Onsted Quickly Finding Winning Combinations During Fast Starts
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
December 28, 2021
ONSTED – Austin Davis played college basketball under John Beilein and Juwan Howard at the University of Michigan. One of the lessons he brought home with him after four years with the Wolverines is now helping the Onsted boys basketball team excel.
“Austin talks to our team all of the time about being a star in your own role,” Onsted boys basketball coach Brad Maska said. “Whatever it is you do, whether it’s rebounding or scoring, you need to be a star in your specific role. That’s his message, and it's really made our team better.”
Davis is finished with the Wolverines, but not basketball. The Onsted graduate helps at practices and games when he can, and Maska said his presence is one of the reasons the Division 2 Wildcats were 5-0 heading into a holiday tournament this week that features teams from three states.
“Him just being here, being a part of it, is big for our guys,” Maska said. “We are lucky to have him.”
Davis also is tutoring his younger brother, 6-foot-9 sophomore Ayden Davis.
The younger Davis came on strong as the season went on last winter, and he has started this season even better, averaging better than 21 points a game. He scored 30 against Hanover-Horton and has a 20-rebound game to his credit as well.
“As coaches we learned so much when we had Austin,” Maska said. “All of the things we are trying to do with Ayden are things we didn’t do with Austin. We want to play fast, get out and run, and Ayden can run up and down the floor.”
Onsted has an interesting roster mix. There are five seniors, including captains Dayton Henagan and Harry Moore, who return from last season’s 14-4 team. There are three juniors, Davis is one of two sophomores, and there are two freshmen – Aidan Paquin and JT Hill – who played big roles in the first five wins.
“The collection of kids we have around Ayden is second to none,” said Maska, in his 15th year as Onsted head coach. “It all starts with our seniors and how they have bought in to what we are doing. We had a great summer together, and it is showing.”
Hill and Paquin both have hit big shots already this season. Junior Bradlee VanBrunt hit six 3-pointers in a win over Jonesville. Henagan is averaging six rebounds, five steals and five assists per game, and Moore has been filling up the stat sheets.
“It hasn’t been just one guy,” Maska said. “That’s what has been so exciting. Everyone is contributing, one through 11.”
Ayden grew up around the Onsted program while Austin was a three-year starter for the Wildcats. Their father, Eric Davis, remains an assistant coach. Ayden said he’s grateful for the work Austin puts in with him.
“We have a great relationship, and I’m so grateful for him being here and helping me,” Ayden said. “He helps with my shot, my footwork. He learned from Coach Beilein and Coach Howard. He’s bringing that to working with me. I’m very excited to work with him.
“He’ll put his shorts on and pull out the old basketball shoes sometimes and we go at it. It makes me a better player.”
Henagan, a 6-2 senior forward, is second on the team in scoring, putting up between 11 and 19 points in every game this season. He said as a captain, it's his role to ensure the younger players on the team are integrated into everything the team does.
“This summer was really important because we gelled right away,” he said. “Having that time brought everyone close together. Now we hang out and do things together as a team. It’s been big for us. We all trust each other. The summer really gave us a head start.”
Maska has upgraded the Wildcats’ schedule this season. They played three games over the first five nights of the season, are playing in the North Central Tournament in Ohio this week and will play at a Martin Luther King Day event in Ohio against Toledo St. Francis, a Division 1 school in its state.
“I like to play different teams,” Maska said. “In the summer we will play all over the place. We want to play the best and see how we stack up.”
It’s a good time for basketball all around at Onsted. The Wildcats JV boys are also undefeated, and the Onsted girls varsity is 5-0 after knocking off Brooklyn Columbia Central on Dec. 16. The Golden Eagles had won 34 straight Lenawee County Athletic Association games before the Wildcats beat them, 46-34, with great defense down the stretch.
Varsity girls head coach Brandon Arnold likes the versatility of his team.
“We have four guards, and we can do a lot of different things with them,” he said.
Senior Kaylei Smith, a Siena Heights University signee, is off to a great start with 85 points in five games, and sophomore Hailey Freshcorn is a gym rat who is fast and the ringleader on defense.
“She never comes out of the gym,” Arnold said.
Onsted won 14 games last year and graduated four-year starter and 1,000-point scorer Mya Hiram.
“No one expected us to start like this,” Arnold said. “But the girls have embraced it. We’re like the underdog right now.”
The Wildcats girls got a late start to the season due to the volleyball team reaching the Quarterfinals, and then battled some COVID-19 issues. They are rolling now but have some tough games coming up.
