Beecher Adds Another to Title Collection

March 26, 2016

By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half

EAST LANSING — Monte Morris of Flint Beecher made a pact with freshman teammate Aquavius Burks after winning Michigan's 2013 Mr. Basketball Award. 

"At practice before the Quarterfinal game when he got his Mr. Basketball trophy, he told me he's going to pass it down to me," Burks recalls. "I said, 'I accept it.'"

As it turns out, Burks wasn't among the candidates for the top individual award in the Michigan high school ranks, but he has absolutely no complaints with the way his career at Beecher played out. 

Of all the great players who have built and maintained the tradition of Beecher basketball, only Burks can say he's played on three MHSAA championship teams. He put the finishing touch on a brilliant career by scoring 15 points and playing all 32 minutes in Beecher's 63-61 victory over Grandville Calvin Christian in the Class C title game Saturday at the Breslin Center.

It was the fourth Class C championship in the last five years for Beecher, which won Class B crowns in 1976, 1985 and 1987 prior to this run. Burks has started on the last three championship teams, scoring nine points as a freshman in 2013 as Beecher beat Laingsburg, 40-39, in the title game. 

"All season long, coach Mike (Williams) preached to me about how I can make history," Burks said. "Back-to-back, that's history also, but three state championships has never been done. This was my chance to leave my legacy and be part of our history at Beecher."

And what about that Mr. Basketball conversation three years ago? 

"I didn't win it, but he gave me the encouragement to know I'm able to move on and be great just like him," said Burks, who had a 99-7 record at Beecher. "That's what I really wanted to do was impress him."

Burks was immersed in the tradition of Beecher basketball before he ever entered high school. His brother, Antuan, played four years for the Buccaneers, winning the 2012 MHSAA Class C championship. Like a lot of little brothers, Aquavius tended to hang around with his older brother and his friends. 

"We knew he would be ready for varsity as a freshman,” Williams said. “What were we going to get out of him? We didn't know."

By the end of Burks' freshman year, he earned enough trust from Williams to be put on the floor with the Class C championship on the line against Laingsburg. It took a steal with 2.4 seconds left to preserve the second of Beecher's four championships in five years. 

It was with a feeling of deja vu that Burks prepared for one final push from Calvin Christian on Saturday.

Trailing 63-61 with 15.3 seconds left, the Squires called timeout to plan a game-tying or game-winning possession. They got off three shots, the first a 15-footer by Tony DeWitte from the right wing. Nate Knee got the rebound in the paint and put up a shot that was blocked by Levane Blake. 

"At the end, I just knew I had to get the block for us to win," said Blake, who had three for the game. "But I was scared when I blocked it, because I thought the ref was going to call a foul, but I just knew I had to go for it. I didn't foul him, but they were calling fouls the whole game. I went for it — all ball."

For Williams, it was a fitting conclusion to another championship run by the Buccaneers. 

"It was similar to our 2013 state championship where we had to get a stop to win, but that's the identity of our program," Williams said. "That's what we hang our hat on is our defense. Offense will fill up the stands. It will make the crowd jump up and down. But defense wins championships."

Beecher held two seven-point leads in the third quarter, the largest lead either team enjoyed, but the Squires fought back to take a 61-60 lead on a three-point play by DeWitte with 1:14 remaining in the game. 

Malik Ellison, whose 3-pointer at the buzzer on Thursday put Beecher in the championship game, passed the ball down low to Blake for a basket and a foul with 55.8 seconds to go. Blake missed the free throw, leaving the Buccaneers with a 62-61 lead.

Calvin Christian's Braden Stevens was fouled and sent to the line for a one-and-one with 37.9 seconds left, but missed the shot. Beecher worked the clock down to 15.3 seconds when Blake was fouled. Blake missed the first shot and made the second, setting up the final possession by the Squires (21-5). 

They wanted to get the ball into the hands of DeWitte, who had 31 points in the Semifinal and 15 against Beecher.

"We told him to try to create for somebody," Calvin Christian coach Ryan Stevens said. "He got a 15-footer, and he's made that shot a lot before. I'm proud that the rest of the guys didn't watch. They went and got a rebound. Nate Knee actually got a rebound and got a good shot up." 

Although Beecher has dominated Class C in recent years, this was far from a romp through the postseason for the Buccaneers. They trailed in the second half in four games, including a 13-point third-quarter deficit to Southfield Christian in the Regional Finals. They were also down by two points to Flint Hamady in the final minute of the District opener. Then, of course, there was Ellison's epic 3-pointer that rescued the Buccaneers from elimination against Detroit Loyola in the Semifinal.

"It shows the poise and composure and resiliency of our team," Williams said. "These weren't just basketball games. These were life lessons the kids went through as far as getting knocked down and being able to get back up, going through adversity and understanding how to keep their poise and playing to the final buzzer. To come here and finish it off says the world about our kids, and not just our kids. We want to represent the Flint area and what we're going through. We're fighters in the end. We're going to come out with a win. We just want to make sure everybody knows it's not just about us winning; we want to represent our area and do the things young men are supposed to do to be successful." 

One of the factors the Buccaneers had to overcome was the surprise 3-point-shooting performance of 6-foot-9 sophomore center Blake Verbeek. Verbeek was 5 for 6 from 3-point range, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Verbeek had only 11 3-pointers coming into the game.

