P-W Withstands Lovejoy's Record-Approaching Performance to Complete Historic Run
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 14, 2026
EAST LANSING – Pewamo-Westphalia overcame one of the best scoring performances in Finals history Saturday to claim the Division 3 boys basketball title.
Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac got 41 points from sophomore Lewis Lovejoy, but the Pirates made enough stops during the biggest moments to come away with a 61-57 win at the Breslin Center.
“That game was exactly as we expected, just a great game between two great basketball teams,” P-W coach Dominic Schneider said. “What can you say about Mr. Lovejoy? I mean, that guy, he’s a stud at all three levels. But, I will say our guys did the job and became state champions because they believed in each other and believed in what we do as a program. That was a perfect example of team ball out there. I’m so proud of our guys.”
It was the second title in program history and first since 2019 for the Pirates, who were making their second-straight appearance at Finals weekend.
The senior class that brought them back included four starters – Nolan George, Tyler Spitzley, Trent Piggott and Grady Eklund, as well as sixth man Ty Thelen.
“They never once wavered and never once batted an eye,” Schneider said. “Sometimes you bring up freshmen or sophomores and things don’t go well, but it never was an issue. They took the sophomores under their wing, and obviously they helped us today. The senior class stayed together. Yeah, you have some great players but you have some players who don’t play as many minutes, and it never was an issue. They always wanted to be leaders and they wanted to win, and they did that in the best way possible.”
Eklund led the way in his final game at P-W, scoring 26 points while adding nine rebounds and four assists. Piggott had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, and sophomore Logan Farmer added 14 points.
The balance was in contrast to ATAP, which ran through Lovejoy, and for good reason – it was working.
Lovejoy’s 41 points were the seventh most in MHSAA Finals history. He shot 50 percent (14 of 28) from the field, and hit six 3-pointers, one away from tying the Finals record.
But the performance was no consolation following a second-straight loss in the Division 3 Final.
“It don’t mean nothing; we lost,” Lovejoy said. “If we won, I’d be on top of the world, but we lost. None of this matters. Not one point matters.”
Devonte Grandison added seven points and seven rebounds for the Lions, while Jaiden Price also had seven points.
Lovejoy had 35 through three quarters, as the Lions took a one-point lead into the fourth. But with Farmer switching onto the assignment, things slowed down for Lovejoy.
“I will say, once we switched Logan onto him – and Ty Thelen and Logan George did a heck of a job, that’s quite a task to take on – but I think throwing a different look at him helped a lot,” Schneider said. “Logan’s length and giving him a third defender that he had to go against, that helped a lot with that. I know how bull-headed this kid can be, and I know he wasn’t going to back down from a big challenge.”
Schneider was right, as Farmer was ready to take on the task.
“I saw he had 35, and I tried to keep him at 35,” Farmer said. “It didn’t work. He stops so quick and he has that back-up game, so he’s always keeping you on your toes. So it’s hard to stay with him. But when he raised up, I just tried to contest the best I could.”
Farmer also hit the game-sealing free throws with nine seconds remaining and was nearby when ATAP’s final 3-point attempt missed.
Lovejoy’s shooting kept ATAP in the game in the first half, as he scored 18 points over the opening 16 minutes. He was 4-of-7 from 3-point range in the second quarter, scoring 14 of his team’s 16 points in the frame.
The Lions were just 4-of-13 from behind the arc in the first half and 8-of-29 from the field overall.
That, and a 6-2 edge in turnovers forced, offset a hot-shooting start from the Pirates, who had hit 10 of their first 18 shots, including better than 64 percent of their 2-pointers. They held an 18-4 advantage in points in the paint.
Lovejoy’s heroics won over the Hudsonville Unity Christian students who had started filling in for their school’s Division 2 Final.
“You’re him, zero!” they yelled, eventually coming all the way over to the ATAP side and starting a “Let’s go Lions” chant.
But in the end, it was the Pirates student section making the most noise.
“The bottom line is the better team won,” ATAP acting coach Zachary Kelso said. “They made stops and they made plays when they needed to, and we didn’t. That’s the bottom line.”
