Today in the MHSAA: 3/3/17

March 3, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

As the boys basketball regular season came to a close Thursday, the Individual Wrestling Finals got started and Hockey Regionals continued on – all with celebrations of note.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state. 

Boys Basketball

Central State Activities Association division champs Morley Stanwood and Big Rapids faced off, with Morley Stanwood closing the regular season with a 59-56 win – Big Rapids News

Breckenridge clinched its first league title since 1988 with a big win over Coleman in the Mid-State Activities Conference – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Wayne Memorial rode a strong fourth quarter to a 47-44 win over Walled Lake Central in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship game – Oakland Press

Quincy downed Homer 61-41 to claim a share of the Big 8 Conference title – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Dollar Bay downed Painesdale Jeffers 54-46 in the Copper Mountain Conference to earn a first league title since 1994 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Calumet earned a share of the West Peninsula Athletic Conference title with a 66-54 win over Hancock – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Grand Rapids Christian finished its first perfect regular season with a 53-51 win over Kalamazoo Central – Grand Rapids Press

Michigan Center also completed its first perfect regular season with an 81-49 win over Vandercook Lake – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Hockey

Division 1 No. 8 Utica Eisenhower powered to a 7-4 win over No. 6 Rochester United in a Pre-Regional Final – Macomb Daily

Division 2 No. 6 Trenton came back from trailing 3-0, but No. 5 Livonia Churchill still prevailed 4-3 in overtime – Southgate News Herald

Unranked Alpena upset No. 7 Sault Ste. Marie in Division 3 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Wrestling

Gaylord advanced all five of its MHSAA Individual Finals competitors to the second round in Division 2 on Thursday, with wrestling continuing today – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Hartland senior Reece Hughes, a reigning Division 1 champion, returned to the mat after a shoulder injury kept him out of last week’s Team Finals and won his first match – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Good Read

Amazingly, Dave Mann is coaching three varsity girls basketball teams this season – at Harper Woods Chandler Park, which schedules separately for two teams, and also at Detroit Cornerstone – Detroit News

Today in the MHSAA: 1/20/16

January 20, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Buzzer beaters and milestone basketball victories made headlines all over Michigan today, and check out as well a moving video that tells of the importance of our national anthem.

Girls Basketball

Reigning Class C champion Calumet added another accomplishment to the long list with its first win over Houghton since 1999, 44-31 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Three Rivers’ sophomore Arionne Fowlkes went baseline to baseline for a last-second layup to give her team a 43-41 win over Niles – Niles Daily Star

Class A favorite Saginaw Heritage remained undefeated with a 53-38 win over rival Midland Dow, also ranked in Class A – Saginaw News

One-loss St. Ignace handed Newberry its first defeat of the season, 64-57 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Cedar Springs also knocked a team from the unbeaten ranks, with Sam Taylor’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds ending Kent City’s perfect run, 50-47 – Grand Rapids Press

Muskegon edged East Kentwood 50-47 after trailing by 10 and on the strength of 26 points and 22 rebounds by senior Mardrekia Cook – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Basketball

Despite being outscored 30-22 in the fourth quarter, Southfield Christian held on for an 82-79 win over Southfield – MLive-Detroit

Merrill earned its first win since 2013 by downing Coleman 49-36 – Midland Daily News

One-loss Alma handed previously-undefeated Ithaca its first, 56-53, as Dylan Carl hit 3-pointers to send the game to overtime and then win it – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Muskegon Oakridge’s Brady Luttrull drilled a 3-pointer during the final seconds to push his team past Scottville Mason County Central 67-66 – Muskegon Chronicle

Cassopolis followed a strong third quarter by Deoin Gatson to hand Niles Brandywine its first loss, 61-47 – Niles Daily Leader

One-loss Clarkston also handed out a first loss Tuesday, to Rochester Adams, in a matchup of top Class A teams – Oakland Press

Caleb Brown’s only basket for Northport was the game winner during the final seconds of a 51-49 victory over Central Lake – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Nate Dugener’s sixth 3-pointer of the game gave Muskegon Western Michigan Christian a 52-49 win over Holland Christian – Grand Haven Tribune

Boys Swimming & Diving

In a matchup of top teams on the west side of the Lower Peninsula, Division 1 No. 6 Zeeland got past Division 2 honorable mention Holland 104-73 – Holland Sentinel

Worth Watching

We ran across and were moved by Virginia Tech’s honoring of veterans at the start of this men’s basketball season. Check out this meaningful presentation and how it relates to providing proper respect during The Star-Spangled Banner.