 78-69 victory to claim a third straight Class D championship.
In their last game together, Jets senior starters Jason Whitens, Dawson Bilski, Bobby Kleiman, Marcus Krachinski and Seth Polfus all contributed as the team made its first 15 shots. Bilski tied the MHSAA championship game record for points in a quarter with 18 in the first as North Central as a team fell just shy of making the list for most points in a quarter, putting up 38 total – enough of a run to help them survive a nearly-as-epic comeback by the Bears, who also were undefeated heading into the day.
“Over the past couple of years, kids like me and Seth and Marcus, we never had the starting spots coming up. We had to wait a little while. We had to play our role,” Kleiman said. “But having two players like Jason and Dawson, that makes us just as good a players as them. They help us every day. They’re the ones who make us better. When things get tight, we look to them.”
“(But) we’re a team. And that’s where a lot of teams lack, is the team part. They have individuals, but us, we’re family. We love each other. And this whole ride has just been crazy, and we’ll never forget it.”
The Jets finished 28-0, and sit 83-0 over the last three seasons after again extending the nation’s longest active winning streak. Whitens capped his high school career with a 108-1 record over four varsity seasons, giving him not only a state record for wins but also breaking the record by four for most varsity boys basketball games played in MHSAA history. Bilski also started on all three championship teams and joined Whitens earning Class D all-state honors earlier this week. On Jan. 27, with their 66th straight win, they broke the MHSAA record for consecutive wins previously set by Chassell from 1956-58.
Coming off Thursday’s one-point, buzzer-beating Semifinal victory over Southfield Christian, Saturday’s start made it seem like a Jets victory lap was about to begin. At the end of the first quarter, North Central led 38-20 and had made 15 of 17 shots from the floor.
But much to Buckley’s credit, it didn’t show a sign of folding. The Bears were dominated by star juniors and will surprise no one if they make another run in 2018. Despite entering Saturday with a 26-0 record, they weren’t expected by most to win – but never let that sink in, even while staring up at a double-digit deficit less than four minutes into the game.
“I was just thinking man, they’re shooting the lights out. They’ve been here before, they’re all seniors, they want it that bad. We’ve just got to match their intensity,” Buckley junior Denver Cade said. “Sometimes they’re just putting them up there, going in, and you’re holding on. After that’s done, you’re just right back going at them, so we did.”
Buckley won the second and fourth quarters and tied North Central 10-10 in the third, taking advantage in part as Bilski left the game for an extended period after picking up his fourth foul just 1:32 into the second half.
But his absence may have only kept the Jets from increasing the lead – he re-entered with 6:30 to play and the Jets up 13, but from there Buckley launched a 13-3 run over four minutes to pull within 68-65 on Ridge Beeman’s basket with 2:41 to play.
“If we score 38 points in a quarter, typically teams kinda roll over,” North Central coach Adam Mercier said. “That didn’t happen today, and that’s a credit to those Buckley kids. We had to fight tooth and nail with them in the fourth quarter. I was just so proud of our kids, the way they finished this game.
“For these guys, it just comes with the territory. I sat here two or three years ago, trying to explain this group of boys – now they’re men – we just talked about that ‘it’ factor. It starts with these seniors and the seniors we had in the past, and that ‘it’ factor rings through with all of them.”
And as Kleiman said, when things got tight, the Jets turned to their accomplished stars.
Bilski and Whitens combined to score nine points during a 10-4 run to finish the game and a legacy that may not be approached for another half-century.
“You don’t think a team’s going to back down. You always have to keep coming back at them,” said Whitens, who also quarterbacked two straight undefeated football teams. “Respect to them for just keeping coming at us. It makes the game more fun. That’s what it’s all about, opponents going head to head, and they didn’t quit. We just had to keep going at it, and had a lot of fun doing it.”
Saturday's Final was the first featuring two undefeated teams since Shelby downed Stockbridge 71-57 in the 1971 Class C championship game. It was the first Class D Final pitting undefeated teams since Covert beat Ewen-Trout Creek 84-70 in 1966.
Bilski, who will continue his career at Michigan Tech, scored 25 points in just 20 minutes, making 8 of 9 shots from the floor. Whitens – a Mr. Basketball Award finalist this season – had 23 points on 8 of 11 shooting, while Kleiman added 12 points and Krachinski had 11 and seven assists.
