Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 7
January 27, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan’s high school boys basketball teams are this week reaching the regular-season’s midpoint and the heart of league play from the Ohio and Indiana borders to the top tip of the Upper Peninsula.
You’ll see that move toward emphasizing conference play reflected in much of this week’s Breslin Bound report – although it’s tough to not be most excited about another showcase coming up this weekend that will match up championship contenders from two of the MHSAA’s four divisions.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Flint Beecher 70, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 61 – The Bucs moved up to No. 2 in Division 3 MPR with a major win over the No. 2 team in Division 2 at the Horatio Williams Freedom Classic.
2. Clarkston 55, Detroit King 41 – The Wolves also made Freedom Classic headlines with arguably their best of a solid set of wins this winter.
3. Gaylord St. Mary 59, Pellston 54 – The Snowbirds pushed back into the Ski Valley Conference mix by handing the first loss this season to Pellston.
4. Grand Blanc 80, Kalamazoo Central 73 – The Bobcats are now 9-3 against one of the toughest schedules in the state, and followed up this Friday win with another seven-point over Ferndale on Saturday.
5. Traverse City West 47, Cadillac 46 – The Titans are only 5-6 overall but could make a move in the Big North Conference after handing co-leader Cadillac its first loss this season.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Hamtramck (9-2) The Cosmos have flown a bit under the radar, but sit second in the Michigan Metro Athletic Conference Blue with an opportunity to make a loud statement. Hamtramck fell to league leader River Rouge 54-49 on Jan. 10, but a win in the rematch Tuesday arguably would be one of the program’s best in some time. The Cosmos’ only other defeat this season came to Warren De La Salle Collegiate, 65-62 in overtime Dec. 20.
Mount Pleasant (10-0) Reigning Saginaw Valley League Red champion Mount Pleasant is off to another fantastic start after winning its first 18 games last season. A 66-58 win over SVL Blue co-leader Flint Carman-Ainsworth a week ago was particularly impressive, even as the only single-digit victory surrounded by much larger margins in the Oilers’ other nine games.
DIVISION 2
Croswell-Lexington (10-1) A three point December loss to 9-1 Flint Southwestern is all that has kept Croswell-Lexington from perfection this winter – and only a few others have come close to breaking up the success. The Pioneers have nine double-digit wins and Friday against Almont can finish an unbeaten first half in the Blue Water Area Conference.
Fremont (10-0) The Packers’ 102 points last week against Howard City Tri County likely caught even casual fans’ attentions. But it was just a highlight from a greater body of work that is setting Fremont up for a run at a third straight Central State Activities Association Gold title. The Packers are perfect through the first run of the league schedule, thanks in part to a three-point win over Newaygo and four-pointer over Grant. Fremont also downed Lakes 8 Activities Conference co-leader Ludington.
DIVISION 3
Hanover-Horton (7-1) The Comets face Napoleon on Wednesday for first place in the Cascades Conference as they continue to pursue a third-straight league championship. All seven wins so far have been by 10 points or more, and the one defeat looks pretty good too – 68-66 to Division 1 one-loss Grand Rapids Union. A Feb. 10 matchup with Ypsilanti Arbor Prep could be telling of the team’s possibilities come tournament time.
Ravenna (10-0) The Bulldogs have climbed from six to 11 to 15 wins, respectively, over the last three seasons, and seem likely to continue the rise after a flawless first half. Ravenna leads the West Michigan Conference by a game over Muskegon Oakridge, which gave the Bulldogs their closest game so far – a six-point battle Jan. 16.
DIVISION 4
Alanson (8-1) Alanson improved from five wins in 2017-18 to 10 last season and could equal that latter total before the end of January. The Vikings are undefeated since falling to Bellaire 61-54 in their season opener, and they’ve hung tough in tight times with three wins by three points or fewer. That success has sent Alanson into a tie for first place in the Northern Lakes Conference with Ellsworth, which hosts the Vikings on Friday.
Hillsdale Academy (8-1) After playing in the 2018 Class D Semifinals but falling back to 9-13 last season, the Colts rank No. 5 in Division 4 MPR and sit tied for first in the Southern Central Athletic Association East despite losing Dec. 19 to co-leader Camden-Frontier. Hillsdale Academy will get another chance at C-F on Feb. 11 and also can boast a win over SCAA West co-leader Bellevue.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Hudsonville (9-0) at Holland West Ottawa (8-2) – The reigning Ottawa-Kent Conference Red champion Eagles will try to hold off second-place West Ottawa in the first of their two meetings.