"It was mostly my teammates giving me the ball when I was hot," Verbeek said. "They just went down tonight." 

Beecher's only two losses in a 25-2 season came against the last two Class A champions, 2015 winner Detroit Western International and newly-crowned champion Detroit U-D Jesuit.

"These kids really deserve everything they got," Williams said. "Regardless of class, this is one of the top teams in the state." 

There were three ties and five lead changes in the first quarter until the Buccaneers closed the period with a 6-0 run to take a 17-11 lead after eight minutes.

After going scoreless over the final 3:34 of the first quarter, Calvin Christian would charge right back by scoring the first 10 points of the second quarter. The run was punctuated by a 3-pointer from DeWitte with 4:51 left in the second quarter, giving the Squires a 21-17 lead. 

The next run belonged to Beecher, which responded with eight straight points to go ahead 25-21 on a basket by Jermaine Shumpert with 1:59 left in the first half. The teams went into halftime tied, 26-26, as Jake Bouma closed the first-half scoring by hitting a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left in the second quarter.

Ellison finished with 21 points for Beecher. Jordan Roland had 12.

Click for the full box score.

The Boys Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.

PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Beecher’s Malik Ellison (10) lets out a shout of joy as his teammates celebrate another Class C championship. (Middle) Beecher’s Aquavius Burks (23) works to get into the lane as Calvin Christian’s Nate Knee (30) attempts to slow him.

With Lee in Lead, Beecher Seizes Day Again with 2nd Title in 3 Seasons

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com

March 25, 2023

EAST LANSING – Robert Lee Jr. didn’t mind shouldering the scoring load in Saturday’s Division 3 Final.

Especially with a championship at stake.

The Flint Beecher senior guard scored a game-high 29 points to lead Flint Beecher past Traverse City St. Francis 64-50 at Breslin Center.

“Before the game I got up some shots at a high school, and usually when I do that I feel good,” Lee Jr. said. “I felt like I had to step up for my team. I did my part, and my teammates did their part. We won it together.”

It was Beecher’s second Finals title in three years and sixth since 2012. The Bucs lost in the Semifinals last year and were eager to return and reclaim the championship. 

“Last year I brought my team up here and it was tears of hurt and disappointment, and that's something we talked about not just tonight, but all season long,” Beecher coach Marquise Gray said. “I constantly reminded the guys of that feeling and I think it drove us, and we are fortunate and blessed to come away with a title tonight.”

The 6-foot-2 Lee Jr. scored 18 of his 29 in the second half. He was 12 of 19 from the field and also grabbed 11 rebounds. 

The Bucs’ Keyonta Menifield (2) finds his way to the basket with Drew Breimayer (3) and John Hagelstein (23) defending.

“I couldn’t score that many points without my teammates,” said Lee Jr., who also was part of a Division 3 title team as a sophomore. “It feels good … and spring break is going to feel a lot better, and food is going to taste better.”

Beecher (24-4) blitzed St. Francis early and led 8-0 after the first three minutes. The opening run included a pair of layups and an emphatic dunk by Lee Jr.

However, the Gladiators fought back and ended the quarter on a 7-0 run. Senior Wyatt Nausadis drilled a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to give St. Francis a 17-15 lead.

The Gladiators carried the momentum into the second quarter and built a 28-21 lead. But defense helped bring Beecher closer as it scored the last four points of the half and trailed 30-27.

Lee Jr. helped Beecher reclaim the lead (35-32) with back-to-back buckets. He then had a three-point play and mid-range jumper to make it 42-34 – and a steal and layup to push the lead to 10. A 3-pointer from Wasir James in the final minute of the quarter gave Beecher its biggest lead (47-35) of the game.

Lee Jr. then added 13 points in the third quarter as Beecher outscored the Gladiators 20-7.

Kevin Tiggs Jr. elevates for a shot as Hagelstein and Joey Donahue (13) look to block it.“Both of my calves started cramping up (at the end of the third quarter),” Lee Jr. said. “I tried to do whatever I could to prevent it, but I had to fight through it. When we got the win, I knew it was going to feel good.”

In the fourth quarter, St. Francis got to within five (47-42), but a Lee Jr. 3-pointer ignited a 7-0 surge that put the game out of reach.

Lee Jr. was the only Beecher player in double figures. Senior Jaylen Townsend had nine points and five rebounds, while senior Kevin Tiggs Jr. had eight points.

The Bucs shot 50 percent (26-52) from the field and recorded nine steals.

“We talked all year about seizing the moment, and tonight I think we did a great job of that,” Gray said. “Our road wasn't easy, but we continued to believe.”

St. Francis (24-4) was seeking its first Finals championship. Its best finish was Class C runner-up in 2012.

“That’s a good team, and we battled well,” Gladiators coach Sean Finnegan said. “We had a good first half and put ourselves in position, but they made a couple runs in the second half and we struggled to finish a little bit at times.

“But I can’t say how proud I am of the boys and the fact that we’re here and had the opportunity we had.”

Nausadis finished with a team-high 20 points, while senior center John Hagelstein added 12 points and seven rebounds. Senior Drew Breimayer had nine points.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Flint Beecher celebrates its Division 3 championship Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Bucs’ Keyonta Menifield (2) finds his way to the basket with Drew Breimayer (3) and John Hagelstein (23) defending. (Below) Kevin Tiggs Jr. elevates for a shot as Hagelstein and Joey Donahue (13) look to block it.