Cade also scored 25 points with seven rebounds, and junior center Austin Harris had 22 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Joey Weber added 15 more points and seven rebounds for the Bears.
All five Buckley starters should return next season.
“We’re going to use that as fuel. When we see them holding up that trophy, we’re not going to pout and cry about it,” Harris said. “We’re going to get really, really mad, get back in the gym, and do it really hard and see if we can win next year. You haven’t seen the last of us.”
PHOTOS: (Top) North Central’s Bobby Kleiman drives to the basket during Saturday’s Class D Final. (Middle) The Jets’ Marcus Krachinski tries to block a shot by Buckley’s Denver Cade.
60 Years Later, Chassell Streak Stands
March 22, 2016
Sixty years ago, something happened in Michigan high school boys basketball that hadn’t happened before and hasn’t happened since – three Upper Peninsula teams won titles. Stephenson beat Detroit St. Andrew, 73-71 in overtime when “Marvelous” Mel Peterson made the first basket of sudden death; Crystal Falls (before it was called Forest Park) beat Berrien Springs, 71-69, in Class C; and Chassell won the first of three straight Class D titles, beating Portland St. Patrick, 71-68, by rallying from a 15-point deficit with less than four minutes to play.
The win was part of Chassell’s state record 65-game winning streak, which still stands. Below is an excerpt of a piece on the Chassell streak written before the teams were honored as part of the “Legends of the Games” program at the 1998 Boys Basketball Finals.
The old adage in sports states that records are made to be broken. The longer, however, the record stands, the more legendary the accomplishment becomes.
Chassell's wins were the centerpiece of Upper Peninsula success in the MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament during the first 11 years after the format unified the two peninsulas. From 1932 to 1947, separate finals were conducted in both peninsulas. Between 1948 and 1958, Upper Peninsula schools won three Class B crowns (there were no Class A schools in the U.P. at the time), two Class C titles, and seven Class D championships – over one-third of the available first-place finishes.
Wrote the Marquette Mining Journal in 1956, the year that Stephenson in Class B, Crystal Falls in Class C and Chassell in Class D all won MHSAA titles, "All of these is a startling figure since in the period the U.P. has only 42 (schools) -- one eighth of all the lower class quarterfinalists.
"Under the law of averages, the U.P. should come up with one state champ every three years."
It looked at first that the law of averages would catch up with Chassell. After starting the 1955-56 season with 11 straight wins, the Panthers lost a close January game at Trout Creek, and then won their way downstate into the finals against Portland St. Patrick. In that final game, St. Patrick held a 15-point lead at 68-53 with less than four minutes to play.
Coach Ed Helakoski, the architect of the Chassell winning streak, called time out and told his team to apply full court pressure, a rarity at the high school level at that time.
Playing without standouts Terry Pokela and Tom Peters, who had fouled out, Chassell scored the final 18 points of the contest, the biggest game-ending rally in Finals history, and won the first crown, 71-68. Sophomore guard Don Mattson scored the winning points with only seconds to play, finished the game with a finals record 25 points, and the Panthers finished the season 25-1 with 14 consecutive victories.
During the 25-0 run to the crown in 1956-57, the only close games were regular-season wins against National Mine (71-66), L'Anse (64-63), Doelle (73-69), and a 58-50 decision over Stevensville in the championship game at Jenison Fieldhouse. Of the other 21 games, none were closer than 13 points, and the average margin of victory was 27 points.
The winning streak stood at 39 entering the 1957-58 season, and the 10-year state record of 59 consecutive victories by Mass from 1947-49 was within reach. However, Mattson was the only returning starter from the back-to-back championship teams, and perhaps Helakoski's greatest coaching job lay ahead to replace four starters in a school which had just over 30 boys enrolled in grades 9-12.
Doelle, which had given the Panthers one of its closest games the season before, was leading, 62-60, in an early-season contest. As time ran out, Bob Belhummer of Chassell was fouled at midcourt and sent to the free throw line with a one-and-one opportunity. Belhummer sank both shots to force the only overtime game of the streak, a 72-66 victory.
The new state record of 60 consecutive victories came in a 45-43 decision over Marenisco in the MHSAA District championship game. A trip over the newly-constructed Mackinaw Bridge came two weeks later and the Panthers became the first school to bring an MHSAA trophy across the structure when the 65th victory was recorded, a 66-61 decision over Owosso St. Paul. Mattson tallied 27 points in the finale to set another championship game record.
