North Central Finishes Memorable Run
March 28, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Powers North Central’s three-season quest to win its first boys basketball championship since 1984 will go down as one of the most successful in MHSAA history.
And how the Jets finished this winter should make them among to most memorable Class D champions for at least a few seasons to come.
North Central capped the run with a 67-47 win over Morenci in Saturday’s Final at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center, and in doing so pushed its three-season record to 75-5 – with the wins tied for seventh-most over three seasons in MHSAA history.
The Jets finished this winter 27-0, combining what coach Adam Mercier calls a lost art, a sizable lineup unlike any Morenci had faced this season, and an incredible scoring touch that showed to a statewide crowd when North Central hit an unreal 70 percent of its shots from the floor during the first half.
“We have a lot of skill players, a lot of kids who love basketball,” Mercier said. “These kids just play a style that I like to coach, and I know fans like seeing.”
North Central’s last two seasons had ended in the Semifinals and Quarterfinals, respectively. Despite entering this postseason ranked No. 1 in Class D, a pre-Breslin exit looked possible with five top-10 teams hailing from the Upper Peninsula, and three playing in the Jets’ Regional.
They dispatched No. 5 Munising in the Regional Semifinal, then No. 7 Lake Linden-Hubbell in the Regional championship game. North Central downed another top-10 team, No. 6 Hillman, in the Quarterfinal.
Morenci wasn’t ranked heading into the playoffs – but eliminated previously-undefeated and No. 3 Waterford Our Lady in its Semifinal. Still, and despite playing a Class C-heavy schedule, Morenci hadn’t faced a team with North Central’s ability to put three players on the floor 6-foot-4 or taller, and all capable of handling the ball, scoring – and this season, playing much better defense as well.
“When your gameplan is to do your best to not let them beat you to the basket, make them shoot from the outside, and then you see continual 3 after 3 going in, it’s kinda deflating,” Morenci coach Jim Bauer said.
The Jets made 10 of 13 first-quarter shots – 77 percent – including a pair of 3-pointers in jumping out to a 26-17 lead.
Senior Rob Granquist Jr. had nine of his 11 points during the opening period.
“Coach and the guys told me to be aggressive,” Granquist said. “It’s my last game, so I was going to go out and do what I do. They trust me, and we trust each other.”
The margin between the teams never got smaller than 18 points during the second half.
Senior center Torin Merillat finished his Morenci career with 11 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. Senior point guard Austin Sandusky also finished with 11 points. But the team’s 3-point shooting success of Thursday's Semifinal and throughout this season wasn't of assistance Saturday – the Bulldogs (24-3) made only 4 of 28 attempts from beyond the arc – and total they connected on only 29 percent of their shots from the field in their first MHSAA championship game appearance.
“We knew lightning would have to strike, when we’re playing a team with that size, quickness, ball-handling, rebounders; that team had it all,” Bauer said. “I talked (to our team) about if we played them 10 times, they’d probably beat us nine, but we were hoping today we’d strike a little magic, play a perfect game and hang with them. For the most part, we did a respectable job.
“The guys played with all their heart, what I’ve asked of them all year long. They have nothing to be ashamed of, I don’t think.”
Sophomore guard Jason Whitens led North Central with 19 points, making 9 of his 12 shots, and also had seven rebounds and four assists. Junior center Caleb Martin added 13 points and sophomore guard Bobby Kleiman also had 13 points, plus six rebounds.
Granquist and guard Ryan Whitens are the team’s only seniors. The MHSAA doesn’t keep a listing for best win-loss record over four seasons, but the Jets will be worth following again as they pursue 100 wins and a second straight team title in 2015-16.
“They’re basketball savvy, and you see that on the floor. They knew where they’re passing before they get the ball even. We don’t have set positions. We play in space. … I’m not a big set guy,” Mercier said. “It’s a matter of getting guys in good position to score and being ready to roll."
