Breslin Bound: Boys Quarterfinal Preview

March 12, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

After nearly four months, we’ll know by the end of tonight which 16 Michigan boys basketball teams will be “Breslin Bound” this weekend to play for this season’s championships.

We’re already guaranteed at least two new title winners when Saturday’s Finals are done, and there are plenty of storylines as a number of teams reached tonight’s Quarterfinals for the first time in a long time – or first time in their program’s histories.

Our final “Breslin Bound” report of 2018-19 – powered by MI Student Aid – takes a glance at all 16 Quarterfinals, which tip off at 7 p.m. unless noted. All Quarterfinals will be broadcast and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv. Come back Wednesday night for a more in-depth look at our 16 finalists as they head into this weekend.

DIVISION 1

Saginaw (22-3) vs. Howell (19-6) at Grand Blanc

After a rare down season a year ago, Saginaw is back at the Quarterfinals for the fourth time in eight seasons under coach Julian Taylor. Howell, coming off its first Regional title since 2014, follows talented senior guard Josh Palo (17.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists per game).

Ypsilanti Lincoln (20-4) vs. Detroit Martin Luther King (20-4) at University of Detroit Mercy, 5:30 p.m.

Lincoln freshman Emoni Bates has been perhaps even more exciting than anticipated, with game-winning shots in both of last week’s Regional wins just the latest highlights as he’s led the team to its first Regional title. King rebounded from two losses to end the regular season to win a District title for the second straight season and first Regional title since 2000.

Detroit U-D Jesuit (23-2) vs. Roseville (20-4) at University of Detroit Mercy, 7:30 p.m.

Jesuit will play in a Quarterfinal for the sixth straight season, this team with senior forward Daniel Friday (16.9) leading an attack with four scorers averaging at least 9.6 ppg. Roseville also lost its final two games of the regular season, but has won all five of its postseason matchups by at least 11 points on the way to its first Regional title since 1952.

East Kentwood (16-9) vs. Okemos (22-2) at Caledonia

Led by junior guard Ja’moni Jones (17.6 ppg), East Kentwood has bounced back from four straight losses to end the regular season and defeated a pair of league champions last week in Muskegon and Hudsonville to reach the Quarterfinals for the first time since 1998. Okemos held off DeWitt for the third time this season in their Regional Final to advance to the final week for the first time since 2012. Senior Evan Thomas (17.3 ppg) is the lead scorer.

DIVISION 2

Ludington (13-10) vs. Alma (19-3) at Mount Pleasant

Alma stunned previously-undefeated Bridgeport in a Regional Semifinal last week and will play its first Quarterfinal since 1999. Senior guard Camden Sutherland (11.1 ppg) is the high scorer for a balanced attack. Ludington, the Class B runner-up two seasons ago, lost five of its last six regular-season games but rebounded by winning a third straight District title. Senior Joshua Laman (15.8 ppg) leads in most statistical categories.

Grand Rapids South Christian (22-3) vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian (23-2) at Calvin College

The Sailors are coming off their first Regional title since winning the Class B championship in 2005, thanks to a two-point win over Grand Rapids Catholic Central on Thursday. The Sailors have their share of 3-point aces, and senior guards Luke Schrotenboer and Peyton Vis both score between 13-14 ppg. South Christian won its Dec. 21 meeting with Unity Christian 63-61, but the Crusaders are riding high after downing 2018 Class B champ Benton Harbor to win their second Regional title in four seasons. Senior TJ VanKoevering (13.8 ppg) is the leading scorer and rebounder.   

Haslett (20-5) vs. River Rouge (21-2) at Chelsea

Haslett, in its first Quarterfinal since 2006, beat league champions Williamston and Parma Western on the way to the final week. Senior guard Ty Andrades (14.1 ppg, 65 3-pointers) leads four players averaging double-digit scoring. River Rouge, a Class B semifinalist last season, has wins over Ypsilanti Lincoln and Flint Beecher among others. Senior guard Nigel Colvin (13 ppg) leads three scorers averaging in double figures.

Harper Woods Chandler Park (20-0) vs. New Haven (24-1) at Ortonville Brandon

Newly-awarded Mr. Basketball Romeo Weems (27.9 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 4.1 apg, 4.2 spg) is looking to lead New Haven to its third straight Semifinal and second title in three seasons as the Rockets won Class B in 2017. Senior guard Ronald Jeffery III (21.9) also is a major contributor. Chandler Park can claim impressive wins over Detroit Edison, Macomb Dakota, Detroit Henry Ford and Ferndale as it moves from its first Regional title into the final week.

