1987
Detroit Cooley stunned a previously unbeaten Detroit Southwestern squad with a 82-77 overtime victory before 13,482 at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor. Cooley had lost twice to the Prospectors earlier in the year, including a 35-point defeat in the Detroit Public School League title game. The Cardinals led by eight enter ing the fourth quarter, but watched in disbelief as Doyle Callahan scored off an offensive rebound at the buzzer to tie the game at 71 apiece. Southwesterns James Hunter scored the first points of overtime, but Cooley did not fold. Rafeal Peterson responded with a basket, and the Cardinals rolled to victory. It was the sixth consecutive defeat in the Class A finals for the Prospectors. Callahan ended with 26 points for the Southwestern, while sophomore Michael Talleys 23 paced Cooley.
Juniors Ernest Stewart and Aaron
McFadden scored 12 points apiece as Flint Beecher
grabbed its second Class B crown in three consecutive visits with a 41-32
win over Alma. Dave Modders led the Panthers
with eight points.
Runner-up in 1986, Saginaw Nouvel
coasted to a 72-59 win over Benzie Central in Class C.
Corey Ward led Nouvel with 19 points - all in the second
half. Guard Rex VanDuzen poured in 20 for the Huskies.
In Class D, McBain Northern Michigan
Christian ended the year as the states only unbeaten squad,
with a 56-46 victory over the Snowbirds of Gaylord St. Mary.
Bryan Eisenga led the winners with 16, while Mike
Heuker added 14. Jay Martin tallied 14 for St.
Marys.
1977
A crowd of 13,609 fans packed Crisler Arena to watch Earvin Magic Johnson and the No. 1 ranked Lansing Everett Vikings square off against Kevin Smith and Birmingham Brothe r Rice for the Class A crown. The Warriors opened up a 43-36 lead early in the fourth quarter, as Johnson drew his third and fourth fouls. Everett and Johnson responded to the test, knotting the score at 45 with 1:39 to play. The Vikings grabbed a 49-47 lead with three seconds to play, but the game was sent to overtime when Smith scored on a shot from just past mid-court at the buzzer. Everett built a 56-49 lead in the extra frame before Johnson fouled out, then thanks to the free throw shooting of Jamie Huffman hung on to win, 62-56. Magic ended with 14 rebounds and 34 points, pushing his prep career scoring mark total to 2,012. Smith finished with 25 points, including 11 of 13 from the free throw line.
Dearborn Divine Childs Tom Wing
held Grandvilles all-stater Vince
Vogg to 10 points as the Falcons downed the Bulldogs,
49-45, in Class B. Randy Palmitier led Grandville with
17 points, while Wing finished with 12 and teammate Dave Blazo
added 11 for Divine Child.
Steve Jones dropped in 19 points
and snagged 20 boards as Redford St. Mary defeated Saginaw
Sts. Peter and Paul, 61-47, for the Class C championship. David
Bland led the Crusaders with 12, while Cass Wilson and
Mike Bishop each contributed 10.
Geoff Kotilas five points
in the final 38 seconds, including a pair of free throws with a single second
remaining, gave Maple City-Glen Lake a 70-68 upset win
over top-ranked Detroit East Catholic in Class D. Kotila
finished with 27 points. Teammate Rick Baillergeon ended
with 12 points, to close out his prep career with 2,144 points - The total
ranked second at the time on the career scoring list behind Fennvilles
Richie Jordan. Ted Anderson scored 22 points,
Terry Triplett 20, and Donell Williams
19 for the Chargers, who ended the year at 23-2.
1967
The Detroit City League won its first MHSAA basketball crown since 1930 as Detroit Pershing defeated Flint Central, 90-66. The City League opted out of competition in the MHSAA basketball tournaments for 30 years, returning to the fold in 1961. Flint Central focused on shutting down Pershings Spencer Haywood, double and triple teaming the future NBA legend. That left junior sensation Ralph Simpson (another future NBA star) free to run the floor. Simpson delivered a tournament record 43-point performance as the Doughboys rolled to the Class A title. Haywood was held to five field goals in the contest, but delivered on 14 of 18 free throws for 24 points. More importantly, he remained a threat on the boards, grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds. Tim Bograkos finished with 27 points for Flint Central.
