Class C: Buccaneers land in Finals again
March 22, 2012
EAST LANSING – When the buzzer sounded and long after subs filled the floor in Thursday’s first Class C Semifinal, Flint Beecher junior Monte Morris quietly pointed to the Breslin Center rafters, symbolically signing No. 1.
Beecher needs just one more win to finish in that top spot for the first time since 1987.
This was the Buccaneers’ third-straight Semifinal appearance. The first two ended in disappointments.
But they climbed step closer to forgetting those with a 65-45 win over reigning champion Schoolcraft to earn a first championship game berth since 2008.
“Not too many teams get this opportunity we have right here. It’s just something special,” Beecher senior Antuan Burks said. “Monte’s a junior and might not get to go through this his senior year. We just want to go out physical, play hard, and bring that championship back home.”
The Bucs will face Traverse City St. Francis in Saturday’s noon Final.
Burks and Beecher (27-0) haven’t lost since last season’s Semifinal against McBain. Saturday’s Final will be Beecher’s fourth in 13 seasons. Two of those three championship game losses during the run were by just three points apiece.
“All year long, I kept reminding these guys that the number one ranking means nothing,” Beecher coach Mike Williams said. “Schoolcraft had what we wanted, which was a state championship. I keep reminding our kids, we were ranked in the top two all last year. And that meant nothing. These kids have felt and dealt with disappointment.”
By the end of Thursday’s first quarter, they had to feel confident that this season’s good vibes would last at least two more days.
Taking advantage of Schoolcraft turnovers – and turning them into quick-strike points – Beecher rolled to a 12-2 run to finish the first quarter up 10 points. The Bucs extended that advantage to 36-19 by halftime, and for the game scored 29 points off Schoolcraft’s 23 turnovers.
“They’re quicker, and it’s hard for us to have that happen in practice to prepare for that,” Schoolcraft senior all-stater Luke Ryskamp said.
It also didn’t hurt that Beecher shot 49 percent from the floor. Burks made 67 percent of his shots and finished with a game-high 24 points. Morris, this season’s Associated Press Class C Player of the Year for the second straight, added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
“Last year we did get off to a quick start (too), but this year we showed the maturity and wherewithal to sustain that lead and build on it,” Williams said. “We had miscues. We had mistakes. But we were able to overcome them.”
Ryskamp finished with 22 points and six rebounds. He was one of only two starters back from last season’s team – making it more impressive that the Eagles finished 22-5 and returned to East Lansing.
Senior Bryan Jones, the other returning starter, had seven points and a game-high nine rebounds in his final high school game.
“We’re an entirely different team this year,” Schoolcraft coach Randy Small said. “We’re not the prettiest team. We had to have a lot of guys do the dirty work, the behind-the-scenes stuff, the scratching, clawing, digging kind of stuff. The kids have done that real well.
“Last year we were probably a little more fun to watch. … But I’m proud of my guys for getting back here.”
Click for box score or to watch the game and press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTO: Beecher's Monte Morris attempts a shot in Thursday's Semifinal win. He finished with 18 points. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.)
For Their Teams, For Each Other, St. Mary Seniors Team Up 2 More Times
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
March 17, 2023
Shawn Bramer and Dylan Barnowski, as middle schoolers, attended the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals every year.
Last year, they nearly played in the Division 3 title game – falling in a Semifinal but almost making a dream come true for the then-juniors and their Lake Leelanau St. Mary coach, Matt Barnowski, also Dylan’s father.
That dream began for some when the boys were coached by Matt as third graders, and they made serious strides last season. Before last winter, the last time the Eagles had won a Regional championship was 1950 – and no St. Mary boys basketball team had reached the Semifinals. Bramer and Dylan Barnowski – along with current seniors Jack Glynn, Drew Thompson and Nick Linguar – had high hopes of making more history this winter.
The dream ended Wednesday night with a Regional Final loss to Frankfort, which St. Mary had defeated 54-41 during the regular season. This time, the Eagles were faced with a large number of K-12 students succumbing to illness – with all five of its starters at least somewhat sick – as nearly a third of the school’s tiny enrollment was out of school the day after the loss to the Panthers.
