Breslin Bound: Regional Preview
March 12, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Aside from Detroit Western’s early-week upset of Class A contender East English, the first few days of this season’s District boys basketball tournaments went by mostly as expected.
And then Friday happened.
Brackets were shaken up all over the state during the District championship round – we highlight below five games in particular that popped out most – and a number of Regionals have a much different look than many might have anticipated a week ago.
See below as well for a preview of three Regionals from each Class – powered by MI Student Aid. Host sites are bolded, and matchups shown are for Regional Semifinals. (Click for brackets for every Regional in all four classes.)
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Grand Rapids South Christian 51, Wyoming Godwin Heights 46 – The Sailors won a Class B District Final against a Godwin Heights team that finished 21-2 and had won six straight District titles while making the Breslin Center twice during that time.
2. North Muskegon 37, Kent City 33 – Both were league champions, but Kent City also hadn’t lost a game and finished 21-1 after falling in this Class B District Final.
3. Flint Beecher 62, Flint Hamady 43 – These rivals shared the Genesee Area Conference Red title and Hamady had won the most recent regular-season meeting over the three-time reigning Class C champ.
4. Suttons Bay 45, Frankfort 42 – The Norsemen moved to 11-12 by eliminating a Frankfort team that shared the Northwest Conference championship and was expected to compete for a trip to East Lansing.
5. Flint Carman-Ainsworth 68, Grand Blanc 66 (OT) – The Cavaliers, winners of the Saginaw Valley League, slipped past the Kensington Lakes Activities Association overall champion.
Regionals at a Glance
These could be among our most competitive brackets. Host sites are in bold:
CLASS A
Battle Creek Lakeview
Kalamazoo Central (19-2) vs. East Lansing (20-3), Coldwater (19-3) vs. Okemos (19-4)
Always in the mix, Kalamazoo Central quietly has won 15 straight and is eight points from being undefeated this season. The Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East champion gets East Lansing, which has had an unexpected last few weeks with a coaching change but still features Mr. Basketball finalist Brandon Johns. White the Kalamazoo Central/East Lansing game features two teams that have gotten much of the attention, the night’s second game features two league champions – and Okemos swept the Trojans during the regular season to win the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue. Coldwater has won eight straight and claimed the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference title.
Grandville
Grand Rapids Christian (14-9) vs. Muskegon (19-3), Holland West Ottawa (21-2) vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (16-7)
Muskegon has run off 14 straight wins to reach a familiar sport for the annual contender, and avenged its earliest loss of this season by downing Grand Haven 50-41 in the District Final. The Big Reds next get reigning Class A runner-up Grand Rapids Christian, which went 3-7 during the second half of the regular season but faced a number of top teams and is capable of continuing this run. West Ottawa handed the Eagles one of their early losses and followed with an Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title – a Regional title this week would be a program first. Forest Hills Northern beat one of the teams that beat West Ottawa – East Kentwood – and will be up for the upset task tonight.
Salem
Ann Arbor Skyline (22-0) vs. Howell (14-8), Novi (14-8) vs. White Lake Lakeland (17-5)
Undefeated Skyline continued its perfect run through a competitive District and will play for its second Regional title in five seasons – but with some dangerous potential stoppers coming up. Howell emerged from a 2-6 stretch during the end of the regular season to claim a District title. Novi has been a new team since guard Trendon Hankerson returned from injury, putting together a nine-game winning streak that also include the Kensington Lakes Activities Association tournament title. Lakeland is another team to watch; the Eagles have won nine straight, and not counting two losses to Lakes Valley Conference champ Waterford Mott haven’t fallen to another since Jan. 16.
