Today in the MHSAA: 3/8/16

March 8, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The upsets were few, but the late-game heroics aplenty Monday during the first night of the MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament.

Boys Basketball

After falling twice to its rival during the regular season, Traverse City West opened a 13-1 lead and downed Traverse City Central 55-52 in Class A – Traverse City Record-Eagle

South Lyon’s 3-pointer with fewer than two seconds to play gave it a 40-37 win over Brighton in Class A – Livingston Daily

Also in Class A, Bloomfield Hills took over in double overtime to get past Auburn Hills Avondale 65-56 – Oakland Press

Warren Woods-Tower emerged from a close matchup with St. Clair Shores Lake shore, 46-42, dropping Lakeshore’s final record to 17-4 – Macomb Daily

Noah Ingram made 10-pointers and scored 44 points total as Mount Pleasant downed Midland Dow 81-70 in Class A – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

In arguably the biggest matchup of opening night, reigning Class B champion Wyoming Godwin Heights downed Wayland 65-62 in a matchup of teams with a combined record of 34-5 – Grand Rapids Press

Freeland won a crossover of top Class B teams in the Tri-Valley Conference, 45-42 over Bridgeport – Saginaw News

Also in Class B, Marshall survived a last-second basket that forced overtime to get past Battle Creek Pennfield – 89-81 – Battle Creek Enquirer

Trey Newsham made 4 of 4 free-throw attempts during the final 14 seconds and went over 1,000 points for his career in Essexville Garber’s 60-59 Class B win over Bay City John Glenn – Bay City Times

Flint Beecher eliminated rival Flint Hamady in Class C for the 10th straight season, 68-62, in a matchup of teams that were a combined 34-4 – Flint Journal

In a Class C matchup of teams with a combined 32-10 record, Traverse City St. Francis got past Johannesburg-Lewiston 79-65 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Also in Class C, Hartford’s 3-pointer with 11 seconds left pushed the team past Kalamazoo Christian 46-45 in an upset of the formerly 17-2 Comets – Kalamazoo Gazette

Good Read

Last summer, the Kronemeyer family of Holland was forced to mourn the death of 18-year-old daughter Marissa, who had died in a car crash. But community and eventually Holland Calvary basketball have assisted as the family continues to cope – Holland Sentinel

Today in the MHSAA: 1/27/16

January 27, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tuesday evening was arguably the most highlight-filled of any so far this basketball season, with plenty of important results and intriguing performances making headlines across the state.

Girls Basketball

Utica Eisenhower has gotten the attention this season with an 11-1 record heading into this week, but Utica is undefeated in the Macomb Area Conference White after downing Eisenhower 34-30 – Macomb Daily

Southfield-Lathrup remains the team to beat in the Oakland Activities Association Red and among contenders in Class A after defeating Clarkston 57-44 – Oakland Press

One-loss Frankenmuth dealt Ithaca its first this season in a Tri-Valley Conference crossover, 45-44 – Saginaw News

Saginaw Nouvel also dealt a first loss to an undefeated power, downing Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 46-41 – Saginaw News

Jackson Northwest’s Lexie Khon scored her 1,000th career point in the Mounties 72-32 win over Stockbridge – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Pewamo-Westphalia picked up a key Central Michigan Athletic Conference win by handing Bath just its second loss, 53-40 – Lansing State Journal

Mendon won a matchup of Class D contenders, carrying a one-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter to a 45-39 win – Sturgis Journal

Grosse Pointe South earned an upset over rival Grosse Pointe North, handing GPN its second loss, 60-55 – Detroit News

Muskegon’s Mardrekia Cook, this week’s Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week” honoree (see story posted on Second Half today) led the Big Reds to a 63-19 win with a quadruple-double – 19 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 10 steals – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Basketball

Arthur Lyons helped keep Lake Linden-Hubbell undefeated with 39 points in a 76-73 double overtime win over Ewen-Trout Creek – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Holly coach Lance Baylis tied the school coaching record for wins with his 148th in a 72-42 victory over Flushing – Flint Journal

Alma had three buzzer-beating shots in moving to 10-1 with a 78-77 overtime win over Freeland – Saginaw News

Wyoming Godwin Heights broke free during the final quarter to hand Grandville Calvin Christian its first loss, 64-50 – Grand Rapids Press

Petoskey took sole possession of first place in the Big North Conference with a 62-57 win over former co-leader Traverse City Central – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Demetrius Lake, featured on Second Half last week after a buzzer-beating performance, finished another with 48 points and the winning shot in a 79-77 win over Hudsonville Unity Christian – Holland Sentinel

Negaunee won a battle of undefeated teams by a basket, edging Iron Mountain 51-49 to take over first place alone in the Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference – Iron Mountain Daily News