But you won’t hear any of the players or coaches making excuses. They give all the credit to Frankfort, and they’re ready to move on. And many in the LSM family know reaching the Regional Finals this season and Breslin Center in 2022 had absolutely no probability had Bramer and Barnowski not made an iron-clad agreement last summer.
The two friends vowed to help each other despite their personal, opposing challenges.
Barnowski and Bramer, through LSM’s cooperative agreement with Suttons Bay, went 3-for-3 playing in 8-Player Division 1 Football Finals during their first three years of high school. But through last summer Barnowski, who quarterbacked the Norseman, had no interest in football.
Bramer, meanwhile, had been nursing a quad tendon injury since his sophomore football season and battling two bad knees but was thinking he could suffer though football and sit out the basketball season to recover. The all-state running back experienced training difficulties and even had his strength training severely hampered.
Football was king for Bramer, and he also loved basketball too. Basketball is number one to Barnowski. The longtime friends decided cut a deal to help each other — and their teammates — out.
“I was kind of on the edge,” said Bramer, who plays with braces on both knees. “After talking to each other, we both ended up just playing.
“I really shouldn’t be playing sports, but I couldn’t miss out playing with my friends,” he continued. “We just figured it was our last season so we might as well just do it.”
Barnowski had been considering ending his football days immediately after the Norse fell short in their third-straight trip to the Finals, at Superior Dome in Marquette in Fall 2021. That loss was at the hands of Adrian Lenawee Christian 31-20.
The Norseman graduated most of their offensive and defense lines last spring and expected to be small in numbers. Until this fall, they had lost only one regular-season game on their way to three straight title game appearances. This year they finished 3-5.
The big linemen losses — Barnowski’s protection — was forcing him to weigh his injury risk against having a senior basketball season.
“We did it for each other,” Barnowski said. “I talked with Shawn, and we knew we had a big community behind us and it would be hard for them if we just quit.
“I knew we weren’t going to have the same powerhouse team we had,” he continued. “We weren’t very good this year, but we still had a blast.”
This week’s loss put an end to the possible Breslin championship finish, but it left the friends happy with the decision to play both sports. The Eagles finished 20-4.
Barnowski led St. Mary in scoring. He averaged better than 20 points a game with more than seven rebounds and five assists. Bramer averaged just under 15 points per game, and almost 10 rebounds.
The two big men each scored 11 in the season-ending loss. Thompson scored 14. This year’s senior-dominated team likely will be remembered for its basketball success for some time. Barnowski, Bramer and Glynn experienced only one loss in District play over their four seasons.
“It’s a really special groups of kids,” Coach Barnowski said. “These kids kind of transformed St. Mary’s basketball.
“They’ve really built the program,” he continued. “It’s been a roller coaster ride.”
Bramer and Dylan Barnowski also played baseball in the past for the Eagles, but that likely won’t happen this spring. Barnowski plans to golf, and Bramer expects to sit the spring season out and heal.
“We’ll never forget these last four years of varsity we played,” Barnowski said. “I‘ve decided to go a more relaxing route, and I’m going for some golf.”
With their Breslin dream over, the friends are ready to enjoy the St. Mary’s community support and move on. They’re bummed so many were sick in the end but won’t use it as an excuse.
“Hats off to Frankfort,” Barnowski said. “They did an incredible job of shutting us down.”
Bramer agreed.
“They just played their game better than we did,” he said. “They took the lead at the end of the third quarter, and it was a battle from there.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) St. Mary’s seniors Dylan Barnowski, left, and Shawn Bramer hold up the team’s District championship trophy last week. (2) Eagles coach Matt Barnowski, center, and assistant Sander Scott coach up their team during last week’s Regional Semifinal win over Mesick. (3) Dylan Barnowski and Bramer also teamed up during successful football careers. (4) St. Mary’s seniors, from left: Shawn Bramer, Jack Glynn, Dylan Barnowski, Drew Thompson and Nick Linguar. (Sideline photo by Tom Spencer; player photos by Emmerson Lamb Photography.)