EAST LANSING — One thing is certain.

Saturday will see the last game in the career of legendary Wyoming Tri-unity Christian boys basketball coach Mark Keeler.

The question now is whether Keeler will go out with a seventh MHSAA Finals championship, or a seventh runner-up trophy as he finishes off his 38th and final season as head coach of the Defenders.

Tri-unity Christian helped send Keeler, who announced his retirement earlier this season, to a fifth-straight championship game with a 67-46 win over Crystal Falls Forest Park in the first of two Division 4 Semifinals on Thursday.

“I asked my wife Cheryl before we came today to please pray for me because I’ve been pretty emotional all week,” Keeler said. “It’s hard sometimes after 38 years of coaching to realize it’s going to be my last game. At the same time, it’s amazing it gets to be at the Breslin in the championship. I think it’s a win-win situation.”

There wasn’t much doubt from the start against Forest Park that it would be a winning situation for Tri-unity Christian, which made four of its first five shots from 3-point range and jumped out to a 20-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. 

The margin kept growing in the second quarter with the Defenders leading by as many as 21 points before going into the locker room at halftime up 38-19. 

Tri-unity Christian shot 75 percent (15 of 20) from the field in the first half and limited Forest Park to 5 of 18 shooting.

“If we buy in on the defensive end, that is what’s going to win us championships,” Tri-unity Christian senior Keaton Blanker said. “That’s what we are here to do. We just bought into it. Everybody plays their role, and we have amazing trust in each other. It’s just a grind.”

Sophomore Cody Osbun led the way offensively for the Defenders (26-2), finishing with 16 points. Blanker added 11 points and senior Joey Mellon added 10 for Tri-unity Christan, which shot 64.1percent from the field (25 of 39) for the game and made 8 of 13 shots from 3-point range.

Senior Kevin Giuliani scored 16 points and sophomore Vic Guiliani added 10 for Forest Park (25-3), which advanced to the Semifinals for the first time since 2004. 

“The start of the game didn’t go the way we wanted it,” Forest Park head coach Jason Price said. “Quick shots from us and easy layups for them in the first quarter. That’s just how the game went.”

The Trojans actually ended up shooting decent from the field, connecting on 44.1 percent of their attempts overall (15 of 34) and making 5 of 11 from 3-point range. But 15 turnovers didn’t help. 

Forest Park was able to take the next step after losing in the Quarterfinals last year, and the future looks even brighter with six sophomores and a freshman on the roster. Kevin Guiliani, Matt Showers and Gabe Quevedo were the only seniors. 

“We’re young,” Price said. “We’ve got a lot of talent coming back, and we’ve got some younger talent down at the middle school level. These (seniors) have paved the way.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Tri-unity Christian’s Brayden Nelson (12) grabs a rebound near Forest Park’s Vic Giuliani on Thursday. (Middle) Kevin Giuliani, right, and the Defenders’ Joey Mellon ascend for the game’s opening tip.