In Class B, Menominee returned
the crown to the U.P. for the first time in 10 years with a 63-59 triumph
over Willow Run. The Flyers hit on only 29 percent of their
shots, as a strong zone defense by the U.P. squad forced Willow Run to shoot
from the outside. Pat Miller finished with 28 points to
lead the Maroons. John Thomas finished with 22 points for
Willow Run despite missing nearly 13 minutes of the second half due to foul
trouble.
Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart won
its first title in four visits to the dance, with a 66-53 win over a scrappy
Detroit All Saints squad in Class C. Sacred Heart took
advantage of a definite height advantage as the Irish front line of Mark
Simons (6-7), Mike Hackett (6-6) and Mick
Natzel (6-4) combined for 45 points to lead the attack. Stan
Grayson finished with 18 points for the All Saints. The victory
capped a perfect 25-0 year for Sacred Heart.
John Sperla scored 29 points
while teammate Bob Boudreau added 20 to lead Flint
St. Matthew to a 75-67 victory over Ewen. Bob Franti led
the Bulldogs with 24 points. St. Matthew ended the year undefeated in both
basketball and football.
1957
At Jenison Fieldhouse, defending champion Muskegon Heights defeated a strong Detroit Austin Catholic squad, 61-49, for the Class A trophy. Ed Burton ended his prep career at Heights with 25 points, while teammate Ronnie Robinson finished with 21. Dave DeBusschere paced Austin with 27 points, however the remaining Friars scored no more that five points apiece in the contest.
After winning three titles in the 1956 tournament,
Michigans Upper Peninsula returned to East Lansing to reclaim two
of the states cage crowns. In Class B, Negaunee escaped
with a 68-66 win over an underdog squad from Harper Woods.
The Pioneers pulled to within a single point on two occasions late in the
contest, but could not finish the upset. Joe Lucci led
the
winners with 21 points, while Ron
Scott scored 26 for Harper Woods.
Lakeview High of Montcalm County
rallied in the second half to defeat Kalamazoo Christian ,
76-68. Trailing 45-34 at the half, Lakeview switched to a full court press
following the intermission to cut into Christians lead. Following
a basket on which he was fouled, Lakeviews Harold Gorby
converted the free throw for a three point play and a 70-68 lead for the
Wildcats with 4:51 remaining. Christian was shutout in the final five minutes
of the Class C contest.
U.P. Class D powerhouse Chassell notched
its 39th consecutive victory with a 58-50 win over Stevensville. Tom
Peters scored five from the field, and 10 of 16 free throws for
a game high 20 points. The Panthers streak of wins, which began on
February 1, 1956, would extend through three MHSAA basketball tournaments
before ending with a 38-36 loss to the Ewen Bulldogs i n the opening contest
of the 1958-59 season. The total of 65 consecutive victories remains a state
record.
In Class E action at Escanaba, Hermansville
tripped up Michigamme, 77- 51. With the win, Coach
Don Hills Redskins ended the year with a 21-1 mark.
1947
A record crowd of 12,832 turned out to witness the finals at Michigan States Jenison Fieldhouse. In Class A, Flint Northern posted its fifth title in 15 years with a 48-38 win over Dearborn. Joe Wargo led the winners with 14 points. Guard Dave Sebring scored nine of his 12 points for the Pioneers in the first half.
Paced by Jack Joynt and Bob
Shults, Alma scored a 32-20 win over Fremont in the Class B Lower Peninsula
title game. Neil Johnson led Packers with eight points.
In Class C, Saginaws Art McColgan
scored his 500th point on the year as the Sts. Peter and Paul squad
defeated Evart, 39-29. The trip to East Lansing was a return
engagement for the Saginaw squad. One year previous, it was defeated by
Manton, 33-32, in a thriller. McColgan finished with 15
points to lead all scorers. Leo Boyd (currently the states
leader in all-time football coaching victories with 291) added seven for
the parochials. Dale Carmichael and Hugh Adams
ended the game with 12 and 11 points respectively for Evart.
Baroda downed Haslett,
42-32, for the Class D Lower Peninsula championship. Floyd Schedler
scored 19 points, including the games first seven to lead the winners.