DIVISION 3

Iron Mountain (25-0) vs. Sanford Meridian (23-1) at Petoskey, 6 p.m.

Iron Mountain won a Regional title for the second straight season and is now a combined 48-2 over the last two. Junior guard Marcus Johnson and sophomore guard Foster Wonders are both scoring just above 23 points per game. Meridian is also playing in a Quarterfinal for the second straight season, entering tonight a combined 44-5 over the last two winters after handing previously-unbeaten Oscoda a 21-point defeat in the Regional Final.

Detroit Edison (18-7) vs. Flint Beecher (23-2) at St. Clair County Community College

This Quarterfinal pits the Class C champions of the last two seasons, both with similar success this season. Reigning champ Edison has wins over Benton Harbor and Canton and is led by senior forward Brian Taylor (16.6 ppg). Beecher has beaten Detroit Renaissance, Grand Blanc and Flint Carman-Ainsworth among others, keyed by junior guard Jalen Terry, and is seeking its fourth MHSAA title in five seasons.   

Hanover-Horton (23-1) vs. Erie-Mason (22-2) at Tecumseh

Hanover-Horton will play in its third Quarterfinal over the last five seasons and first since 2016, with its only defeat this winter to Ohio’s Toledo St. Francis de Sales. Junior Luc Laketa scores 14 ppg to lead five averaging at least 9.3. Erie Mason won its first Regional title since 1973 and has wins over league champs Detroit Loyola and Petersburg Summerfield over the last two weeks. Junior guard Joe Liedel pours in 28 points with 5.1 assists per game.

Pewamo-Westphalia (25-0) vs. Cassopolis (23-1) at Richland Gull Lake

P-W has emerged from winning a league that produced three District champs and then defeated league champions Morley Stanwood and Carson City-Crystal during these playoffs. Senior Andre Smith has helped the Pirates reach the final week for the first time since 2014 by averaging a team-high 14.1 ppg. After going 24-1 a season ago but falling in the Regional Final, Cassopolis has broken through to make its first Quarterfinal since 1989. Senior guard Tyrese Hunt-Thompson scores 22 points per game, and sophomore forward Brayden Saxton adds 18 ppg.

DIVISION 4

Dollar Bay (20-4) vs. Pellston (23-2) at Escanaba

Dollar Bay finished second in its league but has won 13 of its last 14 games and defeated that league champion, Chassell, on the way to reaching the Quarterfinals again after making the Semifinals in 2018. Junior forward Ashton Janke (16.4) leads three scorers at 12 ppg or higher. Pellston won its first Regional title since 2012, downing previously-unbeaten Brimley in last week’s Regional Semifinal. Senior guard Tanner Byard scores 25.9 ppg and junior guard Blake Cassidy adds 23.

Southfield Christian (18-6) vs. Burton Genesee Christian (18-7) at West Bloomfield, 6 p.m.

Southfield Christian is the reigning Class D champion and has won 16 of its last 17 games. Senior guard Jon Sanders and junior guard Da’Jion Humphrey both average 16.5 points per game. Genesee Christian is coming off its first Regional title since 2005 and is 17-3 after a slow start in December.

Frankfort (19-5) vs. Big Rapids Crossroads (23-1) at Cadillac

Frankfort fell in its regular-season finale and then won its District opener by just two points in overtime, but has surged ahead to claim its first Regional title since 2015. Senior guard Will Newbold and sophomore guard Jack Stefanski both average 14 points per game. Crossroads won its first Regional title last week, with its only defeat of the season all the way back on Dec. 5 to Manistee Catholic Central. Senior guard Britton Angell leads at 26 ppg.

Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (21-3) vs. Bellevue (24-1) at Charlotte

In its third straight season with at least 22 wins, Bellevue has reached the final week for the first time after claiming its first Regional title. Senior guard Wyatt Waterbury scored 16.4 ppg to lead the way. Tri-unity is a regular at this stage but also back after missing out on the Quarterfinals last season after three straight appearances. Senior forward Bennett Sinner and freshman guard Brady Titus both score 12 ppg to lead a balanced effort.

Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Student Financial Services Bureau located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information, including various student financial assistance programs to help make college more affordable for Michigan students. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 savings programs (MET/MESP) and eight additional aid programs within its Student Scholarships and Grants division. Click for more information and connect with MI Student Aid on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.