CLASS B
Coloma
Dowagiac (16-5) vs. Wayland (10-12), Benton Harbor (22-1) vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian (19-4)
Benton Harbor, a semifinalist last season, has been among the handful of favorites expected to challenge reigning champ New Haven. The Tigers’ only loss was Feb. 3 to Class A Hazel Park, 77-70. But Unity Christian is a league champ, from the O-K Green, and has won 19 of its last 21 games. On the other side of the bracket, Wayland obviously is a surprise – but upset Wolverine Conference North champ Otsego (19-2) on the way to winning last week’s District. Dowagiac was the only other team to defeat Otsego this season, and the Wolverine Conference South co-champ surely will be eager for the challenge of avenging a 77-43 loss to Benton Harbor from opening night.
Gaylord (Semifinals at Clare/Petoskey)
Alma (18-5) vs. Standish-Sterling (13-9) at Clare, Ludington (17-6) vs. Boyne City (17-6) at Petoskey
Tonight’s Semifinal at Clare features familiar foes: Alma shared the Tri-Valley Conference Central title and beat Standish-Sterling by 11 in their first meeting before losing the second by a point. Standish-Sterling finished sixth in the league but has won nine of its last 12. At Petoskey, reigning Class B runner-up Ludington has won eight of its last nine games and claimed the Lakes 8 Conference title. Boyne City provides an intriguing next opponent for a few reasons. The Ramblers, runners-up in the Lake Michigan Conference, are in Class B this season after many successful runs in Class C and are back downstate after downing three Upper Peninsula opponents in last week’s District.
Grand Rapids West Catholic
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (20-2) vs. Spring Lake (19-4), Grand Rapids South Christian (16-7) vs. Fremont (17-6)
GRCC is another of the forecasted few expected to give New Haven a run, and the Cougars have done everything to back that up winning the O-K Blue and losing only to West Ottawa and another former Class B contender in Wyoming Godwin Heights. Two league wins came over Spring Lake, which beat GRCC in last season’s Regional championship game. The other side of the bracket features a pair of teams eager to take advantage if GRCC/Spring Lake III turns exhausting. Fremont shared the Central State Activities Association Gold championship, and South Christian has won 12 of its last 14 – beating Grand Rapids Christian along the way and then upsetting Godwin Heights in last week’s District Final.
CLASS C
Houghton Lake
McBain (19-3) vs. Maple City Glen Lake (20-2), Whittemore-Prescott (17-5) vs. Elk Rapids (13-9)
McBain opened this season 13-0 and retained a share of the Highland Conference championship. But the Ramblers most recent loss was Feb. 27, 50-37 to Glen Lake, which should make for an intense opener tonight. The Lakers shared the Northwest Conference championship, their only losses this season to reigning Class D runner-up Buckley. On the other side, Elk Rapids has won six of its last eight games and moved on after falling to Glen Lake in District games the last two seasons. Whittemore-Prescott has an opportunity to stun some unfamiliar foes after finishing second in the North Star League Big Dipper to undefeated Class D contender Hillman. The Cardinals have won 11 of their last 13.
Madison Heights Bishop Foley
Detroit Edison (12-10) vs. Detroit Pershing (12-10), Detroit Loyola (12-11) vs. Madison Heights Madison (18-4)
Records here are deceiving for three teams and even more impressive for the fourth, given the shared circumstances. All four of these teams play in leagues with nearly all larger schools. Edison and Pershing both play in the Detroit Public School League East Division 1 with two Class A and a Class B team – and Edison went on to win the overall PSL tournament championship. Madison won a Macomb Area Conference Bronze as the only league member not in Class B. Loyola is the only non-Class B in the Detroit Catholic League AA, and all of its defeats came to Class A or B opponents. Edison reached the Class C Semifinal last season despite finishing 14-12; this time the Pioneers will have to fend off a Pershing team that won their two meetings during the regular season by nine and seven.
