Cass Tech's Time Arrives as Technicians Claim Most Memorable Win
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 25, 2023
EAST LANSING — The Detroit Cass Tech boys basketball program no longer will have to look at all the state championship trophies and banners won by the football team in the school's halls and wonder when its time will be.
That time finally came Saturday.
After years of building toward this moment, the Technicians claimed to their first championship in boys basketball with a 78-63 win over Muskegon in the Division 1 Final at Breslin Center.
Cass Tech was in control throughout the game and for much of the season, finishing with a 27-1 record. The only loss was a one-point overtime defeat to Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice in the Operation Friendship title game.
Cass Tech’s previous best season was a Class A runner-up finish in 1974.
“We had established that as a goal,” said Cass Tech head coach Steve Hall, who won three-straight Class D championships from 2003-05 coaching Detroit Rogers. “It looks good on paper, but to carry it out and pursue it, it is unbelievable what we’ve been able to do.”
Cass Tech led most of the way, but then had to deal with some adversity after Muskegon took a 47-46 lead with 1:46 left in the third quarter.
The Technicians responded beautifully, first closing the third quarter with four straight points to take a 50-47 lead. Cass Tech then opened the fourth with a 9-1 run to take a 59-48 lead on a layup by Sean Hodges with 3:54 remaining.
Muskegon never threatened the rest of the way as Cass Tech broke defensive pressure for layups and hit free throws in the final minutes.
Sophomore Darius Acuff, who banked in a tying 3-pointer in the final seconds to force overtime in Friday’s Semifinal win over Grand Blanc, and senior Travon Cooper both scored 19 points to lead the way for Cass Tech.
Cooper also pulled down eight rebounds, and senior Kenneth Robertson added 15 points for Cass Tech.
The Technicians dominated along the interior, collecting 40 points in the paint to just eight for Muskegon.
“In the fourth quarter, we had to come together and talk to each other as a team,” Acuff said. “Just talk to each other and listen to Coach, and just respond. We didn’t want to go out like that. We had to make a run, and everyone contributed.”
Senior Jordan Briggs scored 19 points, and senior David Day added 15 to lead Muskegon (26-3).
“There was no flow to the game,” Muskegon head coach Keith Guy said. “But in these games there is going to be adversity, and the teams that handle it best are going to win.”
After Cass Tech took a 45-36 lead with 6:15 left in the third quarter, Muskegon made a charge, going on an 11-1 run to grab a 47-46 advantage with 1:46 remaining in the third after a 3-pointer by Justin Watson.
Cass Tech held a 14-11 lead after the first quarter, and then the second quarter was a high-octane period more reminiscent of an NBA game.
Muskegon scored 20 points in the second, but Cass Tech was even better, scoring 27 in the frame to take a 41-31 lead at halftime.
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Cass Tech players celebrate their Division 1 championship win Saturday along with a last-second 3-pointer by teammate Mathieu Collins (30). (Middle) The Technicians’ Kenneth Robertson (14) makes his move toward the basket. (Below) Cass Tech’s Darius Acuff (5) works to get a shot up over Muskegon’s Anthony Sydnor III.
'Running' Raiders Pull Away with Scoring Bursts, Stifling Defense
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2024
EAST LANSING – All it took for North Farmington to roll into the MHSAA Finals was staying calm.
Well, maybe it was also a puzzling defense and a handful of mini-runs on offense that contributed to Friday's 58-39 downing of Zeeland West in a Division 1 Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
Whatever it was, the win earned North Farmington (24-2) another crack at Oakland County rival Orchard Lake St. Mary's (26-1) in Saturday's 12:15 p.m. final. St. Mary's has ousted North Farmington from the last two MHSAA Tournaments.
While the Raiders did much right, it's easy to start with an offense which produced points in runs.
"We talk about runs all the time," said North Farmington coach Todd Negoshian, whose teams have won more than 200 games during his 13 seasons. "We want them to end other teams' runs and extend ours. We preach that it's a game of runs, which is important for us."
North Farmington scored the game's first seven points, and then when Zeeland West closed to within 13-11 early in the second quarter, the Raiders scored 12 of the next 18 points. They all but clinched the win with a 23-14 advantage in the third quarter.
At least some of those runs can be attributed to the team's demeanor, Negoshian said.
"At the start of the second quarter we calmed down and played within ourselves," he said. "We did a better job of calming down. It was very important in the second quarter that we kept our momentum going and stayed on the right track."
The other side of the coin was defense. North Farmington held Zeeland West (20-8) to just 30.8 percent (12 of 39) shooting from the floor, and only five 3-pointers in 21 attempts.
"Forty points is our benchmark," Raiders senior guard Landon Williams said. "Coach preaches that every day. Giving up 10 points a quarter is what we do. (Defense) is something we keep in perspective. We know that's what it takes to win games."
"We feel like we wear people out," Negoshian said of the defense. "Wearing people out is a big part of our success. It's a big key defensively."
Senior guard Tyler Spratt led North Farmington with 19 points and six rebounds. Williams had 14 points, five assists and three steals.
"We preach that basketball is a game of runs," Spratt said. "It's something we try to do every game – limit the other team's runs."
Zeeland West coach David Klyn said his team never did solve the Raiders' defense.
"They play a style of defense that is very difficult to go against – and they amped it up a level," he said. "They're hard to beat. You can credit that to chaos. It's the most difficult defense I've ever seen. When you get down against them, it's hard to come back."
"It's one of the most difficult defenses I've faced," said Dux Mr. Basketball Award finalist Merritt Alderink, who was held to nine points, four below his average. "It's hard to get anything going because they're all over the place."
Negoshian and his players are plenty familiar with their next opponent.
"They're four miles down the road, and the players know each other well," he said. "Trey (St. Mary’s star McKenney) is the best player in the state, and we know it's running the gauntlet to play them."
PHOTOS (Top) North Farmington’s Landon Williams (10) gets a shot up over the outstretched arm of Zeeland West’s Trenten Bolhouse. (Middle) The Raiders’ Rob Smith (1) finds an opening in the post. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)