Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 1
December 12, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The storm that rolled through the state Saturday and Sunday seemed to say welcome to winter. But a snow day can’t get in the way of introducing our revamped “Breslin Bound” report, powered by MI Student Aid.
Over the last few seasons, we’ve weekly posted looks at teams to watch in each class with an eye on the end-of-season MHSAA Tournament. We’re changing things up and expanding a little too to make sure you know about all of the most significant scores from the week that was, plus what games coming up are most likely to have our attention.
Results and schedules are based on what’s published for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or missing scores, please contact me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Benton Harbor 57, Dowagiac 36 – Benton Harbor finished last season 15-6 but with three losses over its final four games; with this win, the Tigers avenged that final defeat, a 68-60 loss to Dowagiac.
2. Detroit East English 84, Flint Beecher 74 – Coming off a 17-5 record and league title last winter, East English picked right back up with a solid win over the reigning Class C champion.
3. Belleville 54, Canton 31 – The Tigers are off to a 2-0 start after winning 19 a year ago, and dropped Canton to 0-2 after the Chiefs were undefeated last regular season.
4. North Muskegon 44, Muskegon Oakridge 29 – The Norsemen finished fourth in the West Michigan Conference last season due in part to 14 and 16-point losses to Oakridge, which ended 16-6 overall.
5. Romulus 70, Chicago Bogan (Ill.) 67 – For a Romulus team coming off a 12-8 finish, beating a frequent Illinois contender was a great way to start climbing back to elite.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Ann Arbor Pioneer (2-0) – The Pioneers are looking to build on last season’s District title, and avenged one of their five losses from last winter by downing Southfield Christian 66-62 in their opener.
Coldwater (2-0) – Coming off 11-10 a year ago, the Cardinals might be in line for a jump after opening with two close wins, including 56-54 over reigning Interstate 8 Athletic Conference champion Marshall.
CLASS B
Coopersville (2-0) – Lost among some of the other Grand Rapids-area powers, Coopersville has won at least 15 games the last two seasons, and opened with another strong step downing Kent City 54-47 and East Grand Rapids 65-51; Kent City won its league last season.
River Rouge (2-0) – A Class B quarterfinalist last season, Rouge opened with a couple of nice wins over West Bloomfield (57-52) and Detroit Renaissance (45-36), which went a combined 30-14 last winter.
CLASS C
Manton (2-0) – The Rangers are coming off a 17-5 season that started with losses to Class A Traverse City West and Petoskey; Manton opened this season beating West 76-72 and Petoskey 52-48, so it should be lined up well to chase McBain (below) again in the Highland Conference.
McBain (2-0) – A Class C semifinalist last season that opened with 26 straight wins (including the only two losses Manton received in league play), the Ramblers surged out of the gate again beating Benzie Central 58-35 and Traverse City St. Francis – 16-8 last winter – 73-39.
CLASS D
Martin (2-0) – The reigning Southwestern Athletic Conference Central champion seems primed for a repeat run after opening with a 66-63 win over Saugatuck, last year’s SAC Lakeshore runner-up (and 16-5 overall).
Powers North Central (2-0) – Let’s get the start to “Jets Watch” out of the way, right away; North Central’s wins last week over Stephenson (87-19) and Rapid River (92-39) pushed their winning streak to 57 straight, going back to Dec. 8, 2014, and they sit eight short of tying Chassell’s record from 1956-58.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Thursday: Powers North Central (2-0) at Carney-Nadeau (2-0) – The Wolves get next shot at breaking North Central’s winning streak; they finished 14-8 last season with two defeats to the Jets.
Thursday: Frankenmuth (0-0) at Millington (1-0) – The football rivalry carries over to basketball, with the Cardinals (14-10 last season) looking to get an early edge on the reigning Tri-Valley Conference East co-champion.
Friday: Hudsonville Unity Christian (2-0) at Hudsonville (0-2) – Both made Quarterfinals last season, Unity in Class B and Hudsonville in Class A, with the Eagles claiming their early-season matchup by nine points.
