Edison Brings Another Title to PSL
March 24, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Perseverance and patience anchored the explanation as pride in the Detroit Public School League flowed Saturday evening at the Breslin Center.
The great majority of the conference’s nearly 30 MHSAA boys basketball championships have been won over the years in Class A. Most of the league’s schools lately have played in Class A and B.
And from Class C this weekend emerged the latest PSL champion, Detroit Edison, which entered the postseason with a .500 record but more than ready to run after weathering a regular-season schedule loaded with larger opponents.
Edison completed its first MHSAA title run with a 53-38 win over Maple City Glen Lake, the Pioneers’ 12th victory over its final 13 games this winter.
“We didn’t struggle the whole year. We played in the toughest league, the PSL,” Edison senior Pierre Mitchell, Jr., said. “We won the PSL championship; the state run was a little easier than the PSL playoffs. We just had to click at the right time.”
Edison (17-10) became the fourth team to enter the playoffs with a record of .500 or worse and win an MHSAA boys basketball title, joining 1933 Grand Haven and 1967 Menominee in Class B and 1969 Marquette Baraga in Class D. The Pioneers also became the third to enter with double-digit losses and win it all – Menominee was 6-10 (in part because of four forfeits) at the end of the 1967 regular season and finished 13-10, and Baraga was 8-10 in 1969 and finished 16-10.
Edison finished fourth during its regular season in the PSL’s East Division 1, which also included Class A Detroit East English and Martin Luther King, Class B Osborn and Class C Pershing. But the Pioneers won the PSL tournament title by beating Pershing plus Class A Cass Tech and Class B Mumford and Renaissance.
The early losses weren’t by design, of course, but Edison didn’t employ its full attack until late in the season to keep opponents from being able to scout everything that might be coming their way during the playoffs.
“To go 2-6 (in the league) was a big disappointment, but we always understood that everyone makes it to the playoffs,” Pioneers coach Brandon Neely said. “I was very optimistic that once we got into the playoffs, we were going to be a tough team.”
Glen Lake (24-3) was a formidable final opponent. The Northwest Conference co-champion led the first seven minutes Saturday and then most of the first three of the second half.
With 4:58 to go in the third quarter, Mitchell made a free throw to tie the score at 25-25 and then missed his second. Glen Lake senior forward Cade Peterson came down with the rebound – by also twisted his right ankle as his foot came down on the foot of an Edison player behind him.
Peterson left the game, and 20 seconds later Mitchell drilled a 3-pointer to give the Pioneers a 28-25 lead. Starting with his basket, they finished the period on a 14-6 run. Edison pushed the lead to double digits three minutes into the fourth quarter, even as Peterson returned to the floor.
“He does it all. He defends, he scores, he attacks, he rebounds at both ends, and he’s our leader on the floor,” Glen Lake coach Rich Ruelas said of Peterson, who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. “When you take that away – and we’ve been resilient all year – obviously he’s pretty important to our team.
“Cade was our rock this year and just led us every step of the way. … He wants to win as badly as anyone I’ve ever met.”
Junior guard Xander Okerlund led the Lakers with 19 points and seven rebounds as they played in their first MHSAA championship game since 1996 and first ever in Class C and making all three previous Final appearances in Class D.
Mitchell finished with 17 points and three steals, making 6 of 12 shots from the floor. Senior guard Gary Solomon made 7 of 14 shots for 16 points to go with four steals. Senior center Deante Johnson and junior forward Brian Taylor, Jr., both had 10 points, Johnson with 11 rebounds and Taylor with three steals as well.
“We had a tough season, but these guys preserved and continued to dig in,” Neely said. “And it was very gratifying to see these guys reap the benefits of hard work. They’ve grown as men and they understand what it takes to get to the next level whether it’s in basketball, whether it’s in school, whatever needs to be done. These guys understand when you’re dedicated to something and commit yourself, you can be successful.”