Petersburg-Summerfield
Napoleon (15-7) vs. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (22-0), Hanover-Horton (20-2) vs. Ann Arbor Greenhills (15-4)
A pair of league champions anchor this Regional – St. Mary from the Huron League and Hanover-Horton from the Cascades Conference. The Falcons beat Tri-County Conference champion Ottawa Lake Whiteford in their District Final and are 46-1 over the last two seasons – losing last year only in the Quarterfinal. Up steps Napoleon, fourth in the Cascades this winter, after bouncing back from three losses to end the regular season with three victories last week. Hanover-Horton is riding a 16-game winning streak as it plays for its third Regional title in four seasons. But the Comets must be cautious. Greenhills repeated as a District champion last week, downing three 15-win teams to claim the title.
CLASS D
Battle Creek Harper Creek
Wyoming Potter’s House Christian (18-5) vs. Marcellus Howardsville Christian (18-5), St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic (17-6) vs. Bellevue (21-1)
Four league champions will take the court at this site. Potter’s House won the Alliance League handing regular-season and District Final losses to annual Class D contender Wyoming Tri-unity Christian. Howardsville Christian and Lake Michigan Catholic were two of three teams to share the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference White title. They split their regular-season meetings, LMC winning the first by 12 and Howardsville claiming the rematch by seven. But Bellevue is likely the favorite this week. The Broncos won the Southern Central Athletic Association West, and 19 of their wins were by 10 or more points. Their only loss was to SCAA East champ Hillsdale Academy (21-2).
Deckerville
Flint International Academy (21-2) vs. Kingston (20-3), Fulton (12-11) vs. Bay City All Saints (12-11)
This Regional provides an interesting opportunity for probably the winningest third-place team in the state. Kingston finished third in the North Central Thumb League Stars division as International Academy won the league title and beat Kingston big twice. FIA has won 16 straight. Fulton lost five of its last six to end the regular season but bounced back with three wins last week and eliminated rival Fowler (16-6) in the District Final. All Saints actually rebounded from an 0-5 start against nonleague opponents, including FIA and Kingston, to finish second in the NCTL Stripes.
Negaunee
Carney-Nadeau (15-7) vs. Ewen-Trout Creek (22-1), Rapid River (19-3) vs. Dollar Bay (23-0)
Rapid River and Carney-Nadeau might be considered favorites in other Regionals, but are stuck as just really strong underdogs hoping to shake up a possible rematch between Ewen-Trout Creek and Dollar Bay. Those two met in one of the Upper Peninsula games of the year Feb. 7, a 51-42 win for Dollar Bay at Michigan Tech. But Carney-Nadeau eliminated three-time reigning Class D champ Powers North Central 53-40 in its District Final after falling to the Jets twice during the regular season. Next up is an E-TC team that has won seven of its eight games since the Dollar Bay loss by double digits. Rapid River knocked out a league champion in Munising during its District run, and aside from a pair of losses to Class C Norway is otherwise unbeaten since Jan. 18. Dollar Bay has been more or less unstoppable. The Blue Bolts downed Ontonagon 69-46 in the District Final after squeaking out one and five-point wins over the Gladiators during the regular season. No other opponent has gotten closer than nine.
PHOTO: A Carsonville-Port Sanilac player gets his hand on a shot, but Kingston went on to win last week’s Class D District opener. (Click for more from Varsity Monthly.)
Before the Bridge: Class E & the UP
July 31, 2017
By Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
This is the final part in a series on MHSAA tournament classification, past and present, that has been published over the last two weeks and originally ran in this spring's edition of MHSAA benchmarks.
The stories are worthy of the silver screen.
Long lost legends of lore, forgotten by most in the Lower Peninsula of the state of Michigan.
Absurd anecdotes of basketball played behind glass, and out-of-bounds lines painted on walls.
Tales of overlooked places like Trenary and Champion and Doelle and Watersmeet.
This is the story of MHSAA Class E basketball.
From 1932 to 1947, Michigan's Upper Peninsula did not compete in the state-sponsored basketball tournament. Instead, the U.P. held a separate basketball tournament, crowning champions in Classes B, C and D. In 1941, the state added a fifth classification – Class E, comprised of schools with a student body numbering 75 or fewer. A fourth bracket was added to the U.P. tourney.
