Breslin Bound: Boys Report Post-Break
January 3, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This week, Michigan’s high school boys basketball teams will begin focusing most of their energies on winning league championships and doing their best against competition closest to home.
But before we dive in to that always-intense chapter of each season, our Breslin Bound report – powered by MI Student Aid – reviews the best from two weeks of holiday break, including matchups of some expected MHSAA title contenders in Class A and B.
Week in Review
The countdown of holiday break's five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit U-D Jesuit 69, Macomb Dakota 61 – Dakota was missing a standout and lost another near the end of this one, but regardless this rematch of last season’s Class A Semifinal finished with the Cubs on top while sandwiched between their overtime losses to Flint Beecher and Indianapolis Lawrence North (Ind.).
2. North Farmington 53, Detroit Henry Ford 49 – The Raiders bounced back from three losses to open this season, including a 65-58 defeat to Farmington, to beat Dearborn Divine Child and then the Class B reigning champ at the Motor City Roundball Classic.
3. McBain 73, Boyne City 62 – In a matchup of expected Class C contenders from the northern Lower Peninsula, McBain emerged with a fourth double-digit win in four tries this winter while handing Boyne City its first loss.
4. Wyoming Godwin Heights 69, Wayland 67 – They are in different Districts this season after meeting in the first round a year ago, and both could emerge as Class B contenders after meeting in this Cornerstone Invitational title game.
5. Frankfort 72, Traverse City St. Francis 65 – The Panthers avenged one of only two regular-season losses from last season, when they fell to St. Francis 69-68.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Detroit East English (5-0) – The Bulldogs may have graduated a Mr. Basketball finalist off last season’s 17-win team, but they likely have another and could finish even better this winter with wins so far over Flint Beecher, Macomb Dakota and most recently Wayne Memorial 92-77.
Battle Creek Central (5-1) – That lone loss came early to Kalamazoo Central, and Battle Creek Central has stormed back with the latest a sweep at its holiday tournament, 60-50 over Otsego and 61-46 over Muskegon Heights Academy.
CLASS B
St. Clair (5-0) – The Saints, winners of 12 and 14 games, respectively, over the last two seasons, downed St. Clair Shores Lakeview 54-53 in overtime and then host Clinton Township Chippewa Valley 58-57 at the latter’s holiday tournament to finish off 2016.
Wyoming Lee (5-0) – A 3-17 finisher just last season, Lee is in the midst of a sizable turnaround highlighted over the break by wins over Gobles (in overtime) and host Allegan to win the Tigers’ holiday tournament.
CLASS C
Harbor Springs (3-0) – After also going only 3-17 a year ago, Harbor Springs has equaled that win total while handing the only losses this season to Bellaire (40-37) and Pickford (67-65).
Michigan Center (6-0) – The Cardinals will embark next on at least matching last season’s shared title in the Cascades Conference, and will do so after dominating Williamston’s holiday event with wins over Dansville (66-47) and Class A DeWitt (86-75).
CLASS D
Bark River-Harris (4-0) – Eventually, the Broncos will get to test themselves against Powers North Central (Jan. 27) in the Skyline Central Conference West. So far, they look good to top last season’s 10-11 finish.
Frankfort (3-0) – Expectations are high as always coming off a second straight Northwest Conference title and fourth straight season with 20 or more wins – and so far so good; see note above on avenging last season’s loss to Traverse City St. Francis.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Clarkston (5-0) at Flint Carman-Ainsworth (6-0) – The Wolves have earned a reputation as Class A contender with another strong start, and Carman-Ainsworth could cement that status as well with a win.
Tuesday – Maple City Glen Lake (3-0) at Elk Rapids (5-0) – In addition to both being undefeated this week, Glen Lake beat Elk Rapids twice last season including in the District.
Friday – Beaverton (4-1) at Clare (3-1) – Although both have a loss, both also are undefeated in early Jack Pine Conference play; Beaverton’s only defeat was in its last game, to Class A Midland Dow by two.