Edison also became the fourth school to celebrate boys and girls MHSAA basketball championships during the same school year; the Pioneers' girls won their second straight Class C title last weekend. Edison joined the Detroit Country Day teams of 1989-90 and 1995-96, Flint Northern's teams of 1994-95 and Flint Northwestern's teams of 1983-84 and 1984-85 in that achievement.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Edison’s Deante Johnson approaches for a dunk during Saturday’s Class C Final at the Breslin Center. (Middle) Glen Lake’s Cade Peterson goes up for a shot while Edison’s Brian Taylor, Jr., defends.
Ewen-Trout Creek Starts Fast, Holds On to Reach 1st Final Since 1982
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 24, 2022
EAST LANSING – What began playing out early like a certain blowout turned into quite a thriller to begin Thursday’s Division 4 Boys Basketball Semifinals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
Making its first Semifinals trip since since finishing Class D runner-up 1982, Ewen-Trout Creek was in full control in the first Division 4 matchup of the night with a double-digit lead for the majority of the game.
But appearing in its first-ever Semifinal, Lake Leelanau St. Mary pulled off a furious comeback, tying the game with just over two minutes remaining.
Ultimately, Ewen-Trout Creek made more plays from there, holding off St. Mary to earn a 62-56 win and advance to its first championship game since it won the Class D title in 1972.
“Wow,” Ewen-Trout Creek coach Brad Besonen said. “That was fantastic. High school sports at its finest. Two small schools on the big stage at Breslin Center. These guys have dreamed about being here forever. They’ve played together since second grade.”
After trailing 48-31 with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter, St. Mary began its rally, mainly because it finally found some rhythm offensively.
St. Mary scored the final six points of the third quarter to make it 48-37, but Ewen-Trout Creek restored its lead to 12 at 54-42 with 6:13 remaining.
Then, the Eagles made their big move.
St. Mary went on a 14-2 run over the next 4:11 to tie the game at 56-56 with 2:02 remaining.
The comeback wasn’t anything new to the Eagles, who trailed by 18 in the second half of their District Final against Buckley and by 12 points in the final five minutes of their Regional Final against McBain Northern Michigan Christian before rallying to win both games.
“They just have no quit in them,” St. Mary coach Matt Barnowski said.
But down the stretch, Ewen-Trout Creek regained its composure.
Senior Jaden Borseth gave the Panthers a 58-56 lead with 1:46 remaining, and after St. Mary had 3-point shots rim out on back-to-back possessions, Ewen-Trout Creek took a lead with 33.8 seconds left on two free throws by senior Kelsey Jilek.
Following another missed 3-pointer by St. Mary, Borseth made two free throws with 8.2 seconds remaining to make it 62-56 Panthers.
Jilek led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Borseth scored 18 points and senior Eric Abramson added 15 points for Ewen-Trout Creek (23-3), which had its eye on this year the minute last season ended with a loss to Bessemer in the District round.
“We were in the gym the day after we lost,” Jilek said. “We wanted more than anything to make a run last year. We put everything we had into it, and here we are.”
St. Mary junior Shawn Bramer led all scorers with 25 points to go along with eight rebounds, and Schaub added 14 points to lead St. Mary (21-5).
The Eagles started the season 2-3, then went 19-2 the rest of the way to make school history.
“That was a fun game,” Barnowski said. “Everybody got their money’s worth, there’s no doubt about that. I’m proud of these kids.”
Ewen-Trout Creek got off to a good start offensively, making nine of its first 15 shots and taking a 20-14 lead after the first quarter.
Leading 24-18 in the second quarter, the Panthers started to separate, going on an 11-2 run to take a 35-20 advantage with 1:08 remaining before halftime.
The Panthers eventually took a 37-22 lead into the break.
PHOTOS (Top) Ewen-Trout Creek's Eric Abramson lays up a shot during his team's Division 4 Semifinal win Thursday. (Middle) St. Mary's Shawn Bramer (32) works to split the defense of Kelsey Jilek (24) and Brendan Polkky (44). (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)