Following the 1948 season, the Upper Peninsula returned to the state tournament. Winners of the traditional U.P. tourney were pronounced regional champions, and advanced to the state quarterfinals in Classes B, C and D. However, since there were no Class E schools with basketball teams in the Lower Peninsula, the winner of the U.P. tournament crown was proclaimed Class E state champion. This arrangement continued through the spring of the 1960 season.
Since they were the state's smallest high schools, the gymnasiums came in all shapes and sizes. Some sported a center circle that intersected with the top of the key. Basketball courts that doubled as a stage required netting to keep the kids and the ball on the court and away from the audience seated below.
Fred Boddy, a former coach at Champion, recalled his first visit to Doelle. Located in copper country near Houghton, the hosts were the proud owners of “the smallest” gym in U.P.
“I couldn't believe my eyes. ... Here on the second floor were windows and bleachers all around filled with fans. The gym, of course, was located on the first floor, but to get into the gym one had to go around to the back of the school to enter through the boiler room to the locker rooms, which opened onto the gym floor much like a dugout on a baseball field. The players sat on a bench under the wall and could look out and see the game in this manner. The free throw lines intersected and there were no out of bounds lines... the wall itself was ‘out of bounds.’ On the floor during the game were 10 players and two referees. There were no sounds as all the fans were up on the second floor, glassed in.
The cheerleaders tried valiantly to fire up the fans up on the second floor, but the teams couldn't hear in the quiet below. The score clock and statistician personnel were placed in a corner box high over the floor in one corner of the gym. They attained this lofty perch by a ladder that was removed from the trap door after all three were in position and the game could thus commence. The timer then tied a rope around his ankle. To send a sub into the game the coach would send the player along the wall heading for this rope. He would pull the rope causing the timer to look down through the trap door and at next opportunity would ring the buzzer and admit this substitute”
Regardless of the challenges presented by these cracker-box gyms, the fans loved their basketball. “The enthusiasm was just the same, if not bigger, than schools twice and 10 times their size,” noted longtime U.P. historian, Jay Soderberg.
Coach Joseph Miheve's 1941 Palmer squad captured the state's first Class E title with a 39-28 win over Hulbert at Ironwood. A graduate of Wakefield High School, Miheve had never played high school basketball, serving as the team's manager.
The 1942 tournament, scheduled for March 19-21, was postponed one week because the city of Marquette was more or less taken over “by nearly 1,000 selective service registrants from every county in the Upper Peninsula” who had another and more serious battle in mind – World War II.
Palmer, this time coached by Elvin Niemi, repeated in Class E with a 37-31 victory over Bergland. It was Palmer's 32nd consecutive victory.
No tournament was held in 1943 due to the involvement of the United States in the war. In the 1944 championship game, Cedarville jumped out to a 19-14 first quarter lead but was held to 24 points in the remaining periods and fell to Amasa, 51-43 at Ishpeming.
Trenary made its lone Class E finals appearance in 1945, losing to Bergland 49-39 at Ishpeming, while the Alpha Mastodons won their first U.P. title since 1934 with a 48-28 win over Champion in 1946. It was the second of five Class E titles for Alpha coach Gerhardt “Gary” Gollakner, one of the finest coaches to come out of the U.P. Gollakner had coached at Amasa two years earlier, and his Mastodons would earn three additional titles during the 19-year run of the Class E championships.
Bergland became the tourney's second two-time winner in 1947, with a 40-37 win over the Perkins Yellowjackets. Perkins made four trips to the Class E finals over the years, including an appearance in the final year of the tournament, but came away empty-handed each time.
The Nahma Arrows made their first appearance in the championship in 1951, losing to Michigamme. Led by coach Harold “Babe” Anderson, a cage star at Northern Michigan College during the early 1940s, the Arrows returned to the finals in 1952. Nahma finished the year with a 21-0 mark and a 64-44 win over Marenisco for the crown.
