Prepapalooza: Final Countdown Begins

In early December, the Brooklyn Columbia Central boys basketball team dropped two games in three nights and was staring at a 3-2 record that – more importantly – included two conference losses.

So, winning the Cascades Conference championship Saturday – the first in 43 years for the Golden Eagles – was something of a minor miracle.   

“It was a long chase,” Columbia Central coach Jacob Crawford said. “I feel we started to peak at the right time.”

The Golden Eagles certainly were trending upward. After losing by two points to Jonesville right after the Christmas break, Columbia Central won nine consecutive games to win the Cascades Conference West division and set up an overall league championship tilt against Michigan Center.

Michigan Center had beaten was one of those teams that beat Columbia Central in December.

“We knew that was going to be a tough one,” Crawford said. “My guys have been matched up against (Hayden) Hinkle and those guys from Michigan Center for years. We did a good job of weathering the storm.”

The conference championship game was originally scheduled to be played at Spring Arbor University, but due to a scheduling snafu, Columbia Central got to host the game. It made for an incredible environment, Crawford said.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love playing at Spring Arbor, but being able to host the championship game was an awesome experience,” Crawford said. “I had guys coming into the gym who I played with. The whole community came together.”

Columbia Central led by seven with only a few minutes remaining, but Michigan Center fought back to within one possession of the lead during the final seconds, missing a couple of game-tying attempts.

The Golden Eagles held on for a 59-56 victory.

Columbia Central is a balanced team by nature. David Munro leads with a 13.9-points per game average with Nolan Schiel a point behind him. Munro shoots a healthy 35 percent from 3-point range, making 48 shots on the season from behind the arc. Trent Troyer fills the stat sheet night after night, averaging 6.5 rebounds, 6.3 points, 2.6 steals and 2.1 assists a game.

Schiel is the point guard.

“I’m probably talking to him during a game more than anyone else,” Crawford said. “He has the ball in his hand most of the game. What’s really unique about him is his rebounding ability despite being a point guard. He really gets to the glass.”

The Golden Eagles are 17-4 heading into Thursday’s final regular-season game. The losses, however, were by a combined 12 points. They are the third seed in a tough District at Tecumseh next week. One of the teams in the District is Michigan Center, 18-2 and the top seed.

Columbia Central was a Cascades Conference member from 1968 to 1995 before joining the Lenawee County Athletic Association. In 2023-24, the Golden Eagles rejoined the Cascades Conference. Prior to the league title in 1982-83, the others all came during the 1970s.

Columbia Central not only won its first conference boys basketball championship since 1983, it also became the fifth different league team to win the title in six years. In a league that was once dominated by Hanover-Horton, seven schools have celebrated league championships since 2012.

“There is a lot of parity in the league,” Crawford said. “It’s a tough league. You play a lot of games, and then you get to the finals and have to win another.”

Last year Columbia Central reached the conference championship game against undefeated Grass Lake and lost 31-30.

Crawford said that experience played into the Golden Eagles getting back to the final this season.

“We talk about trailblazers, and last year the seniors that helped us get there were just that,” Crawford said. “They kind of showed everyone else the path, what it takes to get to that game. The experience for our guys as underclassmen was immeasurable.”

Crawford started as the freshman coach at Columbia Central, moved up to the JV coach and now is in his second season as the varsity coach at his alma mater. He graduated in 2014, having played for Jason Rychener, who is now the head coach at nearby Dexter.

“I’ve always looked up to him,” Crawford said. “It’s been really cool having him as a mentor.”

Crawford had ideas of a future in coaching, but an internship in Kalamazoo while going to school at Western Michigan University helped him decide.

“I was with Next Level Sports and I started working with schools in that area,” he said. “I had a blast, and it led me to go back to school and get my teaching degree because I knew I wanted to coach.”

Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Brooklyn Columbia Central boys basketball coach Jacob Crawford finishes cutting the net after his team clinched the Cascades Conference title Saturday. (Middle) BCC’s Nolan Schiel (14) works to get to the basket. (Photos by Hannah Tacy/JTV.)