Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Boys Report Week 11
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 21, 2022
The first 12 weeks of this boys basketball season will culminate in a highly-anticipated announcement this week.
Sunday morning, District brackets will be released with the top two teams seeded in each based on thousands of results going back to the start of December – including a few more that likely will have an impact this week.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Muskegon 84, Grand Blanc 79 The Big Reds (16-1) picked up a massive weekend win, downing the reigning Division 1 champion Bobcats (12-5) on Saturday.
2. Detroit Western 57, Detroit Cass Tech 53 The Cowboys (15-3) were coming off the Detroit Public School League Gold championship and earned a spot in the PSL Tournament championship game by downing the East runner-up Technicians (15-3).
3. Grand Haven 54, Rockford 51 The Buccaneers (16-1) avenged their 62-56 loss to the Rams 16-2 from Jan. 18 to move into a tie for first in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red.
4. East Lansing 68, Okemos 63 The Trojans (15-4) finished Capital Area Activities Conference Blue play as the outright league champion, sending Okemos (12-3) into second.
5. Romulus Summit Academy 67, Warren Michigan Collegiate 45 The Dragons (14-2) finished an impressive run through the Charter School Conference Tournament with wins over Detroit Edison (12-6) and then Michigan Collegiate (13-2) in the final.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Detroit Catholic Central (9-7) This speaks to the level competition DCC has faced this season – the Shamrocks finished fifth in the Detroit Catholic League Central but are No. 4 in statewide Division 1 MPR. Every team they’ve played has a winning record, and 15 games came against teams with at least 10 wins. DCC avenged a Feb. 8 loss to Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (11-6) with a 66-64 win to open Catholic League Bishop Tournament play Saturday and earned solid early-season wins over Rockford and Hamtramck (13-3).
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (13-4) Perhaps no team in any division faced higher expectations heading into this season, and the Eaglets will pursue the Bishop Tournament championship this week potentially on the verge of a run heading into postseason play. They finished third in the Central, but three of their four losses were by a combined seven points. Similar to DCC, 12 games have come against opponents with at least 10 wins, and some of the best victories outside the league were against Grand Rapids Christian (13-4), Grand Blanc (12-5), Ferndale (13-3) and Canton (13-4).
Division 2
Benton Harbor (14-2) The Tigers have appeared to be fueling up for another long tournament run, as they sit No. 7 in Division 2 MPR with losses only to Muskegon and Edison. Benton Harbor has six wins over teams with double-digit victories, including over Battle Creek Pennfield (11-5) in overtime and Kalamazoo Central (10-7) in double overtime over the last two weeks. An early victory over Flint Carman-Ainsworth (11-4) also continues to impress as the Tigers prepare to build on last year’s run to the Quarterfinals.
Standish-Sterling (16-1) The rest of the Tri-Valley Conference 10 has been chasing Carrollton all season, and last week Standish-Sterling caught up with a 70-64 win over the Cavaliers to give both a single league defeat with two weeks to play. The Panthers’ only loss was 77-69 to Carrollton (16-2) on Jan. 18. A pair of wins over Ithaca (14-4) and another over Reese (14-2) have helped boost Standish to No. 12 in Division 2 MPR.
Division 3
Riverview Gabriel Richard (17-0) The Pioneers have been a Catholic League force for a few seasons with this winter’s Intersectional #1 title its third straight division championship. But much more could be in store as Richard looks to win this week’s Cardinal Tournament on the way to the postseason. Victories over Dearborn Divine Child (10-7) and Erie Mason (10-5) are among others that are notable, and they were two of only three opponents to give the Pioneers a single-digit game this season.
Schoolcraft (15-2) It’s a good season to be an Eagle, as combined with the girls team the school’s varsities are a combined 33-3. The boys team handed Parchment (17-1) its only loss Friday to create a shared championship in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley. Parchment on Dec. 10 handed Schoolcraft its first defeat; the other came to Division 1 Hudsonville. Wins against Pewamo-Westphalia (12-3) and twice each over Fennville (12-5) and Kalamazoo Christian (12-6) also have helped Schoolcraft reach No. 7 in Division 3 MPR.
Division 4
Buckley (14-4) The Bears can’t catch co-leaders Benzie Central and Maple City Glen Lake in the Northwest Conference but give the league another strong representative heading into the playoffs. Those two combined to give Buckley three of its losses, and the Bears won their first meeting with Glen Lake (15-3). The other defeat came Saturday in double overtime to undefeated Mesick (17-0), and a pair of wins over Traverse City Christiaan (12-4) also have helped Buckley move up to No. 8 in Division 4 MPR.