The two teams met again in a finals rematch the following year. The scored was tied six times, while the lead changed hands seven times in this barnburner. With 15 seconds to play, Nahma led 64-60. Marenisco's Robert Prosser hit a jump shot, then teammate Bill Blodgett stole a pass and scored to knot the game at 64. With two seconds remaining, Nahma's Bernard Newhouse was fouled. Newhouse hit the first free throw, but missed on the second. Teammate Wendell Roddy tipped in the rebound, and the Arrows had their second title.
Alpha returned to the championship circle in 1954 with a 52-48 win over Perkins.
The 1955 title game matched a pair of the finest teams in Class E history. Trout Creek, making its first championship appearance, downed Alpha 84-83 in another Class E thriller. Don Mackey led the winners with 39 points. Tony Hoholek paced Alpha with 31, while junior John Kocinski added 21-points for the Mastodons.
Kocinski, a four-year starter at Alpha, scored 1,782 points during his career, then an all-time U.P. record. He once scored 51 points against Amasa, and could have scored more according to teammate Walter “Slip” Ball. “He refused to shoot in the fourth quarter, and passed up one shot after another,” Ball said.
Without question, Trout Creek was one of the powerhouse squads during the final years of the tourney. The Anglers, coached by Bruce “Pinky” Warren, a former captain of Purdue's football team, made four trips to the finals during the last six years of the Class E tourney. The defending champions downed Alpha in the semifinals of the 1956 tournament, then knocked off Hermansville 86-68 in the finals to repeat. It was a year of celebration for fans of U.P. basketball, as four of the state's five champions – Stephenson (B), Crystal Falls (C), Chassell (D) and Trout Creek (E) – came from Michigan's northern peninsula.
Hermansville returned to the finals in the spring of 1957 and earned its second Class E title with a 77-51 win over Michigamme at Escanaba. Trout Creek downed Perkins 61-41 for their third crown in 1958.
The 1959 championship, hosted at Northern Michigan College's fieldhouse, was a showdown of the U.P.’s only undefeated squads, Trout Creek and Nahma. Trout Creek was riding a 24-game winning streak that dated back to the 1958 season. A scoring machine, Warren's Anglers averaged 81.7 points per contest. Nahma, 19-0 on the season, boasted the U.P.'s strongest defense. Still coached by “Babe” Anderson, the Arrows had allowed an average of 38.2 points per game. Led by senior Warren Groleau, Nahma had been last defeated by Trout Creek in the semifinals of the 1958 tourney.
Leading 25-15 at the intermission, Nahma matched Trout Creek point for point in the second half for a 55-45 victory.
Hermansville, behind Richard Polazzo's 29 points and Irwin Scholtz's 27, downed surprise finalist Perkins 72-50 in the 1960 finale, to end this chapter in MHSAA history.
Today, most of the former Class E high schools are long gone. Many have closed their doors and consolidated with other area schools. Amasa and Alpha merged with Crystal Falls to form Forest Park. Palmer is now part of the Negaunee school system. Bergland and Trout Creek joined forces with Class D Ewen to form Ewen-Trout Creek. Hermansville combined with Powers to form North Central, to name but a few. A few remain: Dollar Bay, Marenisco (now Wakefield-Marenisco) and Watersmeet, and their enrollments are much the same as in the glory days of the state's fifth classification.
Author’s note: Special thanks to Jay Soderberg and Roger Finlan, who assisted in gathering statistics and quotes used in this article. Thanks also to Dick Kishpaugh, Bob Whitens, Walter “Slip” Ball, Dennis Grall, Fred Boddy, Bruce Warren, Gene Maki, Harold “Babe” Anderson and the various personnel at U.P. high schools for their contributions to this story.
PHOTOS: (Top) The Alpha boys basketball team won the 1950 Class E title by nearly doubling up Michigamme, 52-28. (Middle) Hermansville claimed the 1948 title with a 58-38 win over Rockland.