PHOTO: Okemos junior Noah Pruitt gets to the basket during the Chiefs’ Regional Final win over DeWitt last week at Holt. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)

63-Pointer Stirs Memories of UP Legends

February 29, 2020

By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half

For the first time since 1970 – 50 years ago – and for only the 10th time in Upper Peninsula boys basketball history, a player has scored 60 or more points in a single game.

And that Houghton showing has stoked memories of legendary U.P. scoring showcases going back more than a century.

For the first time, the effort was for naught, at least from a win-loss standpoint, as Houghton dropped a nonconference road contest to Ishpeming 88-83 on Feb. 4. Brad Simonsen hit 23 of 45 field goal attempts, including 7 of 18 from beyond the 3-point arc, as Houghton pushed the play, hoping to narrow what had been a 10-point halftime margin. The 6-foot-6 senior, signed by Michigan Tech, was 10 of 13 from the free throw line and scored 24 points in the fourth quarter, ending the night with 63.

The performance topped Houghton’s school record of 60 points, set by Gary Lange in 1970. The total ranks 14th across the entire state for single game points in a contest, and tied Simonsen for sixth highest above the bridge. There, the mark equaled the top single-game output posted by Stephenson’s Mel Peterson, considered by many the greatest cager ever to come out of the Upper Peninsula.

“Marvelous Mel”

Peterson was the son of a minister and one of 10 children (and eight boys). His older brother, George, broke the U.P. scoring record in 1949 with 44 points in a game for Stephenson High School. The family moved away from the Upper Peninsula following George’s graduation, ultimately landing in southeastern Idaho.

There, Mel emerged as an outstanding athlete for Idaho Falls High School. Standing 6-foot-4½, Peterson’s growth occurred mostly during his freshman year.

“I played quite a bit on the varsity my sophomore year,” recalled Peterson recently. “My junior year I started out very, very slow but ended up very good. (However,) I fractured my ankle with about a minute to go in the semifinals of the (1955) state tournament, which we won.”

Peterson led all scorers with 25 points and dominated the boards that night, but had to be helped from the floor, then didn’t play in the title contest. “We lost the state tournament by three points, (43-40 to Kellogg). I was a cheerleader. … It would have been fun to play in the final game.”

When his father received a call to serve the Mission Covenant Church in Wallace, Michigan, about seven miles south of Stephenson, the family returned to the Upper Peninsula for Peterson’s senior year.

“At that time, it was nothing like it is now, where you can find anything about anybody. Then, that wasn’t the case at all,” Peterson said. “So, when we came back, no one had any idea of where I lived before, if I played or not.”

Indeed, prior to football season, one newspaper report indicated Peterson had transferred in from North Dakota, while another listed him as coming from Illinois. Regardless, Peterson emerged as a solid football player at Stephenson High in the fall of 1955. But it was on the basketball court where his scoring and rebounding prowess quickly loomed. He opened the season with 33 points in a win over Gladstone, despite fouling out early in the fourth quarter.

By January, the media had taken to calling him “Marvelous Mel” as Peterson averaged 32.3 points in his first half-dozen games for the Eagles. He drove Stephenson to a 15-1 regular-season record, posting 11 games over 30 points and scoring more than 40 in six.

On Jan. 21, 1956, he poured in 63 points in an 89-44 win over Manistique, shattering his brother’s school record. Mel nailed 25 of 38 shots from the field and 13 of 16 from the free-throw line. At the time, the scoring total exceeded the previous known best in the U.P. of 60 points, scored by Norbert Purol in February 1952. (Purol, from Ironwood St. Ambrose, would later play two seasons of AAU ball in Chicago before matriculating at Kentucky Wesleyan, earning four letters between 1956 and 1959. Wesleyan ended the 1957 season as runner-up to Wheaton College in the inaugural NCAA Small College Tournament – now known as Division II.)

“I don’t remember a great deal about a lot of it. That was so long ago,” said Peterson, laughing. “I guess the thing I appreciate most about the game was that my coach (Duane “Gus” Lord), let me play the whole game, which didn’t happen real often. Probably the thing I remember most about the whole year is that we played a Catholic school, Lourdes, from Marinette, Wisconsin. The first game we played them we beat them 110 to 44. The second game we lost 68-66.”

Peterson’s regular-season total of 570 points also exceeded Purol’s U.P. record of 556 posted over 19 games in 1952. His regular-season average, which had climbed to 35.6, topped the previous best of 29.6, posted by Pete Kutches in 1952 for Escanaba St. Joseph. Then Peterson pushed the per-game-average even higher in the postseason.

