Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Boys Report Week 11
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 20, 2023
We’re less than a week from taking thousands of results from this season and crunching the numbers to seed the top two teams in 128 MHSAA Boys Basketball Districts. Those will be published Sunday.
But if you think everything is wrapped up for the regular season, just check out our list of “Can’t-Miss Contests” below.
Those five games top what might end up one of the most exciting weeks of boys hoops this entire winter, and that’s without including Friday’s Detroit Catholic League Cardinal championship game as the top four placers from one of the state’s most competitive leagues will contend over two rounds this week.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Cass Tech 74, Detroit Martin Luther King 70 (OT) The Technicians (21-0) followed up a 57-55 win over King (10-7) on Jan. 20 to clinch the Detroit Public School League Tournament title.
2. Grand Blanc 70, Muskegon 62 (OT) Grand Blanc (17-2) is No. 3 in Division 1 MPR and Muskegon (17-2) is No. 4, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them meet again with much more on the line next month.
3. Flint Beecher 48, Flint Hamady 43 The Bucs (15-3) clinched the Genesee Area Conference Red title outright, finishing a regular-season sweep of the rival Hawks (16-4).
4. Escanaba 72, Painesdale Jeffers 68 (OT) After falling to Painesdale Jeffers in their Jan. 20 meeting 74-71, the Eskymos (10-6) handed the Jets (17-1) their only defeat.
5. Redford Union 57, Romulus 55 The Panthers (14-5) added this to an overtime win over Romulus (14-5) from Jan. 20 to clinch the Western Wayne Athletic Conference title.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Lansing Waverly (14-5) The Warriors may have just enjoyed their best week of what’s guaranteed to be their winningest season since 2013-14. They took a one-game lead in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue by avenging a Jan. 23 loss to Okemos with a 72-53 win Feb. 13, then outlasted Grand Ledge 68-64 in overtime and edged Benton Harbor 76-71 on Saturday. Of 14 victories, 11 have come against teams with winning records – with the losses to Okemos (14-3) and East Lansing (9-8) in league and Detroit Renaissance (12-7), River Rouge (14-5) and Davison (14-6) nonconference.
Oak Park (10-5) In an Oakland Activities Association Red where all five teams have double-digit wins led North Farmington (17-1) and Ferndale (10-6) at the top, Oak Park might not be getting the attention it would otherwise. But the Knights are No. 9 in statewide Division 1 MPR, with four of those losses coming to North Farmington (twice), Ferndale or Clarkston – and with the Clarkston and Ferndale rematches next week. Oak Park would be the second seed in a similarly-strong District if brackets were drawn today.
DIVISION 2
Croswell-Lexington (15-3) The Pioneers took a major step toward retaining a share of the Blue Water Area Conference title with a 54-45 win Thursday over Richmond (15-2) after falling to the Blue Devils on Jan. 19. Croswell-Lexington and Richmond both have one league loss (to each other), but the Pioneers have one more win and their final three games against the bottom three teams in the BWAC standings. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker (13-3) tonight should provide another solid test.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (14-5) The reigning Division 2 runner-up Cougars have bounced back from an 0-3 start with 14 wins over their last 16 games as they’ve moved to the top of the O-K Gold. They can clinch the championship outright Tuesday against second-place Grand Rapids South Christian (16-3), which GRCC defeated 71-67 on Jan. 24. Nine of those 14 wins have come against teams with records .500 or better, paying off in the Cougars also topping their District in MPR.
DIVISION 3
Brown City (18-1) The Green Devils can clinch the Greater Thumb Conference East title outright Tuesday against second-place Sandusky (12-6), which they defeated 42-37 in their first matchup Jan. 25. Brown City’s only loss came to Laker, 64-61 in its second game this season, and the Green Devils are coming off finishing a regular-season sweep of Ubly after placing second to the Bearcats in the league standings a year ago.
Cass City (16-1) As noted here, more than one-third of Cass City’s wins have come with go-ahead points during the final seconds – and the halfcourt shot to down Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port 43-42 on Jan. 27 has Cass City sitting a game ahead of Laker in the GTC West standings with the rematch set for Friday. Cass City’s only loss was 50-41 to Bad Axe on Jan. 6, avenged with a 46-45 win Feb. 1. The Red Hawks presently also sit atop a District bracket that includes both Bad Axe and Laker.
DIVISION 4
Eau Claire (15-4) The Fighting Beavers have clinched a share of the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference championship after finishing second last season and winning only five games total during the abbreviated 2020-21. They are 11-1 since the start of the calendar year, losing only to Benton Harbor Countryside Academy and avenging that loss Friday to gain the league title share. An 84-68 win over Galesburg-Augusta (15-4) jumps out – and they play again Wednesday – but so too does Eau Claire’s nine games scoring at least 80 points.
Kingston (15-3) After finishing 10-11 and fifth in the North Central Thumb Conference Stars a year ago, Kingston has changed lanes and clinched the championship outright with a 47-39 win over Peck on Friday. A 61-60 double-overtime victory over second-place Dryden three days earlier was more key, and the Cardinals sit No. 10 in statewide Division 4 MPR with all three losses to Division 2 or 3 teams, including Brown City (see above).
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Jackson (15-4) at Chelsea (16-2) – This will decide if Chelsea wins the Southeastern Conference White title outright or shares with the Vikings, who won the Jan. 31 matchup 76-69.