Friday – Detroit U-D Jesuit (4-2) at Romulus (2-1) – Another week, another impressive foe lined up for reigning Class A champion Jesuit; Romulus’ lone loss was by six to Clarkston.
Friday – Holt (3-2) at Okemos (3-1) – This longtime rivalry means something again, as both are seeking to rise in a Capital Area Activities Conference Blue that also features East Lansing, Lansing Everett and Jackson.
PHOTO: Muskegon pushes the ball upcourt during a 68-45 win over East Kentwood during the Muskegon Hall of Fame Classic on Dec. 28 at Reeths-Puffer High School. (Photo by Tim Reilly.)
In Semifinal Return, Schoolcraft Dethrones Reigning Champ to Take Next Step
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 24, 2022
EAST LANSING – There are many teams around the state that probably figured no recipe existed for dominating Flint Beecher in a boys basketball game.
They likely were taking notes Thursday while watching what Schoolcraft accomplished in the second Division 3 Semifinal at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
Playing just about flawlessly on offense and defense, Schoolcraft advanced to its first Finals championship game since winning the Class C title in 2011 with a stunning 55-39 win over the reigning Division 3 champion.
“Five weeks ago, we just kind of overhauled our offense,” Schoolcraft coach Randy Small said. “We tried to play more inside-out and have more post-up action than what we had previously. I think that has helped us out overall offensively. It’s just given us more flow.”
It was a return trip to the Semifinals for the Golden Eagles, who fell 54-50 in overtime to Iron Mountain last year at Breslin.
The simplest explanation for what happened this time is that Schoolcraft (24-2) made its shots throughout – with an especially notable showing from 3-point range – while Beecher (22-3) did not find similar success.
Schoolcraft shot 9 of 12 from 3-point range and made 17 of 27 shots from the field overall, while Beecher made 5 of 19 shots from 3-point range and 15 of 46 overall.
But going a bit deeper, much of the credit for Schoolcraft’s shooting has to go to the way it handled any pressure Beecher threw at it, effectively creating a halfcourt game and patiently moving the ball on offense for good shots.
Schoolcraft turned the ball over a reasonable 12 times and rarely let Beecher speed the game up.
“I think the whole team handled it pretty well,” senior Ty Rykse said of Beecher’s pressure. “We knew they were going to pressure. The past couple of days, we had just been stressing to handle the ball pressure and I think we did.”
Defensively, Schoolcraft used its height advantage inside, employing a zone defense to pack in Beecher and force the Buccaneers to win from the perimeter.
“I just thought we did a pretty good job of controlling the paint and keeping them out of the paint,” Small said. “We had to give up some threes because they are quicker than we are. We didn’t want to spread ourselves too thin. I thought overall, we did a pretty good job of that.”
Schoolcraft made five of its first six shots from 3-point range in the first half and took a 28-17 lead into halftime.
The third quarter saw Schoolcraft continue to make it a halfcourt contest and shoot well from the outside. Schoolcraft grew its lead to 17 points at 41-24 with 55 seconds remaining in the third following a 3-pointer by junior Eli DeVisser.
A Beecher run never materialized, and the lead increased to 49-27 with 5:36 remaining and was never threatened the rest of the game.
“We had shots we missed; they had shots they made,” said first-year Beecher coach Marquise Gray. “I think we took some good, quality shots. You’ve got to give them credit.”
Sophomore Shane Rykse scored 21 points, senior Tyler DeGroote scored 13 and Ty Rykse added 12 points for Schoolcraft.
Senior Carmelo Harris scored 15 points and junior Robert Lee added 10 for Beecher.
PHOTOS (Top) Schoolcraft celebrates its Semifinal win Thursday afternoon at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Golden Eagles’ Tyler DeGroote (24) and Beecher’s Bryce Carr (32) reach for a loose ball. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)