Southeastern Makes Final Minute Count
March 22, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Jovone Haynes saw a “weakness,” went after it, and Detroit Southeastern will play Saturday for the MHSAA Class A title.
Simple as that … and not at all.
With his team and reigning champion Saginaw tied and a minute to play in Thursday’s Semifinal, the Jungaleers senior made a steal at halfcourt and found teammate Leonard Harper-Baker for a go-ahead layup on the way to a 51-45 victory.
Four of the Jungaleers’ losses this season – including their 57-56 defeat to Saginaw in December – came down to the game’s final possession. Haynes wouldn’t let this one get to that point.
“I saw he had the ball over his head. I just went at it,” said Haynes of his gutsy last-minute swipe. “I was just confident I could steal the ball.”
But there’s much more to explain why he and his teammates moved on.
Detroit Southeastern (21-5) will face top-ranked Romulus for the Class A title at noon Saturday. Romulus is playing for its first championship since 1986; Southeastern for its first since 1926 and after finishing runner-up in 2011.
The Jungaleers probably weren’t the Detroit Public School League team expected to reach Breslin Center this winter – not with Detroit Pershing and Cass Tech ranked in Class A and Douglass ranked in Class B.
But Southeastern, an honorable mention in the final poll, benefited from facing them all and despite losing to two of the three.
Haynes and senior Kenyatta Singleton didn’t play in that first Saginaw game, but combined for 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight steals Friday. And they brought security to Southeastern’s offensive attack that was missing in the first matchup; the Jungaleers had only 12 turnovers this time.
“You’re not going to win a state championship in December or January, not in basketball. Us losing (those) four games, who cares?” Southeastern coach George Ward, Jr., said.
“We knew when we got these two on the floor, defensively or offensively, we could make something happen.”
For the first 31 minutes, the teams played to a stalemate. Although the Jungaleers jumped to an 8-0 lead off the opening tip, the margin was never more than four points over the 20 minutes prior to final minute, when Southeastern finished on a 6-0 run.
“They got us sleeping, forced a clean turnover,” Saginaw coach Julian Taylor said. “My guy took his eye off, he was trying to pay attention to the ref, and (Haynes) smacked it out of his hand. Then we had to play from behind, and we made another turnover.”
Junior forward Daryl Bigham led the Jungaleers with 14 points and six rebounds, and Haynes had 13 points.
Junior Keyon Addison scored 10 points to lead Saginaw, and 6-foot-6 freshman Algevon Eichelberger had nine blocked shots.
The Trojans entered the postseason ranked No. 6 and finished 23-4.
“It’s just a blessing to be in this position. They fought hard to earn their respect,” said Taylor of his players. “I love all of these guys. They worked their tails off for us. I’m on them to stay humble and stay focused, and I believe they did that. They’ve got nothing to hang their heads for.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Southeastern's Jovone Haynes (2) drives against Saginaw's Keyon Addison (15) and Algevon Eichelberger (42) on Friday. (Middle) Eichelberger gets one of his nine blocks. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Wonders Gives Iron Mountain Lift in Overtime Climb
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
April 8, 2021
EAST LANSING – Schoolcraft presented a tall order in Thursday’s second Division 3 Semifinal.
With three players standing 6-foot-6 or taller, the Eagles soared over Iron Mountain in size.
But one advantage Iron Mountain had was Foster Wonders, a 6-5 senior guard with more than 2,000 career points who could see over the defense and wasn’t bashful about launching 3-pointers.
He kept the Mountaineers in the game, led them into overtime and all the way into Saturday’s Final against Flint Beecher – scoring 34 points total in a 54-50 thriller over Schoolcraft (19-2) at the Breslin Center.
“They were very physical, and they made it hard for us to do anything,’’ said Wonders, who was already thinking about Flint Beecher. “We changed the offense in the second half, and we were able to find some openings. I just tried to stay aggressive.’’
The Mountaineers (19-0) made their final push with under five minutes left in regulation on a 3-pointer by Ricky Brown to reduce the deficit to 33-32.
After a timeout, Wonders scored in the lane to give Iron Mountain a one-point lead.
However, Schoolcraft junior Ty Rykse and Wonders traded threes before senior Bryce VanderWiere scored inside to keep the Eagles up one.
Not to be denied, Wonders drained a triple, and the Mountaineers were up two, 40-38. Teammate Jurgen Kleiman scored inside while being fouled. He missed the free throw, but Iron Mountain was up four.
Schoolcraft’s Tyler DeGroote scored with 54.2 seconds left to cut the deficit in half. Each side turned the ball over before a steal and basket by Jonathon Able tied the score again with 24.3 left – and that’s where it would remain, forcing overtime.
Wonders had scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, and he then made four free throws in overtime.
“He hit his average, an average game for Foster,’’ said coach Harvey Johnson. “You see FAMILY on the front of our warmups. These guys really love each other. We matched their physicality. We competed.”
Wonders scored six points in the first quarter to give the Mountaineers an 11-7 lead as Schoolcraft shot just 22.2 percent from the field during the opening period.
The Mountaineers held on to an 18-17 advantage at halftime, but Schoolcraft pulled ahead in the third quarter. Iron Mountain went on a scoring drought and Rykse’s floater put Schoolcraft up six, 30-24, late in the period as the Eagles seemed to wear down the Mountaineers and force most of their scoring to come from the outside.
With eight minutes left in regulation, Schoolcraft maintained its six-point lead. But Wonders scored five straight points to get Iron Mountain to within three, 32-29.
“I thought we did a pretty good job on him,’’ Schoolcraft coach Randy Small said of his team’s defense on Wonders. “He hit one from 28 feet. He made some big shots. We had a hard time scoring.’’
VanderWiere led Schoolcraft with 15 points, and freshman Shane Rykse added 14. Ty Rykse had 11, and VanderWiere also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Wonders sank 13 of 24 shots from the field, including 4-10 3-point attempts, and also grabbed eight rebounds.
PHOTOS: (Top) Iron Mountain's Dante Basanese splits a pair of defenders in the lane during Thursday's Semifinal against Schoolcraft. (Middle) Schoolcraft's Tyler DeGroote and Iron Mountain's Bryce Pietrantonio battle for a loose ball. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)