Dallas Canfield kept Haslett in the contest, scoring 13
second-half points to finish with 16. Earlier in the year, Baroda moved
its games to the high school gym at Bridgman, a town three
miles away,
after its home floor was lost in
an explosion. Apparently, the move brought the Bulldogs some luck, as Bridgman
was the Class D Lower Peninsula champion in 1936.
In the Upper Peninsula tournament, Bessemer
downed Lake Linden, 46-45, in a Class B thriller at Marquette.
Norway grabbed the U.P. Class C crown with a 55-54 win
over Gwinn in overtime at Iron Mountain. In Class D at
Iron Mountain, Johnson of Greenland scored
26 points, including 11 field goals, to lead his team past Vulcan,
63-48. The Vikings of Bergland came from behind to defeat
Perkins, 40-37, in the Class E game at Marquette. Bill
Friedle scored nine, and John Strancel and Bob
VanSlyke each added seven points apiece for Vikings. Valere
VanDamme led the Yellowjackets attack with 21 points, including
nine from the free-throw line.
1937
Muskegon ended the year as the states only new champion, with a 31-27 Class A win over Holland at Flints IMA Arena. Bob MacIntyre scored 11 and Charles Vanderlinde added eight points for the Big Reds. Jim Grisson scored all of Hollands second half points, to lead the Dutchmen with 14. Muskegon finished the season undefeated in 18 contests.
Bob Osterman , Detroit
St Theresas 6-4 center, scored 11 first half points and finished
with 16 as the Pirates rolled to their second consecutive Class B crown
with a 45-25 win over Marshall. Jack Sweeny
ended the game with 11 points for the winners.
Bob Wines finished with 15 points,
including 13 in the first half as Lansing St Marys annexed
the Class C crown with a 32-15 victory over St. Clair .
It was the second in a row for St. Marys
Stevensville earned its third
crown in a row in Class D with a 21-18 win over a tough squad from Horton
in a rematch of the 1936 title game. Stevensville sealed the victory with
five seconds remaining in the contest when a technical foul was assessed
against Horton for too many time outs.
In the Upper Peninsula finals, Ironwood
, playing on its home floor, defeated Ishpeming,
17-15, in a thriller in Class B. Newberry downed Crystal
Falls, 24-16, in Class C, and Trout Creek trounced
Trenary, 42-20, in Class D.
1927
Clair Helmer and Bill McCall starred for the Big Reds as Muskegon downed Battle Creek , 32-24, in the Class A championship hosted at Detroit Central High School. Ray Priest, who finished with 12 points on six field goals, led the Battle Creek squad throughout. Trailing 15-12 at the half, Muskegon rallied to a 22-20 lead at the end of the third, then shutdown its opponents offense in the final frame. McCall finished with 11, while Helmer added nine.
In Class B played at Detroit Northwestern High
School, Grand Haven overwhelmed Howell,
28-7. Henry Dirske and Steve Sluka paced
the winners with 10 and eight points respectively.
Outstanding defense was the key as Reed
City held Shelby scoreless from the field enroute
to a 16-5 win in Class C at Northwestern High School. Reed City guards Johnson
and Pratt continually frustrated Shelby, regularly breaking
up passes. Buerge led Reed City offensively with nine points.
The game remains the only final in which a team has finished with zero field
goals.
At Central High School, St Annes
of Alpena grabbed the Class D crown with a hard-fought
27-25 victory over U.P. finalist Gwinn. Herman Samp led
St. Annes with seven field goals, to finish with an impressive 23
in his final three tournament contests.
1917
In the first annual interscholastic tournament to be staged at the University of Michigans Waterman gym in Ann Arbor, Detroit Northwestern defeated Jackson, 24-21. A total of 38 high school squads entered the tourney that ran for three consecutive days. Teams were broken down into two divisions by tournament officials, and the final contest consisted of the respective division champions. Eligibility of those entered was decided according to Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association rules. (NOTE: The MIAA was a forerunner of the current MHSAA.)
Northwestern center Henderson scored
four baskets in the final moments of the contest as Detroit overcame a two-point
deficit. Mitchell led Jackson with four field goals and
three free throws.