Tuesday – Iron Mountain (9-0) at Negaunee (10-0) – The Mountaineers took three wins from the Miners last season, outpacing them to win the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Iron and then eliminating Negaunee in a Regional Semifinal.
Friday – Oscoda (9-0) at Mio (8-1) – The two top teams in the North Star League Big Dipper again, Mio is just behind reigning champion Oscoda after the Owls won the first matchup Dec. 12.
Friday – Stevensville Lakeshore (9-0) at Portage Central (8-0) – This matchup for first place winds up the first half of the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West schedule.
Saturday – Ypsilanti Lincoln (7-1) vs. Benton Harbor (9-1) at Grand Rapids City – The headlining matchup of the Redhawk Showcase Classic might be one of the most entertaining regular-season games of this entire season.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning 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. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Alma improved to 7-3 last week with wins over Shepherd and Frankenmuth. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Grand Blanc Earns Opportunity for Another Grand Breslin Finish
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 25, 2022
EAST LANSING – Grand Blanc started off this season 1-3, which made the prospect of repeating as Division 1 champion seem potentially short of reality.
And no one would have blamed the Bobcats if they had a down year.
But veteran coach Mike Thomas rallied his young team – which starts all underclassmen and with just one senior in the regular rotation – and made a couple of subtle adjustments, and the group proceeded to rattle off 20 wins over its next 22 games, including a convincing 61-40 victory over Belleville on Friday in the second Division 1 Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
“Early on, we were trying to figure out ourselves,” said Thomas, in his fifth year as Grand Blanc’s coach. “How are we going to win? How are we going to score?”
Thomas said the big change occurred when 6-foot-3 junior Tae Boyd started playing inside, giving the Bobcats a legitimate interior threat to complement the dynamic junior point guard duo of RJ Taylor and Amont’e Allen-Johnson.
That trio was all in double figures Friday, putting Grand Blanc (21-5) in position to win a second-straight title at 12:15 p.m. Saturday against Warren De La Salle Collegiate (19-7).
The Bobcats, whose only Finals appearance before last year was a Class B runner-up finish 60 years ago (in 1952), defeated Ann Arbor Huron 45-36 in last year’s championship game. Boyd said the experience of playing two games at the Breslin last year made a huge difference Friday.
“Playing here last year gave us a boost of confidence that we can come here and make history and go back-to-back,” said Boyd, who scored 13 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
The Bobcats seized control early, taking a 17-6 lead after the first quarter and extending it to 30-15 by halftime, thanks to a buzzer-beater by reserve Bryce O’Mara.
Thomas said the key to the win was defense, which bore out in the final statistics. Grand Blanc shot 46 percent from the floor for the game, compared to 31 percent for Belleville. The Bobcats also forced 15 turnovers, which led to a 15-4 edge in points off turnovers.
He gave credit for setting the defensive tone to the guard duo of Taylor (salt) and Allen-Johnson (pepper).
“I call them salt and pepper because they will shake you up,” said Thomas, whose team won the Saginaw Valley League title. “I think they are the two best point guards in the state. They know exactly what we want to do and exactly how to run it. They are our leaders.”
Allen-Johnson finished with a game-high 15 points, along with six rebounds and three steals. Taylor, who scored 10 points with five rebounds and a team-high four assists, said playing regular-season games in big gyms and hostile environments prepared the team for Friday.
“We played in Detroit gyms, we played in tough Flint gyms, we played in a tournament in Grand Rapids,” said Taylor, a 6-0 sharpshooter and returning first-team all-stater. “An environment like this feels normal for us.”
Belleville, which was seeking its first championship game appearance since losing in the Class A Final in 1998, was never able to get within 15 points in the second half.
“It could have been legs, it could be nerves – it was our first time playing here,” said ninth-year Belleville coach Adam Trumpour, who guided his team to the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East title. “It just wasn’t our night at all on the offensive end.”
The Tigers had no players reach double figures in scoring.
Bryce Radtka, a 6-8 senior, scored nine points with eight rebounds for the Tigers, while senior guard Da’Jon Johnson also scored nine points with four assists.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Blanc's Robert Williams (0) makes his move into the lane as Belleville's Bryce Radtka defends. (Middle) Grand Blanc's Donnie Huddleston (35) gets a hand up on a jumpshot. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)