Friday: East Lansing (2-0) at Lansing Everett (1-0) – East Lansing won the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue last season, but Everett reached the Class A Semifinals by handing the Trojans their first and only loss in a Regional Final.
Friday: Wyoming Godwin Heights (1-0) at Lowell (0-0) – These were two of the best from the Grand Rapids area last season as both won District titles, Lowell in Class A and Godwin Heights in Class B.
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 (in red) downed Corunna 60-19 in posting a 2-1 record during the first week of this season. (Click for more from Varsity Monthly.)
McKenney Grows Legend in Leading St. Mary's to 1st Title since 2000
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 16, 2024
EAST LANSING — At one point early in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Boys Basketball Division 1 Final, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s junior Trey McKenney had scored as many points as North Farmington had as a team.
That pretty much tells the story of who the man of the day — and arguably the season — was for 2023-24.
McKenney showed why he is one of the most highly-regarded juniors in the entire country, finishing with 32 points to lead St. Mary’s to a 63-52 win over North Farmington and its first Finals title in Division 1 or Class A, the predecessor division for the state’s largest schools.
“We’ve been going at it every day,” McKenney said. “Just being consistent. I don’t think it’s really sunk in, winning a state championship. It’s kind of crazy.”
McKenney finished 8 of 11 from the field overall and made all 14 of his free-throw attempts. He added 10 rebounds.
After the game, North Farmington head coach Todd Negoshian could only ask, “Can he graduate early?”
“He’s tough. He does a lot of things. He’s got the NBA style game right now with floaters and fadeaways. He’s so strong,” Negoshian added.
St. Mary’s (27-1) won its fifth Finals title and first since earning the Class B crown in 2000.
Ranked No. 1 for most of the year, the Eaglets navigated through that high expectation and all the way to the top of Division 1 after losing in a Semifinal last year.
“We’ve been dreaming about this a long time,” St. Mary’s head coach Todd Covert said. “This is a dream come true. It means everything.”
St. Mary’s was in control throughout, until late in the game when North Farmington made things interesting.
Trailing 46-26 with 6:27 remaining, North Farmington amped up its full-court pressure, created turnovers and did something it struggled to do prior to that point – make shots.
The Raiders cut their deficit to 59-50 with 1:46 remaining after a free throw by senior Landon Williams, making up much of the margin despite leading scorer Tyler Spratt fouling out with 3:27 left when St. Mary’s was up 55-39.
But that was as close as the Raiders could get, as McKenney essentially wrapped up the game by hitting two free throws with 12.9 seconds remaining to give the Eaglets a 63-52 lead.
St. Mary’s made 17 of 18 shots from the free-throw line during the fourth quarter.
“That was the longest fourth quarter of my life,” Covert said. “It seemed like there was seven guys out there. But we weathered the storm, and that is what it’s all about.”
Spratt finished with 17 points, and Williams had 16 to lead the Raiders (24-3).
Saturday was North Farmington’s second championship game appearance after the Raiders faced a similarly elite player in Cassius Winston with Detroit U-D Jesuit in 2016.
“I thought we wore them down a little bit to where they ended up turning the ball over,” Negoshian said. “I thought we struggled to score at times. I think we got it to where we wanted to with them turning it over and keeping us right where we needed to be within striking distance. But we just couldn’t score at times offensively, and I think that was our downfall tonight.”
Trailing 25-19 at halftime, North Farmington cut the St. Mary’s lead to 25-22 with 6:56 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Rob Smith.
But McKenney answered by scoring the next seven points, and then senior Andrew Smith drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Eaglets a 35-22 lead with 3:17 remaining in the third. McKenney then hit a jumper from the baseline to finish off a 12-0 run and push the lead to 15.
PHOTOS (Top) Orchard Lake St. Mary’s coach Todd Covert presents the Division 1 championship trophy to his players Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Eaglets’ Trey McKenney (1) gets to the basket for two points. (Below) St. Mary’s Sharod Barnes (0) gets a shot up with Dylan Smith (13) defending. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)