Tuesday – Ovid-Elsie (15-2) at Chesaning (15-3) – They enter tied for first in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference and will both have one league game remaining. Ovid-Elsie won the Jan. 16 meeting 55-51 in overtime.
Tuesday – Boyne City (17-2) at Traverse City St. Francis (15-3) – The Ramblers have a one-game lead on St. Francis in the Lake Michigan Conference with two games to play, and after winning their first meeting 50-44 on Jan. 24.
Friday – Hudsonville (14-5) at East Kentwood (14-5) – These two have risen to the top of a tightly-packed O-K Red race and could decide the championship outright if they both also win Tuesday. Hudsonville won 54-45 when they met Jan. 27.
Friday – Ferndale (10-6) at North Farmington (17-1) – North Farmington is No. 1 in Division 1 MPR, Ferndale is No. 1 in Division 2, and the Raiders lead the Eagles by a game in the OAA Red. North Farmington won 50-48 on Jan. 31.
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PHOTO North Branch earned its best win this season Tuesday, 65-63 over Millington. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)
3rd-Year Standouts Have Howell Rolling
January 9, 2018
By Tim Robinson
Special for Second Half
For the best players on Howell’s boys and girls basketball teams, the third year has been the charm.
Those players, Josh Palo and Lexie Miller, have combined talent and experience with confidence while leading their teams to fast starts this winter.
Palo is averaging 26 points per game for the boys, who are 5-1, while Miller is averaging 25 for the girls, who are 7-1.
Both are in their third full season on the varsity; Palo is a junior while Miller is a senior.
They also have this in common: Both would much rather talk about their team’s accomplishments.
“It’s all about the team,” said Miller, who has signed with Wayne State University. “I think we have improvements to make, but we’ve been watching film and can do better. I think we’ll get there if we keep working hard.”
Miller is part of a Highlanders team which features four seniors, including Miller, who have spent three full seasons on the varsity. They have been playing together for years.
Miller, who is 5-foot-6, also qualified for the MHSAA Division 1 cross country meet as a freshman before turning her attention to basketball fulltime. Her speed allows her to blow by defenders. She’s not afraid to put up 3s, nor is she afraid to drive to the basket.
But Howell girls coach Tim Olszewski said it’s her competitiveness and drive that help make her first among equals, and confidence that has made her a leader.
“(Two years ago) we had Erin Honkala, who would call team meetings and say, ‘Listen, this is exactly how things are going to go,’” Olszewski said. “Last year, as juniors, none of them wanted to grab the reins and do that. This year, we’ve got great senior leadership, with Lexie at the forefront of that. She will say something, and because of the way she conducts herself out on the court, you have to listen.”
Palo, a 6-2 junior, plays both guard positions for the Highlanders and does whatever is needed on defense.
“He’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades,” Howell boys coach Nick Simon says. “We do a lot of switching (on defense) and a lot of different things and he’ll play where needed on defense. He’s guarded the other team’s point guard in a couple of games, and he’s guarded the other team’s center a few times. He’s very knowledgeable about the game, and he understands how to play it. That allows him to guard guys down low and out on the perimeter.”
Palo scored 33 points in an overtime win at Linden in the Highlanders’ season opener, displaying the first results of a busy summer.
“I put in a lot of work over the summer,” he said. “I was always in the gym. Kip (teammate Kip French) has a little gym at his house with a shooting machine, and I was out there shooting every day this summer. That’s why I think I’m doing so much better this year. I have more confidence this year, knowing what I can do, when I can score and when I can get my looks.”
Simon led Howell’s boys to a Class A Quarterfinals four seasons ago. That run included the first time Howell had won a District title in nearly 20 years. The Highlanders have gotten to the Regionals the last two seasons, and Palo says he thinks his team can go farther.
“I really do,” he said. “We’ve got a good group of guys here, and we’re all bought in on what we’ve got to do. We’re going hard in practice every day, trying to get better. Everyone gets their role pretty well, and we always go into games confident. We never think we’re the underdog. We can always pull one out if we need to.”
Howell plays in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association, where boys and girls play at alternate sites on the same night.
As a result, neither Palo nor Miller has seen the other play often – but the rare impressions are lasting ones.
“Josh is really shifty,” Miller said, emphasizing the last word as a compliment. “His moves are really good. He finishes really well. I’m really impressed, honestly.”
“She’s real fast,” Palo said. “She can dribble pretty well. She could spot up and hit some 3s for us.”
Both will have opportunities to see the other play in the postseason. But as of now, they have their own dreams and team goals for which they are striving.
“It’s interesting to have a guy who’s had a breakout year and get him back for another year,” Simon said of Palo. “Traditionally, you see guys peak as seniors, and that’s when they come out of their shell. For a guy who’s in his third year on varsity (as a junior), I think that’s a huge advantage. You’re able to get him out of that shell a little earlier.”
Miller, while being the leading scorer on the Howell girls team, is far from the only offensive threat. Opponents who key on Miller learn that, to their dismay. By the time they adjust, often, Miller makes them pay at a key moment.
“She lives for the big moment,” Olszewski says. “She wants the ball in her hands. She’s definitely an ice-in-the-veins kind of kid, and I would have no problem giving her the ball in any situation at the end of a game.”
Palo and Miller both look to stand out in a team concept, and that drive could well determine the final destination for both teams this winter.
PHOTOS: (Left) Howell’s Josh Palo pushes the ball upcourt during a practice this winter. (Right) Lexie Miller works on her shooting; she’s averaging 25 points per game. (Photos by Tim Robinson.)