“We have a lot of momentum and confidence right now,” Arnold said. I like how we are playing, and the things we are doing.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Onsted’s Dayton Henagan (3) makes his move toward the basket during a win over Hudson. (Middle) Past star Austin Davis coaches up one of Onsted’s current contributors. (Photos by Deloris Clark-Osborne.)
'Secret Weapon' Thomas Plays Lead Role as East Lansing Ends Title Wait
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2025
EAST LANSING — East Lansing High School boys basketball coach Ray Mitchell called sophomore Kingston Thomas his “secret weapon.”
Going forward he’ll have to refer to Thomas as just a weapon, because the secret is out.
On a team chock-full of seniors and juniors, Thomas made a massive impact Saturday despite not having any plays called for him. His double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds helped lift the Trojans to a 66-46 victory over Wayne Memorial in the Division 1 Final at the Breslin Center.
Cameron Hutson led all scorers with 20 points, and Kelvin Torbert scored 16 as East Lansing won its first championship since 1958.
Carlos Medlock Jr. and Jaylohn Allen each scored 14 points for Wayne Memorial, which was making its first Finals appearance.
“These guys have been preparing for this pretty much all their lives. I told them it was their destiny,” Mitchell said. “They’ve been working toward this. They’ve been connected, they’ve been a family for so long, they deserve this. I couldn’t ask for much more from a group of 15 kids.
“It’s a wonderful thing that we can top it off with this championship.”
The Trojans (28-1) absorbed an early punch from Wayne Memorial, which led 16-12 after the first quarter thanks to 10 points from Medlock. But Zebras coach Steve Brooks knew the advantage came with an asterisk.
“The lead was fake because we were shooting long bombs, and that’s not how you win a basketball game,” he said. “We weren’t executing anything at all. They weathered the 3-point storm at the beginning, and they started beating us to every 50-50 ball.”
Hutson’s layup as the first quarter ended ignited a 21-0 barrage that turned the game permanently in East Lansing’s favor. His three-point play put the Trojans up 17-16 just over a minute into the second quarter, and the rout was on.
Thomas scored 12 points in the quarter, during which East Lansing outscored Wayne Memorial 21-4. The Trojans also finished the half with a massive 25-13 rebounding advantage, with Thomas collecting nine.
“I was just crashing as hard as I could, which helped me get rebounds, and most of the rebounds I got were putback layups,” Thomas said. “So I went hard to the basket, and good things came from it.”
A pair of Torbert layups put East Lansing ahead 43-27 midway through the third quarter before the Zebras (25-4) clawed back with seven straight points to cut the lead to single digits.
Hutson made a layup, Torbert canned two free throws and Thomas cashed in a three-point play to help reset the Trojans. Hutson’s layup with four seconds to play in the quarter pushed the lead to 52-34.
During the final quarter, Hutson found Torbert then Jayce Branson on two alley-oops that brought the sizable East Lansing crowd to its feet. Hutson said the support from the crowd has been consistent and huge.
“Almost all of our games the students, the people who support us, they travel,” he said. “So it was no surprise they were going to pack this arena. They’ve been showing up the whole year, and when it finally mattered in the big championship, they were there.”
Containing Medlock proved to be a group effort as Mitchell called on several players to silence the junior guard who was coming off a 29-point outing in the Semifinals. After scoring 10 in the first quarter, Medlock scored only four the rest of the way and was held to 11 points under his season average.
“We were letting him get to his sweet spots, we were letting him drive,” Mitchell said. “He’s a great player, but we wanted to try to force him to use his weak hand and try to help a little bit sooner, so we made those adjustments.”
The significance of claiming the school’s first championship banner in 67 years was not lost on the Trojan players.
“I think this means a lot to the community,” senior guard Brian Windham said. “We always look at that banner every day at practice, so it’s a lot of motivation. I’ve been looking at it since I was a freshman, I’ve been wanting to be here, so it’s been a lot of motivation and it means a lot to the community.”
Not long after Thomas’ sophomore season ended, Mitchell couldn’t help but look forward to what’s coming.
“He’s definitely one of the best sophomores in the state,” Mitchell said. “He’s a big-time player, so he’s kind of like our secret weapon. Watch out for him next year. It’s his coming-out party.”
PHOTOS (Top) East Lansing’s Kelvin Torbert throws down a dunk during East Lansing’s Division 1 championship win Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Wayne Memorial’s Austin Tory (1) pops a jumper as the Trojans’ Cameron Hutson gets a hand up to defend. (Below) Hutson and Brian Windham celebrate as their team wraps up the title. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)