North Central Powers Up Again in D
March 24, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Adam Mercier had a clear message when he reassembled his Powers North Central boys basketball team for its first meeting last spring.
He re-emphasized that message again before Thursday’s Class D Semifinal against Fulton.
This is a new team, the coach said. But it sure looked like last season’s MHSAA champion with another dominating Breslin Center performance.
In case anyone south of Mackinac Bridge forgot about the phenomenon that has been the Jets’ run over the last two seasons, they offered plenty of reminders with a 64-23 win over the Pirates that upped their winning streak to 54 straight and earned them the opportunity to repeat as best in Class D on Saturday.
All 15 Jets saw the floor in the Semifinal, eight scored and 10 had at least one rebound.
“That’s been our mentality all year, is to get everyone involved, everyone a piece of the glory here,” North Central junior Jason Whitens said. “We have a lot of players out there that have worked hard for this moment. To get out there and get everyone the ball and share the glory in this, it’s really special to do it with this group of guys.”
The top-ranked Jets (27-0) will take on No. 3 Waterford Our Lady at 10 a.m. Saturday with a second straight title – and an opportunity for more – on the line.
One more win would give North Central 55 straight, tying it for the most by any team over two seasons and with Saginaw Buena Vista’s 1992-94 teams for fourth-longest winning streak in MHSAA boys basketball history. The Jets would then have to win their first 11 games next winter to break Chassell's record streak of 65 set during the 1956-59 seasons.
North Central has had two games decided by fewer than 12 points this season – a four-point win over Class B Menominee and another close call against rival Crystal Falls Forest Park. The 23 points allowed Thursday were a season low.
And yet, none of this seems to press on a team that still has only three seniors. A number of these players were part of the 8-player football championship team in the fall, and the theme of that run was keeping it light and having fun, despite the serious nature of playing at the highest level. It’s an attitude that’s seemed to follow these athletes into the winter as well.
“We don’t try to do anything different. They have expectations for themselves; we don’t follow anybody else’s expectations, and there’s no pressure on these kids,” Mercier said. “This is a game of basketball, and it’s meant to be played with a lot of passion, a lot of fun and a lot of energy. … And when they play it, they play it so well.”
After scoring the first nine points of the game Thursday, the Jets built an 18-4 lead after a quarter and never looked back.
Whitens led with 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and senior Morgan Cox added 12 points. Junior Dawson Bilski had 11.
Fulton senior Colton Antes added two more 3-pointers to a career total that will rank among the highest in MHSAA history, finishing with six points. Fulton ended 19-7 after also making the Semifinals and then falling to North Central in 2015.
The Boys Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
PHOTOS: (Top) Jason Whitens fires a jumper over Fulton defenders during Thursday’s Semifinal win. (Middle) Morgan Cox buries a dunk.
Big Reds Come Up Big Time in 4th Quarter
March 21, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – One quarter – 8 minutes – remained in Friday’s last Class B Semifinal at the Breslin Center. Time appeared to be running out for Milan as it trailed Detroit Douglass by eight points.
And this was the scenario – almost – that the Big Reds wanted.
Sure, they would’ve liked to be trailing by less. And they probably didn’t want the ball in a freshman’s hands for the program’s most pressure-packed free throw of the last half century.
But aside from that …
“We were down eight and we had eight minutes to win this game,” senior guard Donovan Verges said. “We’re yelling at each other, ‘We’ve gotta come back,’ that we’re not losing today. We want to play in that championship game. So we went out there and fought as hard as we could.”
And they eventually edged Douglass, 51-50, in the most exciting Semifinal of this weekend.
Verges nailed a 3-pointer with 3:38 to play to tie the score for the first time since the start of the third quarter. It remained tied 50-50 with 22 seconds to play as the ball passed through four sets of hands near midcourt before falling into those of Milan freshman Garrett Gardette – who was fouled and made the go-ahead free throw with five seconds to play.
He missed the second free-throw attempt. But Douglass’ outlet pass off the rebound landed comfortably back in Verges’ hands with everyone else on the court then too stunned to do anything more before time expired.
Just like that, Milan (24-3) will be facing Benton Harbor on Saturday with a chance to win its first MHSAA title since claiming Class C in 1948.
“All year we said we wanted to make history here at Milan,” Big Reds senior Latin Davis said. “We wanted to leave a legacy. So that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The 5-foot-9 guard scored 17 points (on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor) with six assists, and 6-7 junior Nick Perkins added 16 points and nine rebounds.
Davis had only three points during the fourth-quarter comeback, but also had two assists. And he played the starring role as Milan’s defense allowed only 12 points in the third quarter and eight during the final period.
“Latin Davis has been underrated for three years. He’s a winner,” Milan coach Josh Tropea said “He’s 64-8 in the last three years, and he’s won more trophies than I care to count. And there’s no question we’re playing (Saturday) because of his leadership and his ability at point guard.”
Douglass coach Nkwane Young said after that his team had had difficulties all season against zone defenses. Milan switched to a stifling 1-2-2 zone for the fourth quarter after using a 2-3 earlier and watching as the Hurricanes found openings when the Big Reds tried switching to man-to-man.
Douglass senior guard Darrell Davis, a Mr. Basketball candidate, ended up spending most of the game stuck on the perimeter and got off only 11 shots in scoring just nine points, 16 below his average.
Senior point guard Terrell Hales did add 11 points, seven rebounds and five steals, with senior forward Deshawn Sanders leading with 15 points and senior forward Daavi Bradley coming off the bench to also score 11 for the Hurricanes (17-10).
Even then, Douglass’ final undoing fell partially on missing 5 of 9 free-throw attempts during the fourth quarter and making only 10 of 21 for the game.
“I thought the third quarter, we had control of it. And in the fourth quarter, I thought we were still in control,” Young said. “Like I told my team, one play doesn’t (lose) the game. There are some things we could’ve done differently, made some free throws. But otherwise, I’m proud of my team.”
The Semifinal run was the first for Douglass, which previously had reached a Quarterfinal in 2010. Davis was part of teams that finished 68-31 and won four District titles over his four seasons despite playing as a Class B in the Class A-heavy Detroit Public School League. Young called his standout the face of his program, and Davis will go on to play next season at the University of Dayton.
“The first year we took it to the Regional (Semifinal), and I wanted to take it farther than that, to the state championship,” Davis said. “My legacy is a good legacy at Fred D. I hope somebody comes in to replace it. I’ve just got to work harder in college, a stepping stone toward life.
“A lot of people doubted us, didn’t think we’d be making it this far. We came up a little short, but it’s OK. We just wanted to win, that’s all.”
Click for a full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: Milan freshman Garrett Gardette tries to get past Douglass’ Daavi Bradley during Friday’s Class B Semifinal. (Middle) The Hurricanes’ Darrell Davis works to get to the basket.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Detroit Douglass ended the first half on an 11-4 run, including this bucket by Darrell Davis on a break with 3 seconds to go. (2) Nick Perkins had a pair of baskets for Milan in the closing moments of its 51-50 Class B Semifinal win. This putback gave the Big Reds the 50-49 lead at the time.