PHOTOS (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia’s Logan Farmer gets up a shot over ATAP’s Lewis Lovejoy (0) on Saturday. (Middle) Lovejoy finishes a fastbreak with a layup. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Morenci Rallies to Support 3-Sport Standout
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
March 22, 2021
MORENCI – It would have been easy for Rodney Zimmerman to take a night off and no one would have thought twice.
But the three-sport athlete at Morenci High School in Lenawee County wouldn’t even consider it. Even while his mom was going through cancer treatments, battling COVID-19 and pneumonia, Zimmerman hit the weight room every morning, showed up for practice every afternoon and, now, has taken a step toward his dream of becoming a college athlete.
Zimmerman committed this week to Saginaw Valley State University to run track.
“He’s just one of those kids that everyone rallies around,” said Morenci track and football coach Stefan Wilkinson. “He works really hard at everything he does. He goes all out, every time he’s on the court or field or track. He’s a very humble kid.”
Outside of his own community, few people were aware that his mother was going through cancer treatments in the fall, causing her to miss some of his games. Morenci rallied around the quiet senior.
“Everyone knew what was going on,” Zimmerman said, reluctantly. “Morenci is a small town. The parents and coaches were great to me. They would cook meals for us. That was really nice.
“Sports is a way for me to put that out of my mind,” he said. “I just go out and play the game. It is hard, but you have to do it. Football became my escape from all of that. That really helped. It wasn’t too hard to focus. Well, it was, but I just had to do it. I wanted to keep playing.”
Sports has been a part of his life since grade school. He grew up near Waldron in Hillsdale County and attended Pittsford until seventh grade when he moved schools and started going to Morenci. It was a good fit for him and the community.
His first interest was basketball, but he decided to pick up other sports as well.
“At first when I came here, I just played basketball, but I eventually picked up football and then track,” he said. “The coaches always told me it was good to play all of the other sports.”
He’s a familiar face at Morenci events because he stands out in three sports. He also wears a signature headband.
Zimmerman was a running back for the Morenci football team in the fall, is a point guard for the Bulldogs basketball team as they head into next week’s Division 3 postseason, and he can’t wait to return to the track this spring. He’s a sprinter and a good one.
As a sophomore, Zimmerman finished second at the Tri-County Conference meet in both the 100 and 200 meters. At the Division 4 Finals, he placed fourth in the 100 and helped the Bulldogs 400 relay team place fourth as well. He also qualified in the 200.
He likes how track is somewhat of an individual sport.
“I like all of the sports, but I like that in track I have total control,” he said. “The only one responsible for your performance is you. It’s all up to you.”
He missed his junior year of track due to the season being canceled because of COVID-19.
“I was really disappointed that I missed my junior season because that’s a big season for recruitment,” he said. “I was thinking we were going to still have a season. I was working out and getting ready, then it was canceled. I was still lifting and trying to stay ready.”
He has goals for this season.
“I want to go to state again, and I want to be in the top three in my events,” he said.
He committed to Saginaw Valley State, a Division II college, after visiting the campus and finding out the Cardinals were able to give some scholarship money.
“They made the best offer,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to go to college. That’s been my plan. I want to do something in business, maybe own my own gym.”
College is still a while away. Right now, there is the District tournament looming for Morenci, then track season. His mother had a scan recently to find out where she stands with cancer.
For now, he’s happy to have her in the stands, watching him compete. The community continues to rally around him. His teammates do, too. During football season, Zimmerman and other players wore green on their shoes or wrist – a lime green ribbon promotes Lymphoma cancer awareness.
“It’s nice to have her watching again,” he said. “She missed some football games. She just had a pet scan last week to see if it is all gone. We are hoping for the best.”
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) Morenci's Rodney Zimmerman sprints toward the finish of a preliminary race during the 2019 Track & Field Finals. (Middle) Zimmeran was named this winter's Homecoming king. (Top photo by RunMichigan.com; middle photo submitted.)