EAST LANSING — The Wyoming Tri-unity Christian High School boys basketball team was not about to end its season the way it started – with a loss to Fowler.

The Defenders also were not going to let legendary coach Mark Keeler ride off into the sunset after a 38-year career without another Division 4 championship.

On the strength of suffocating defense and two double-digit scoring runs, along with frigid Fowler shooting during the first half, Tri-unity defeated the Eagles 49-32 on Saturday at the Breslin Center to claim its second-straight title and third over the last four years.

Keeler, who announced his retirement earlier this season, departs with his seventh MHSAA Finals championship. Fowler was making its first appearance in the championship since 2002 – when the Eagles also lost to Tri-Unity.

“This is not going to be a good time for me because I’m pretty emotional,” Keeler said. “I’m so stinking proud of them. Was that good defense? I think that was good defense. We played a great team. I thought we didn’t quit.”

Keaton Blanker led Tri-unity (27-2) with 12 points, followed by Noah Silverton with 11, all in the first half.

“Our biggest emphasis was playing 32 minutes,” Blanker said. “We don’t stop fighting until that final buzzer, and we did that. I’m just so happy for all us players.”

Tri-unity graduated eight seniors from last year’s championship team, with only Blanker and Joey Mellon seeing significant playing time, so another Division 4 title wasn’t necessarily a sure thing, especially after the loss to Fowler on opening night at home.

“I don’t think a lot of people thought that we could do this,” Blanker said. “We just fought. Every day at practice was a straight grind.”

Tri-unity’s defense was smothering all season – holding teams to an average of 39 points per game, the lowest of Keeler’s tenure – and it was downright sterling Saturday.

The first Fowler basket was a 3-pointer by Jacob Halfmann more than five minutes into the contest after Tri-unity scored the game’s first 11 points. That was quickly followed by another 3-pointer by Aaron Simon, but that was all the Eagles could muster as Tri-unity led 11-6 after the first quarter.

Six quick points from Tri-unity – aided by Fowler turnovers – pushed the lead back to 11 less than two minutes into the second quarter. At that point, Fowler had three times as many turnovers (six) as field goals (two).

The lead stretched to 16 halfway through the second quarter, prompting a third Fowler timeout.

A Jacob Halfmann 3-pointer at the 3:15 mark ended another lengthy Fowler scoring drought – and a 13-0 Defenders run – and made the score 24-9. He finished with a team-high 11 points.

The Eagles (25-4) struggled in the first half to find an answer for Silverton, who eclipsed double figures in points before they did.

“Today we just started a little slow. It took a little bit for us to settle in,” an emotional Fowler coach Kam Riley said. “We kept talking about, we got to settle in and be ourselves, and I thought we did that as the game progressed. Against a good team like Tri-unity, you dig a hole, it’s going to be tough to get out of it.”

An Alex Halfmann layup with 2:05 to play in the first half was the first Fowler field goal inside the 3-point arc. Despite a solid finish to the half by Fowler, the Defenders carried a 28-16 lead into the break.

The Eagles cut the lead to seven late in the third quarter as Tri-unity suddenly appeared mortal.

“They came back at us at the start of the second half, and we knew they would,” Keeler said. “I just thought my guys played great defense. I was more excited about our defense.”

A Clayton Rowlader 3-pointer pushed the lead back to double figures. Fowler pulled within 39-30 with 3:48 to play before Tri-unity closed the game with a 10-2 run boosted by two more 3-pointers by Rowlader. The Defenders finished 4-of-10 from long range after making only one of 23 attempts combined during Regional Final and Quarterfinal victories.

Keeler said this championship was different than the others because it’s his last, and that despite the loss of so many upperclassmen from last year’s team, he had a feeling this team could win it all.

“The competitive part of me, I wanted to win and I knew we could because I’ve watched these guys mature,” Keeler said. “I love defense. It’s the old adage, if you can do offense, you’ll win games, but if you play good defense, you’ll win state championships.”

Keeler finished his career with a 721-218 varsity coaching record, his wins ranking third in MHSAA boys basketball history.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Tri-unity Christian’s Keaton Blanker (4) exits the game in celebration during his team’s Division 4 Final win Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Defenders’ Cody Osbun elevates above three Fowler players to put up a shot. (Below) Fowler’s Aaron Simon (30) makes a move into the lane. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)