Breslin Bound: Boys Report Post-Break
January 7, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first full week of January means changing lanes for the high school boys basketball season, with many of the mega nonleague matchups in the rear-view mirror and league championship chases up ahead.
But first we have a few weeks of catching up to do after another highlight-filled holiday break showed us a few more contenders to keep an eye on as we settle into the local portion of our annual winter hoops run.
Breslin Bound is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or fill in scores we’re missing, email me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Canton 64, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 57 – The Winter Jam at Lawrence Tech was filled with great matchups, but Canton’s win over the reigning Class B runner-up – GRCC’s lone defeat – was the most impressive.
2. Benton Harbor 79, Saginaw 70 – These two are MHSAA championship contenders most seasons, and the Tigers moved to 10-0 with this win at Grand Blanc’s GottaGetIt Classic as they continue to build on last year’s Class B title.
3. Flint Beecher 57, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 50 – The Division 3 Bucs are up to 8-0 this winter after winning a rare matchup with this one of their Division 1 neighbors.
4. Detroit Martin Luther King 45, Kalamazoo Central 43 – The Crusaders came up with arguably their best win of a great start by handing the Maroon Giants their lone defeat during Friday’s Muskegon Classic.
5. Muskegon 55, East Kentwood 53 – The Big Reds are 3-2 while playing another tough early slate, and this win over the Falcons at the Hall of Fame Classic has been the highlight.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (7-1) – The Rockets are climbing after finishing 10-12 and tying for fifth in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black a year ago and winning just three games total in 2016-17. Annual league favorite Muskegon awaits, of course. But Reeths-Puffer has looked up to the task so far with wins over Ludington and Holland West Ottawa and the only defeat by five Dec. 7 to one-loss Zeeland West.
• Saginaw Heritage (5-1) – Since opening with a loss to still-undefeated Sanford Meridian, the Hawks also are perfect – and compared to a 3-4 start last season. They started the new year with a 64-53 win over Frankenmuth as they seek to build on last season’s 14-7 finish.
DIVISION 2
• Flat Rock (7-1) – Just 6-15 two seasons ago, Flat Rock improved to 18-6 and second in the Huron League last winter and last week edged Grosse Ile 42-40 after splitting with the Red Devils in 2017-18. Flat Rock’s only loss this season came by four Dec. 11 to Temperance Bedford. On Friday, the Rams get the first of two opportunities against reigning league champ Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central after being swept by the Falcons last season.
• Holland Christian (6-0) – The Maroons jumped 10 wins last season to finish 14-8 and second in the O-K Green, and might be starting on another leap. Holland Christian handed Maple City Glen Lake its only loss this season, 48-44 on Dec. 28 at the Lakeshore Cup at Grand Haven, and then downed Petoskey 66-59 the next day. Up next is reigning O-K Green champ Hudsonville Unity Christian, which defeated the Maroons three times last season.
DIVISION 3
• Kalamazoo Hackett (6-1) – The Irish bounced back from their only loss, to Division 1 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, by handing Schoolcraft a 72-56 defeat Dec. 18. That win has Hackett just ahead of Schoolcraft in first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley standings after the Irish finished second to Kalamazoo Christian (and 18-4 overall) a year ago.
• North Muskegon (7-0) – The Norsemen’s encore to last winter’s 20-4 finish has been perfect, including handing Ravenna the latter’s only defeat, 61-51 on Dec. 21. That victory has North Muskegon one win ahead of the Bulldogs in the West Michigan Conference, and no other opponent has come closer than 14 points.
DIVISION 4
• Athens (8-0) – After going 16-5 last season, Athens has big games this week against Jackson Christian and Battle Creek St. Philip (both 5-3) as it goes for a perfect first half. Union City gave the Indians their closest game Dec. 20, an eight-point win, and Athens came up big in December against Hillsdale Academy – which, although struggling, was a Class D semifinalist a year ago.
• Camden-Frontier (9-0) – The Redskins have the early lead in the Southern Central Athletic Association East after finishing second to Hillsdale Academy last winter, and doubled up the Colts in their Dec. 13 meeting. Camden-Frontier also repeated as the Pat Paterson Holiday Tournament champion with double-digit wins over Hillsdale and Reading to get halfway to besting last year’s 17 wins.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Novi (3-3) at Canton (5-1) – Novi beat Canton by five in last season’s Kensington Lakes Activities Association semifinals and then by two when they met again in a District Semifinal; they were the Chiefs’ only defeats of the season.
Tuesday – Macomb Dakota (6-1) at Sterling Heights Stevenson (6-1) – These two are tied for first in the Macomb Area Conference Red after Dakota edged Stevenson for the title by a win a year ago.
Thursday – Bellevue (6-0) at Camden-Frontier (9-0) – Both lead or are tied for the lead in their respective divisions of the SCAA, plus might end up among the top-ranked in all of Division 4.