Seeing more playing time in the playoffs, “Marvelous Mel,” notched more than 30 points in all seven postseason games (exceeding 40 in three of the contests and 50 once), leading Stephenson to the MHSAA Class B championship win against Detroit St. Andrews in sudden-death overtime, 73-71. There he scored the game-tying bucket with 17 seconds remaining in the three-minute extra frame, and then sunk the game winner 26 seconds into sudden death, where the first team to gain a two-point advantage was proclaimed the victor. That 1956 season saw three of the four basketball championships awarded to U.P. teams.

Peterson finished with 849 points on the year – at the time the best single-season performance in MHSAA history. He averaged 36.9 points across 23 contests – currently eighth in the MHSAA record book.

Following graduation, Peterson nearly signed to play at the University of Minnesota, but felt a better fit at Wheaton College, outside Chicago. There, he earned three All-American honors. As a freshman in 1957, he led Wheaton to victory in that first NCAA Small College Tournament championship game against Wesleyan, earning Most Outstanding Player honors along the way. Today, he remains Wheaton’s all-time leader in career points, points per game, field goals made and career rebounds, all accomplished “without the benefit of a 3-point line, which had yet to be implemented.”

Peterson, who helped the USA team win gold at the 1963 Pan American Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, played two games for Baltimore in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before a heart condition sidetracked his career. Once the issue was repaired, he returned to play 134 games over three seasons in the American Basketball Association, earning an ABA league championship with the Oakland Oaks in 1969. In 2019, he was inducted into the Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame.

The High-Scoring Sixties

Roger Roell, a senior at Channing, topped Peterson’s U.P. single game record with a 67-point performance in early January 1960 by dropping 31 field goals and five free throws in a 105-55 win over Michigamme.

Just over seven weeks later, Jim Manning scored 69 for Trout Creek against Amasa in another lopsided affair, 140-47 (then, a U.P. record for highest team score. The team’s 44 points in the fourth quarter was also a U.P. mark at the time. Trout Creek’s coach, Bruce Warren began substituting in the second quarter).

Manning, a junior, finished the 1959-60 season as the first player in U.P. history to exceed 600 points in one regular season, totaling 608 over 18 games. He would later pitch in the Major Leagues. 

Roell finished second with 569 points in 18 regular-season contests. Third on the regular-season scoring list was another junior, Erwin Scholtz of Hermansville, who tallied 505 across 18 games. 

As a senior, the 6-foot-5 Scholtz would post 71 points against Channing, a new benchmark for points in a game in the Upper Peninsula.

Or was it?

The Master’s Thesis

Perhaps because of the media coverage of Scholtz’s accomplishment, in 1962 the Crystal Falls Diamond Drill ran an article detailing the recently unearthed exploits of Ed Burling some 50 years prior. Richard Mettlach, football and baseball coach at Crystal Falls, had uncovered the Burling story.

Mettlach, “in the process of preparing a history of local high school sports which he submitted as a part of the preparation for his master’s degree … discovered that the newspaper records of the early years of high school basketball tell of a match between Iron River and Crystal Falls (played during the 1910-11 season).”

Crystal Falls had downed Iron River, 107-27, according to Mettlach’s research, and Burling had scored all but 10 of Crystal Falls’ points.

“Basketball was different in those days,” said Burling when interviewed by the Diamond Drill in January 1962. Then 68 years old and working as the postmaster in Crystal Falls, he recalled, “when one man was hitting the basket well, the rest of the team fed him the ball and let him shoot. I couldn’t miss that night.”

According to the article, “Burling said as he recalled the game, he made 98 points that night. It appears that 97, however, reportedly verified in two newspaper accounts of the game, will have to be the figure used in the record book.”

Burling recalled that the majority of his shots were from in front of the basket and that rules of the day allowed the top shooter on the team to attempt the free throws.

“The 97 point scoring record would probably have never been uncovered if it had not been for Mettlach’s research,” added the Diamond Drill.

Three more U.P. additions

In 1966, Bob Gale of Trout Creek scored 60 against Mercer, Wisconsin. Gale would later play at Michigan State.

Houghton’s Lange scored his 60 as the Gremlins walloped Painsedale Jeffers, 134-62, on January 23, 1970. One week later, Larry Laitala dropped 65 as Champion crushed Felch, 114-71.