Click for the full box score and video from the postgame press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Powers North Central players and fans celebrate after clinching their first MHSAA title since 1984. (Middle) North Central’s Dawson Bilski (left) and Morenci's Bobby Black scramble for a loose ball.
Promise Kept, Dream Continues for Morenci
March 26, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Every summer, Morenci boys basketball coach Jim Bauer comes up with a catchy, aspiration-filled slogan for his kids basketball camp T-shirts.
Pathway to Breslin. Small Town, Big Time. “Breslin is on every shirt,” Bauer said, “but deep down, you’re thinking, am I ever going to get there?”
Three years ago, a freshman named Austin Sandusky made a promise he and his teammates kept Thursday. And now they’ve got an opportunity to carry it one step farther.
Morenci will play for its first MHSAA championship after handing Waterford Our Lady its only loss this season, 53-52, in a Class D Semifinal on Michigan State University's home floor.
“We started in fourth grade, and it seemed every tournament we’d be in the championship game,” Sandusky said. “Every year our coaches told us it wasn’t for this championship game, it’s for when we’re juniors and seniors on the varsity level trying to get to the (MHSAA) championship game. We knew they wouldn’t say that unless they truly believed it.”
Morenci (25-2), unranked when this tournament began, will face top-ranked Powers North Central in the 10 a.m. Final on Saturday.
Bauer has coached four 20-win teams over two tenures measuring a decade at Morenci, with this year’s his second straight to reach that milestone win total. But he’s also had three teams finish with sub-.500 records, including only two seasons ago.
No Morenci player measures taller than 6-foot-3, and senior guard Alex Thomas said he and his teammates always knew they’d be a little smaller than their opponents. But the Bulldogs returned four starters after falling to eventual MHSAA runner-up Adrian Lenawee Christian in last season's District Final. Two weeks ago, Morenci won its first Regional title since 1954, and the Semifinal was the first in the program’s history.
But the run nearly ended there – even though the Bulldogs led Thursday for all but 3 minutes and 55 seconds.
They were ahead from the middle of the first quarter until Our Lady senior Nick Robak hit a go-ahead jumper to make the score 38-37 with 7:08 to play.
Morenci took the lead back and pushed it to six points three times, including with 14 seconds remaining. But Robak hit another big shot – a 3 pointer to cut the deficit in half with eight seconds left – and after a steal by junior teammate Adam Kline was fouled on another 3-point attempt with less than a second to go in regulation.
Robak was faced with making all three free throws to tie the score. An 86-percent free-throw shooter, he connected on the first two – but missed the third.
“Layups and free throws, they matter. And they probably came back to bite us in the end,” said Our Lady coach Paul Robak, also Nick’s uncle. “Thirty-two minutes were played, and we lost our opportunity a long time before (the final second). We would’ve never gotten here without the efforts of Nick. … There are lessons in everything, and although we came here to win and not get a lesson, I hope we can find that lesson down the road.”
Robak scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to go with four assists. Kline added 12 points and five assists and junior forward Clay Senerius had nine points, 11 rebounds and four assists. But the team made only 6 of 14 free throw attempts and missed some shots from the lane that usually have fallen.
The Semifinal was Our Lady's first since 1993. The Lakers finished with a school record for wins in ending 25-1.
Thomas had 19 points and seven rebounds as the only player in double figures for Morenci. Sandusky added seven points, five rebounds and five assists as all five Bulldogs starters scored at least six points, and eight players saw at least nine minutes of action.
They didn’t play an opponent this season that received votes in the final Associated Press rankings. But they did avenge both of their losses and had won all of their tournament games by at least 12 points before Thursday’s nail-biter made what might’ve seemed like an unrealistic Sandusky dream continue to come true.
“You never discourage a kid from having a dream,” Bauer said. “You go along with it and hope for it.
“That’s what I wanted too.”
Click for the full box score and video from the postgame press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Morenci players celebrate their first MHSAA championship game berth. (Middle) Waterford Our Lady’s Nick Robak gets past a defender for an open look Thursday.