Breslin Bound: Boys Districts in Review
March 11, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Two weeks remain in the MHSAA boys basketball season. And after last week's District tournaments, some contenders have survived what may end up their scariest game of a championship run – while others remain alive that probably many didn't expect.
Below are four District champs from each class who especially stuck out last week.
Class A
Bloomfield Hills Lahser (17-6) – The Oakland Activities Association Blue co-champ claimed a District title as well with a 55-52 win over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in last week’s championship game.
Detroit Pershing (23-0) – The Doughboys had beaten Detroit Cass Tech by 19 in the Detroit Public School League tournament final only three weeks before, but had to survive a 78-76 thriller in the rematch for the District title.
Saginaw (21-3) – The reigning Class A champion is still alive after winning perhaps the biggest game in the state Friday. The Trojans, who split with rival Saginaw Arthur Hill during the regular season, won the tie-breaker 86-76 in the District Final.
Ypsilanti (18-4) – Avenged a nine-point loss to Ann Arbor Pioneer from only a month ago by beating Pioneer 66-43 in the opener, and then eliminated Skyline and Huron en route to a sweep of the Phoenix’s Class A neighbors.
Class B
Bay City John Glenn (12-11) – The Bobcats lost twice to Standish-Sterling during the regular season, including by 18 on Feb. 22. But they avenged those losses in the District opener and then edged Essexville-Garber 51-50 in overtime to win the title.
Flint Powers Catholic (12-11) – A 3-8 start to this season wasn't pretty, and although Powers battled back it still entered last week with a sub-.500 record. But two and three-point wins over Flint Northwestern and Millington, respectively, kept the Chargers alive and put them on the plus side.
Saginaw Swan Valley (12-11) – The Vikings were 2-6 over the last eight games heading into the District tournament. But their 56-37 win over then 14-7 Bridgeport in the Final was at least a slight upset.
Sparta (17-5) – The Spartans finished a solid second in the O-K Blue this winter and then survived a 61-59 test against Fremont in last week’s championship game to move on.
Class C
Baldwin (18-4) – Came close twice to beating West Michigan D League champion Manistee Catholic Central, but fell once by three in overtime and in their second meeting by eight. That surely made a 38-35 District Final win over MCC that much better.
Harbor Beach (22-1) – Coming off the football MHSAA championship in the fall, the Pirates just keep cruising with only a loss to Marlette momentarily stopping them this winter. Harbor Beach outlasted Unionville-Sebewaing 61-60 in the District Final.
Montrose (18-5) – The Rams finished only third in the Genesee Area Conference Blue, but beat formerly 17-5 Reese 67-52 in the District championship game.
White Pigeon (14-8) – It’s amazing how much of a difference six weeks can make. White Pigeon lost to Cassopolis by 30 on Jan. 18, but won the rematch by 15 in the District opener and survived Decatur 44-41 in the championship game.
Class D
Bloomfield Hills Roeper (8-14) – Roeper closed the regular season with a 1-8 run, so it was tough to expect a District title. But the Roughriders prevailed by beating then 12-8 Waterford Our Lady 51-44 in the championship game.
Covert (16-6) – The Bulldogs are hardly strangers to Breslin Center, and like the teams that had success in the past this Covert team took its losses against much larger opponents this season. Back in Class D, it won three games by a total of 40 points last week.
Fowler (13-9) – The Eagles finished three wins behind Fulton for fourth place in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference. But after being swept by the Pirates during the regular season, Fowler won the most significant matchup of the three, 65-53 in the District Final.
Hillman (16-5) – The Tigers have improved from 12 to 13 to 16 wins over the last three seasons and won last week’s games by a combined 31 points.
PHOTO: Detroit Pershing players celebrate last week's Class A District Final win over Detroit Cass Tech. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit Public School League.)
Clarkston's Loyer Leaves All-Time Legacy with 25 Record Book Listings
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 22, 2023
Foster Loyer’s four-season career at Clarkston from 2014-15 through 2017-18 certainly must be considered among the most accomplished in state history as he led the Wolves to back-to-back Class A championships in 2017 and 2018 and is listed in the record book 25 times.
Among Loyer’s most notable entries were 2,325 career points (12th most), 272 career 3-pointers (tied for ninth), records of 119 consecutive free throws and 634 career free throws, a .921 free-throw percentage as a junior (tied for fourth) and .900 career percentage (second), 589 career assists (sixth), 278 career steals (15th) and 102 games played (tied for sixth).
Loyer went on to play at Michigan State and then Davidson.
See below for more recent record book entries for boys basketball.
Boys Basketball
Four Onaway standouts were added for single-season and/or career records. Jager Mix, who graduated in 2022, was added for 92 steals last season and 225 over his four-season career. Kevin Pearson, a 2021 grad, was added for 81 steals as a senior and 247 over his career. Joe Sigsby, a 2016 grad, was added for 127 steals, and Jadin Mix was added for 124 in 2021-22. Their totals rank ninth and tied for 10th, respectively, on that all-time list. Jager Mix also was added for 967 career rebounds, and Onaway as a team was added for tying the record for most points in a quarter with 49 during the first quarter of a win over Fife Lake Forest Area on Feb. 3, 2022. Jager Mix is playing at Alpena Community College, and Jadin Mix is a senior this school year.