Eau Claire (13-4) The Fighting Beavers would need some help to catch Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference White leader New Buffalo, but regardless this has been a memorable turnaround after going 5-8 a year ago. The team’s last eight wins have come by nine points or more, and the losses were solid, against New Buffalo (16-1), Three Oaks River Valley (12-5) and Buchanan (10-6). Eau Claire sees New Buffalo and River Valley again over the next two weeks and shares a District with both as well.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Detroit Western (15-3) vs. Detroit Martin Luther King (17-1) at Oakland University – As noted above, this will determine the champion of the PSL Tournament.
Tuesday – Munising (14-1) at Powers North Central (14-2) – These Division 4 statewide contenders will face off twice over the next two weeks.
Tuesday – Romulus (10-2) at Romulus Summit Academy (14-2) – Romulus High leads the Western Wayne Athletic Conference, and Summit just finished clinching the Charter School Conference West and tournament titles.
Friday – Maple City Glen Lake (15-3) at Benzie Central (15-1) – These two both will enter with one loss in the Northwest Conference and the winner taking the league title outright.
Saturday – Detroit Catholic League Bishop final at Eastern Michigan University – The winners of Wednesday’s semifinals (U-D Jesuit/Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Detroit Catholic Central/De La Salle) face off for the championship.
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PHOTO Muskegon and Benton Harbor, here during a Jan. 8 Big Reds win, are among teams expected to contend in their respective divisions when MHSAA playoffs begin in two weeks. (Photo by Tim Reilly.)
Munising Powers Past Reigning Champ to Claim 1st Finals Title
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 25, 2023
EAST LANSING — There is an old saying that the heart of a champion should never be underestimated.
But in this case, it was the heart of the challenger that couldn’t be underestimated.
After seeing a six-point lead turn into a one-point deficit during the fourth quarter of the Division 4 Boys Basketball Final on Saturday, Munising seemed to be on the ropes trying to dethrone 2022 champion Wyoming Tri-unity Christian.
But from there, it was Munising which made the championship plays.
The Mustangs scored six straight points, and ultimately did enough to hold on for a 39-37 win over the Defenders.
It was the first Finals title for Munising, and chants of “UP Power! UP Power!” rained on the court from the Munising fans as the team celebrated afterwards.
“A lot of our games have been this way this year,” Munising head coach Terry Kienitz said. “We come out fighting and scrapping the whole game. A lot of times we get a good lead and lose it, but we always keep fighting and the next guy makes a big shot.”
Munising held a 25-19 lead with 3:07 remaining in the third quarter, but Tri-unity Christian went on a surge and took a 30-29 lead with 3:46 left in the game on a layup by senior Roy Fogg.
Then, Munising took over.
First, senior Cully Trzeciak hit a 3-pointer from the wing to give Munising a 32-30 lead with 2:10 remaining.
The play run for that shot was called “Herro,” after Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, but it was appropriate because it turned Trzeciak into a town hero forever.
“On Thursday (in the Semifinal), I was kind of in a slump and missed a lot,” Trzeciak said of his only 3-point attempt in this game. “But shooters shoot. You’ve got to keep shooting, and it felt good.”
Sophomore Trevor Nolan then stole an errant inbounds pass and went in for an uncontested layup with 2:02 left to make it 34-30 Munising.
Senior Kane Nebel then made a free throw with 1:07 remaining to give the Mustangs a five-point lead. Tri-unity Christian made it 35-32 with 45.1 seconds left on two free throws by Fogg, but Munising took a 37-32 lead with 33.6 seconds to go on two free throws by sophomore Carson Kienitz, and then went up seven on two free throws by Nebel with 18.6 seconds left.
Things did got a little dicey at the end for Munising, as Tri-unity Christian cut its deficit to 39-35 with 13.6 seconds left on three free throws by junior Owen Rosendall and then made it 39-37 with 2.8 seconds left with a basket by Rosendall.
But Munising successfully inbounded the ball, avoided a foul and dribbled out the clock to start its celebration.
Nebel – whose grandfather Chuck Nebel played on the last Munising team to reach the Semifinals in 1954 – had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead the way for Munising (27-1), which overcame a 39-17 rebounding advantage by Tri-unity Christian.
Junior Jordan VanKlompenberg scored 15 points and Fogg added 11 for Tri-unity Christian (22-7), which was making its third-straight appearance in the championship game.
The Defenders shot 31.1-percent from the field and made just 4 of 19 shots from 3-point range.
“I was disappointed in our offense,” Tri-unity head coach Mark Keeler said. “I felt we showed a lot of impatience and a lot of bad shots. But I don’t want to take anything away from Munising. They had a great team and they played great defense.”
PHOTOS (Top) Munising players celebrate the team’s first Finals championship Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Mustangs’ Kane Nebel (0) gets to the basket for a shot with Wesley Kaman (5) defending. (Below) Munising’s Carson Kienitz (2) tries to get a pass past Tri-unity Christian’s Akais Giplaye (20).