“We had a very good team that year. We had a lot of wings and normally, I wouldn’t play the whole game. My coach was Dominic Jacobetti (who played at Negaunee St. Paul, then Northern Michigan University) and he was a pretty prolific scorer in the U.P. It was one of those nights where the rim was real big,” recalled Laitala, chuckling.

Laitala finished second to Lange in regular-season scoring, 557 to 523, with each athlete playing 17 games.

“Houghton is possibly the best team in any class in the Upper Peninsula,” wrote Hal Schram in the Detroit Free Press, who predicted an MHSAA state title for the team noting that many felt Lange was the top player north of the bridge. The Gremlins, at 17-0, finished as the top-ranked team in Class C in the weekly press polls assembled by the Free Press, The Associated Press and United Press International.

But the season ended earlier than expected for both teams. Houghton fell to St. Ignace in a Regional Semifinal.

“We were beat by our archrival, Republic (61-55) in the first game of the (Class D) Districts, which was kind of an upset,” added Laitala.

Prior to Simonsen’s accomplishment, Lange and Laitala were the most recent players above the Straits of Mackinac to equal or exceed the 60-point minimum established in the MHSAA record book.

The Challenge of Traceability

With modern-day electronic archiving of a number of the state’s newspapers and the accessibility of newspapers on microfilm, an effort has been made to add dates to single-game records, where once only the season of accomplishment was listed. The work continues.

Today, more than 100 years later, the “two newspaper accounts” used back in the 1960s for verification of Burling’s scoring accomplishment have not resurfaced. Hence, neither the date of the game, nor details from period accounts are available for study. That, combined with knowledge that basketball games from the time were usually low-scoring affairs, means doubt is still cast on the mark.

After investigation, the record was accepted by Crystal Falls historian Malcolm McNeil and U.P. sports archivist, Jim Trethewey, a former sports editor of the Marquette Mining Journal who travelled to Crystal Falls to interview Burling. MHSAA historian Dick Kishpaugh ultimately added the performance to the state record book. Questions about the legitimacy of Burling’s total began almost immediately and have resurfaced every 10 years or so. Todd Schulz, a former sports columnist at the Lansing State Journal, wrote extensively on the chase in 2012.

One of the individuals still working to help solve the mystery is Al Anderson of Crystal Falls.

The Diamond Drill was a weekly paper during Burling’s high school days, and newspapers of the time generally didn’t separate prep sporting news into sections. When reported upon, accounts of high school games were usually included in a ‘School Notes’ column.

The season was, without question, a success. “Winning eight out of ten games played, and having three challenges refused, the local basket ball team lay claim to the U.P. championship for the season of 1910-11,” stated the Diamond Drill in the March 25, 1911 edition. 

Still, reports uncovered from the period publication continue to cast doubt on the plausibility of the feat occurring in a high school game. “… More basket ball and less indoor foot ball next time will look better to the audience,” noted the newspaper about a 17-10 victory over Niagara, Wis., in mid-December 1910.

“The basket ball game last night resulted in a dispute near the end of the last half with the score 13 to 12 in favor of Crystal Falls. Iron Mountain disputed a decision by the referee and withdrew from the floor,” was the account in the Feb. 18, 1911 edition of the paper.

“There’s an article that was cut out of the physical copy of the December 10, 1910 Diamond Drill,” reports Anderson, who’s been seeking confirmation in fits and starts for nearly a decade. “It looks like it could be the ‘School Notes.’ portion.  It’s missing on microfiche copies as well. Perhaps that’s it.”

So the chase to verify continues.

2019-20 season brings sudden burst

Sophomore phenom Emoni Bates of Ypsilanti Lincoln is the latest prep player to etch his name in the MHSAA record book for scoring 63 points. He accomplished the feat in a 108-102 double-overtime win against Chelsea two weeks after Simonsen’s accomplishment. Statewide, that means 34 players have now scored 60 or more points in a game – 30 boys (10 in the U.P. and 20 in Lower Michigan) and four girls (one in the U.P and three in the Lower Peninsula).

Will the list be reduced by one? Time and additional research will tell.

Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.

PHOTOS: (Top) Brad Simonsen celebrates becoming Houghton's all-time leading scorer Wednesday. (2) Stephenson's Mel Peterson. (3) Trout Creek's Jim Manning. (4) Houghton's Gary Lange. (5) Trout Creek's Bob Gale. (Top photo courtesy of Houghton Daily Mining Gazette. Peterson photo courtesy of Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame. Houghton and Trout Creek photos courtesy of those schools' yearbook departments.)