In the 40 years since Chassell's incredible feat, only twice has the winning streak been threatened. Flint Northwestern racked up 60 victories between January of 1984 and February of 1986; and Saginaw Buena Vista had a streak reach 55 games between December of 1991 and December of 1993.
In many communities, success streaks come and go, but a constant ideal of school sports then and today was captured by John Pyykkonen, a guard and forward on the 1956 and 1957 teams who summarized the events: "I remember the friendly competition amongst the members of the team and how well we worked together and how our parents, fans and the community were behind us 100 percent of the way. One of the greatest highlights in a young man's life and will never be forgotten."
Records were made to be broken. But legends, especially Legends of the Games like Chassell, endure the test of time.
GLORY DAYS ... Remembering The Streak
John Pyykkonen - 1956-57 Guard-Forward: "One thing I remember clearly, besides the games, is walking into Jenison Fieldhouse and being totally awestruck by the raised floor and the huge (in my eyes) guides who showed us around the building. I recall the game in 1956 when we were so far behind in points and we were able to overcome the point deficit by a full court press. The huge crowd gathered there were all cheering for the small-town team."
Robert Belhumer - 1956-1957-1958 Guard: "We had a great camaraderie among the members of our team. Also Chassell is a small town in the Upper Peninsula and the fans were there rooting for us during our seasonal games and were there for us at the championship games in Lansing."
Donald Jaakkola - 1956 Guard (On the championship game): "We ran out onto the court to a crowd of 12,000 people, most of whom were cheering for Portland St. Patrick. Needless to say, we felt a bit in awe as we came from Chassell, a small town in the Upper Peninsula.
"We were down 15 points with four minutes to go and two of our tallest players had fouled out earlier. Coach Ed Helakoski called a timeout and the basketball gods were with us. We threw a full court press defense and scored 18 points while holding St. Patrick scoreless. It gave us a screaming 71 to 68 victory. The crowd of 12,000 was now cheering for us."
Mike Wisti - 1956 Guard (On Coach Ed Helakoski): “I am quite sure there are many who will remember Ed Helakoski as a good coach. I'm sure he was a good coach; he had a knack for demanding discipline and teamwork, while not stifling the creativity of his players. However, I believe he should also be remembered as a great classroom teacher. He taught Government one year and Sociology the next and was the best classroom teacher that I had in high school. His ability to make Government interesting and explain how everything was designed to work is probably one of the biggest reasons for my lifelong interest in government and politics."
Kenneth Tormala - 1956-1957-1958 Forward: "The first year we surprised a lot of teams and people by winning the state championship. The second year we were picked to win when the year started and it would have been a real disappointment not to have done so. The third year was a real challenge since we lost so many players, but we had the backbone of the team, Don Mattson, who was an all-stater. This team was the most closely knit of all. We had a lot of very close games and had to dig down to everything we had learned to win many of them. A very satisfying year and we kept the winning streak going, to the surprise of many, including the previous teams.
"These memories will be fondly remembered until we die. Thank you to the late Mr. Helakoski."
James Komula, 1958 Guard (On what stands out from that season): "Being from a small town and playing in small gyms, the spaciousness and large crowd in Jenison Fieldhouse proved very exciting. Also, the reception and festivities upon our triumphant return to Chassell will forever be a highlight of personal memories. People were waiting in their vehicles nearly 30 miles from town to accompany our motorcade home.
"Although I didn't give it much thought, the experience and influence of playing on that team would set the direction for my career. Upon graduation from Michigan Tech, I was given an interim position to teach and coach at L'Anse High School. In 1966, I was assistant coach when L'Anse won the Class C state championship. After that I moved to Livonia, where in later years I was head coach at Bentley High School. Although I never intended, my high school basketball did influence my career to work with youngsters, and help them share in the rewards of the commitment and lifelong learning of athletics."
Terry Pokela, 1956-1957 Center: "We truly had a team. Coach Helakoski did not allow us to think of individual statistics or anything like that. He constantly emphasized the team concept. It certainly paid off.
"Also, we were one of the first teams to fast break after every missed shot by opponents. Our three-lane break broke many team's backs, as they couldn't keep up with us. Coach Helakoski emphasized rebounding position to enable the fast break to get started. We could also shoot field goals from any part of the court. Don Mattson would have scored 40 points a game if the three-point field goal would have been in effect."