Today in the MHSAA: 1/21/20

January 21, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Major matchups at basketball events honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s memory made for a highlight-filled weekend and Monday across Michigan, and girls basketball, wrestling, competitive cheer, hockey and boys swimming & diving also contributed headliners as teams braved the mid-January weather.

1. Boys Basketball: Division 3 Flint Beecher downed Division 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 70-61 in a matchup of MHSAA championship contenders – State Champs Sports Network

2. Girls Basketball: Howell handed Brighton its first loss, 43-41, with Maeve St. John connecting on two last-minute free throws – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

3. Wrestling: Division 4 No. 7 Hart defeated No. 6 Leroy Pine River 40-20 in the championship match of the Fallen Bucks Memorial Tournament – Cadillac News

4. Boys Basketball: Grand Rapids Christian remained undefeated with a 66-64 win over Wyoming, which also was unbeaten entering the contest – WOOD TV

5. Girls Basketball: Reeya Patel’s basket with 2.5 seconds to play pushed Ann Arbor Huron past previously-undefeated Temperance Bedford 53-51 – State Champs Sports Network

6. Boys Swimming & Diving: Midland Dow – No. 8 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – locked up its 18th-straight Tri-Cities championship, nearly doubling up the field – Midland Daily News

7. Boys Basketball: Detroit Martin Luther King got past Detroit Douglass 55-46 in a matchup of two more Finals hopefuls – Detroit Free Press

8. Boys Basketball: Emoni Bates led Ypsilanti Lincoln on a 13-2 run to close a 75-68 win over Detroit Edison – Detroit News

9. Hockey: Division 3 No. 10 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central avenged a late December loss to rival Forest Hills Northern/Eastern, winning this time 3-1 – FOX 17

10. Cheer: Stevensville Lakeshore won the Division 2 and overall championships at the Coloma Invitational – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Although Niles fell to St. Joseph 59-54, Alycia Patterson went over 1,000 career points – Niles Daily Star

Boys Basketball: Reese Hazelton scored his 1,000th career point on a game-winner to lead Maple City Glen Lake past Saginaw Heritage 51-49 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Girls Basketball: Elise Besonen also went over 1,000 career points in leading Ewen-Trout Creek past Ontonagon – The Upbeat

Today in the MHSAA: 12/4/19

December 4, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Girls basketball season has begun across the state, and we also included a big-time hockey rivalry game in today’s first “Today” of the winter season.

1. Girls Basketball: Jenison picked up an impressive 59-52 win over Hamilton, a Division 2 semifinalist last season – Holland Sentinel

2. Girls Basketball: Two-time reigning Class D/Division 4 champion Adrian Lenawee Christian opened with a 59-48 win over Michigan Center – JTV

3. Girls Basketball: Flint Carman-Ainsworth outlasted Kearsley 57-51 in a rematch of last season’s Division 1 District Final – Flint Journal

4. Girls Basketball: Escanaba earned its first win over Marquette since 2012, 55-46 – Escanaba Daily Press

5. Girls Basketball: Midland Dow downed Freeland 42-26, as the Falcons began their season without recently-deceased coach Tom Zolinski – Midland Daily News

6. Girls Basketball: Traverse City West came back from a 15-point deficit to get past Benzie Central 50-46 in overtime – Traverse City Record-Eagle

7. Girls Basketball: Kent City trailed by 15 early but came all the way back for a 51-48 win over Comstock Park – FOX 17

8. Hockey: Division 2 No. 5 Marquette took a 6-1 win from Escanaba in the Redmen’s home opener – Escanaba Daily Press

9. Girls Basketball: Port Huron Northern outscored St. Clair 16-4 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 46-32 win – Port Huron Times-Herald

10. Girls Basketball: East Jordan’s Jayden Weber scored 32 points to lead her team past Mancelona 52-27 – Petoskey News-Review

Also of note ...

Unified Sports: From Saturday, Hugh Bernreuter explained some of the success story behind the growing Unified Sports effort as flag football games were played at Ford Field for the second-straight year – Saginaw News