Friday – Frankenmuth (4-3) at Bridgeport (7-0) – The same may not end up true this winter, but a year ago Bridgeport’s sweep of Frankenmuth gave the Bearcats the Tri-Valley Conference East title ahead of the runner-up Eagles.
Saturday – Grand Blanc (7-2) at Kalamazoo Central (5-1) – Coming off a key league matchup with Davison on Friday, Grand Blanc heads west to see another statewide Division 1 contender in Central.
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: Flint Beecher’s Earnest Sanders works for post position during his team’s win over Flint Carman-Ainsworth on Dec. 27. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)
Sweet-Shooting Briggs, Talented Teammates have Muskegon Dreaming Big Again
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
January 10, 2023
Jordan Briggs put on another shooting clinic Saturday night in front of a packed house at Muskegon’s historic Redmond-Potter Gymnasium, repeatedly elevating and hitting 3-pointers and mid-range jumpers, making it look effortless.
While the Muskegon senior has certainly been blessed with plenty of God-given ability, there is so much more to his story.
To fully understand Briggs’ emergence as one of the state’s best pure shooters, you had to be in the gym this summer when there was no crowd, no opposing team, no coaches and no media – just Briggs and the school’s shooting machine.
The only sounds on those days were the squeaks of his shoes echoing off the walls, followed up repeatedly by the swish of a leather ball through nylon. Five-hundred made shots every day. No exceptions. No excuses.
“I love to shoot,” said Briggs, a 6-foot-1 senior who scored a team-high 24 points Saturday to keep Muskegon undefeated with a 62-51 victory over Ferndale in the finale of the three-game Muskegon Basketball Showcase.
“I never get bored, and I could do it all day. That work I’ve put in gives me and my coaches confidence to take those shots in games. I pretty much have the green light.”
He’s not kidding.
Late in the first half Saturday, Briggs had the ball on a 2-on-1 fastbreak when he suddenly pulled up and fired a 3-pointer, which just rimmed out. Muskegon coach Keith Guy, who loves his team to constantly attack the rim, clapped his approval.
“Jordan is a pure shooter,” explained Guy, whose team is 5-0 and 1-0 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green. “But he’s also crafty with the basketball. He can get other guys involved and he’s got it on a string, so that’s a nightmare for other teams.
“A lot of great shooters can’t hurt you off the dribble, but he can do both.”
Muskegon’s win Saturday was the 400th career victory for Guy as a head coach – with 191 in nine years at Muskegon Heights and 209 wins in 11 years at Muskegon.
Guy, whose tenure at Muskegon is highlighted by a Class A title in 2014 and two Mr. Basketball winners in DeShaun Thrower (2014) and Deyonta Davis (2015), has another team with the makings of a championship run and another Mr. Basketball candidate in Briggs.
Muskegon features two floor general-type point guards in senior David Day III and junior M’Khi Guy, along with a loaded front court with seven players standing 6-4 or taller, led by starting juniors Terrance Davis (6-6) and Stanley Cunningham (6-5).
A pure shooter like Briggs – a three-year starter who has committed to Wayne State – is something that Guy hasn’t always had, and might be what makes the difference in March.
Briggs had his best game of the season back on Dec. 28 at the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame Classic at Reeths-Puffer High School. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was there to get a close look at recruiting target Durral Brooks of Grand Rapids Catholic Central, but it was Briggs who stole the show.
Briggs scored a game-high 35 points, including the winning bucket in overtime in an 81-79 victory.
“I just happened to catch fire that night,” said Briggs, who is a 4.0-GPA student and a National Honor Society member. “That was a great win for us and we’re rolling to start the season, which is great. But we want to keep it going and play our best basketball in March, when it really counts.”
In the Big Reds’ first league game Friday night at cross-town rival Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, Briggs got in foul trouble and didn’t score in the first half. He made amends by scoring his team’s first 12 points of the second half (on four 3-pointers), as Muskegon pulled away for a 51-26 victory.
He followed that up with his 24-point performance against Ferndale and is now averaging 24 points, six rebounds and five assists per game.
Guy hopes that, led by Briggs, this year’s team is ready for a long run – literally.
Guy made all of his varsity players that were not on the football team run cross country this fall, and not just for conditioning reasons.
“It put them out of their comfort zones, which is a good thing,” explained Guy, who is also Muskegon’s athletic director. “Take Jordan, for example. Basketball is comfortable for him. I wanted to put him in situations that weren’t as comfortable for him so that he would learn how to adapt and handle being uncomfortable a little better.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon’s Jordan Briggs (2) pulls up for a shot at the 3-point arc during his team’s win Saturday over Ferndale. (Middle) Briggs makes his move toward the basket. (Photos by Tim Reilly.)