Shooters Rain Supreme at Breslin Center

March 28, 2013

The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan awarded its top 3-point and free-throw shooters at the championship game halftimes during the Boys and Girls Basketball Finals over the last two weekends.

Four champions were crowned, while the same player finished runner-up for both boys contests.  

All four shooting championship matches were broadcast on MHSAA.tv and can be watched by clicking the links below.

Girls free throw: Waterford Mott junior Lauren Hung defended her "Top Shooters" title by winning this competition for the second straight season, this time over Lincoln Alcona junior Karina Cole. Click to watch. 

Girls 3-point: St. Joseph senior Lauren Brower defeated Marlette senior Jenna Hirsch for the championship. Click to watch.

Boys free throw: Carsonville-Port Sanilac senior Matt Falls edged Shelby junior Jason Beckman. Click to watch. 

Boys 3-point: Sterling Heights Stevenson junior Brandon Hughes finished ahead of Beckman. Click to watch. 

PHOTO: (In clockwise order) Top Shooters champions for girls free throw, boys free throw, boys 3-point and girls 3-point contests pose with their finalists certificates at the Breslin Center.

Hoops on Film: 1973 Class C Boys Final

June 22, 2015

By John Johnson
MHSAA communications director

Straight out of the dusty tin canisters where they’ve sat for a long time, some of the classic basketball championship games of years past will be featured for 10 weeks this summer on MHSAA.tv’s Hoops On Film Series.

From the late 1940’s to the mid 1970’s the Michigan High School Athletic Association shot portions of the action at its basketball finals on 16mm film. The films were loaned out, primarily to the participating schools, to help them relive the moments of playing in a championship game.

While many of the old films have wandered astray over time, about 60 games still exist in the MHSAA archives. Anyone in possession of such a film is encouraged to contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office ([email protected]) to discuss having the film converted to a digital format.

Some of the films only have portions of the second half and the postgame awards; some have most of the action. None of the films have sound. They range in length from 10 minutes to about an hour. A new film will be posted online each Monday beginning June 22, through the week of August 17.

Click below for the first installment of the Hoops On Film series and to check out the game recap courtesy of MHSAA Historian Ron Pesch of Muskegon.

Detroit East Catholic 50, Saginaw St. Stephen 49 – 1973 Class C Boys Final - With four ticks remaining on the clock, Larry Merchant's 18-foot jumper from left of the key gave underdog Detroit East Catholic a 50-49 win over top-ranked Saginaw St. Stephen in Class C. Merchant, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half, gave the Chargers a 48-47 lead with just over a minute to play, but a pair of free throws by Elijah Coates pushed St. Stephen out front 49-48 with 45 seconds left.