Class A: Home Sweet Breslin Again

March 23, 2012

EAST LANSING – No one from this season’s Saginaw team had played in an MHSAA Semifinals before this weekend. That’s saying something, given how the Trojans have made Breslin Center a regular March destination over the last two decades.

After a slow start Friday, they looked at home once more.

Saginaw made just 19 percent of its first-quarter shots, but then 51 percent the rest of the game to cruise into its first Final since 2008 with a 59-46 win over Macomb L’Anse Creuse North.

 “(Breslin) was real big, and we had to get the feel of the court for the first quarter,” Saginaw senior Davario Gaines said. “After we got the feeling of the court, we started playing at our level.”

Saginaw (25-2), ranked No. 1 at the end of the regular season, will take on Rockford in the Class A Final at 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Trojans have been to the Semifinals eight times in the last 17 seasons and have won five MHSAA championships total during their history.

A lot of those teams – with guys like Draymond Green and Anthony Roberson of late – were led by big-time stars. But this Saginaw team is a little bit different.

Only two players have averaged at least 10 points per game this season, and none more than 15. Junior Julian Henderson scored a team-high 11 on Friday, with six teammates adding between six and nine.

“We’ve got a bunch of players that can step up at any time,” Saginaw first-year coach Julian Taylor said. “We’ve got a lot of interchangeable kids that have accepted the team concept. They are playing for each other, playing for team pride. That’s what we’re all about.”

L’Anse Creuse North, meanwhile, was making its first Semifinal appearance Friday and finished 10-11 just a year ago. Junior guard Tyler Conklin scored a game-high 22 points, and junior forward Ramone Griffin added 10 and nine rebounds.

This season came with an especially difficult moment for the Crusaders. District athletic supervisor Dave Jackson, who previously had served as the L’Anse Creuse North principal, died unexpectedly in mid-February. The basketball team became a rallying point amid the mournful times that followed.

“The biggest thing we experienced today with the send-off and community, the staff and our administration; it’s been a rough emotional ride, but we were able to create some diversion with this basketball run,” Crusaders coach Jay Seletsky said. “To bring the community together and see this support that we can have, and with a little diversion (from) emotional things, it’s been awesome. Besides the outcome, I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.”

 “We worked hard for it every day in practice,” Conklin said. “We’re all going to keep our heads up, work all offseason and come back next season and try to make it this far.”

Click for box score or to watch the game and press conferences at MHSAA.tv.

PHOTO: Saginaw junior forward Julian Henderson swats a L'Anse Creuse North shot during Friday's Semifinal. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.)

2021 Experience Helps 2022 Tri-unity Earn Return to D4 Final

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 24, 2022

EAST LANSING – Sometimes, there’s just no substitute for experience.

Such was the case in Thursday’s second Division 4 Boys Basketball Semifinal between Wyoming Tri-unity Christian and Genesee Christian at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.

While Tri-unity Christian was in the Semifinals for a second-straight year and fourth time in the last seven years, Genesee Christian was playing on the stage for the first time.

Tri-unity Christian’s familiarity with Breslin and overall skill won out, as the Defenders reached another championship game with a 77-33 win. 

The Defenders (20-6) will attempt to win their first Finals title since 2011 at 10 a.m. Saturday when they play Ewen-Trout Creek. 

“If you haven’t been there, it can be pretty intimidating,” Tri-unity coach Mark Keeler said of playing in a final four game. “Last year, we came here. It helped us for this year.”

The big quarter for Tri-unity Christian was the second, as the Defenders went on a 12-0 run to start the quarter and take a 26-12 lead with 5:54 remaining until halftime. 

Tri-unity Christian ended up outscoring Genesee Christian in the second quarter, 25-7, to take a 39-19 lead at the break. 

The Defenders continued to grow their lead in the third quarter, going on an 8-0 run to move ahead 53-23 with 1:11 remaining in the third. 

Tri-unity Christian/Genesee Christian basketballThe game featured a matchup of two of the state’s top point guards in Division 4, Tri-unity Christian senior Brady Titus and Genesee Christian junior Trenton Boike. 

Titus entered the game averaging just under 30 points a game, while Boike was averaging over 23 points a contest.

Titus finished with a game-high 21 points on 9 of 17 shooting for the Defenders, while Boike had seven points for the Soldiers (21-5).

Now, Titus and the Defenders can try and earn some redemption after a loss to Detroit Douglass in last year’s championship game. 

“Last year was tough,” Titus said. “We came up short. But I think it will impact the want to win. That’s really what it is. Just having the drive to win the next game.”

Tri-unity Christian shot 58.3 percent from the field for the game and outrebounded Genesee Christian by a 41-19 margin. 

Junior Tyler Chapman led Genesee Christian with 10 points. 

Despite the loss, it was obviously a memorable and historic season for Genesee Christian.

“For the guys, I felt so proud of them,” Genesee Christian coach Dan Chapman said. “With COVID and everything the last couple of years, we kind of looked forward to this group. To do it with all the seniors that I’ve coached since fifth grade, it was everything you’ve dreamed of.” 

More good news for the Soldiers is that Boike and Chapman will headline a nice crop of juniors that will be back next year. 

“Just the experience part will help a lot,” Boike said. “It will help us next year when we get back here.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Tri-unity Christian’s Brady Titus (25) works to get up a shot over Genesee Christian’s Jonah Derderian (24) during Thursday’s Semifinal. (Middle) Teammates watch in anticipation as the Defenders’ Stephen Bouslog (24) attempts a 3-pointer. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)