Uchenna Amene was added for 11 steals in a March 7, 2022, game against West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy and for 97 steals total over 25 games. He was a sophomore at Southfield Christian that season and now is a senior at Detroit Catholic Central.
Owen Franklin graduated from Oscoda in 2021 as the school’s all-time leading scorer, and nearly 44 percent of those 1,477 points came on 3-pointers. Franklin made the state career 3-pointers list with 216 over four seasons. He’s playing baseball at Northwood.
Traverse City Christian sophomore Reece Broderick became one of the state’s most accomplished long-distance shooters in just his second year of high school this past winter, drilling 104 3-pointers – good for third-most for one season all-time – over 23 games. He connected on 42 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
A pair of Rudyard four-year varsity standouts entered the record book after their graduations in 2022. Tate Besteman made the career rebounds list with 762 over 89 games, and EJ Suggitt made the career 3-pointers list with 215 over the same 89 contests. Besteman played this past season for Mid Michigan College, and Suggitt is playing baseball at Spring Arbor.
Success from 3-point range played a significant role in Mesick finishing 21-1 in 2021-22, as the team made 195 of its 578 attempts – with game highs of 15 twice in wins over Baldwin and Pentwater.
Then-senior Tristan McFolley earned the first listing under single-game rebounds since 2013 with 30 in Detroit Cesar Chavez Academy’s game with Hope of Detroit Academy on Dec. 8, 2022.
Tawas found its groove from long range Jan. 10 against Oscoda, drilling 22 3-pointers in an 86-31 win. The total tied for fifth-most in one game.
Although Norway felt just short, 40-37, in its District loss to Crystal Falls Forest Park on March 8, Alex Ortman kept the Knights close scoring 20 of his team-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to make the single-quarter scoring list. He’s now a senior.
Kobe Clark has listings in two MHSAA record books, with three for boys basketball joining those he earned for football during his Schoolcraft career. He was added in hoops for 531 career assists and 290 career steals over 94 games from 2016-17 through 2019-20, and also for 82 steals as a senior. Tyler DeGroote also was added to the record book, for scoring 20 points during the first quarter against Delton Kellogg during Schoolcraft’s Jan. 11, 2022, victory. Clark began at Saginaw Valley State for football and now plays basketball and Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and DeGroote is continuing at Rockhurst (Mo.).
Past Detroit Cooley star Larry Fogle has added a seventh record book listing a half-century later. Fogle grabbed 33 rebounds on Jan. 18, 1972, during a win over Detroit Mackenzie. He went on to play at Louisiana and Canisius, and then briefly with the New York Knicks.
Trevon Gunter scored 42 points in Kalamazoo Central’s 84-56 win over Richland Gull Lake on Jan. 17, 2020, including 31 during the third quarter – second-most and just one shy of the record for points during one period. A senior that season, Gunter plays currently at Grand Valley State.
Mark Wittbrodt held the record for consecutive free throws at 70 until 2008, and that entry in the record book has been joined by several others from the Bay City Western star. He was added for his 192 3-pointers, 436 free throws, .842 free-throw percentage and 266 career steals over three seasons from 1991-93, as well as for six single-season accomplishments. He went on to play at Michigan Tech.
Ellsworth’s Jacob Jenuwine tied for 12th on the single-game 3-pointers list when he connected on 11 as part of scoring 39 points total in his team’s Feb. 14 win over Alanson. Jenuwine graduated this spring.
Bellevue senior Dawson Wing capped his three-season varsity career last winter with three entries in the record. He was added for 12 blocked shots in a 2021-22 game against Colon, 107 for the season last winter and 203 blocks over his career. Teammate Caleb Betz, a senior this fall, was added for 12 steals in a game against Athens.
Logan Mansfield capped his Morenci career in a big way last winter. The senior drilled 90 3-pointers over 24 games to earn his school’s first individual record book entry in boys hoops since the 1987-88 season, when John Craig had 132 blocked shots that would have been the second-most recorded at that time. They currently rank 13th.
New Haven earned a pair of record book entries during its March 10 win over Memphis. The Rockets bested their previous single-quarter school record with 41 points during the opening period, and they also made the statewide single-game 3-pointers list with 16.
Whitehall’s Camden Thompson, a junior this fall, earned his first record book entry last winter – and the first for his school in boys basketball. He grabbed 303 rebounds over 21 games.
Grand Rapids Wellspring Prep junior Zeekeal Jackson earned his school's first boys basketball record book entry this past season as well. He made the single-season steals list with 106, over 22 games, and just missed the single-game list with a high of 10.
Jonesville’s Brady Wright was among his team’s leading scorers during his three varsity seasons ending this past winter, but he also was a major contributor defensively. He made the records with a season-high 101 steals over 25 games as a senior, and made the career list with 232 steals over 61 games.
Sophomore Christopher McLavish Jr. made a memorable impact last season with a pair of record book entries. He made the single-quarter points list with 20 in a Feb. 21 game against Flint Powers Catholic, but even more memorable were his 97 3-pointers over 25 games for the season – tying him for 11th all-time on that list.
PHOTO Foster Loyer directs Clarkston's offense during its 2018 Class A Semifinal.