Edison Hangs On, Moves On to 1st Final
March 22, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Detroit Edison saw its 16-point lead disappear by the middle of the fourth quarter of Thursday’s Class C Semifinal against Grand Rapids Covenant Christian.
The Pioneers weren’t worried.
“I wasn’t really concerned at all,” Edison senior guard Pierre Mitchell, Jr., said. “We’ve been through this the whole season. We play in the PSL. It’s a whole bunch of tough battles every Tuesday and Friday.
In fact, the Pioneers won the Detroit Public School League tournament this season. And that experience no doubt helped them earn the chance to play for their first MHSAA boys basketball championship.
Edison broke away over the final four minutes Thursday for a 55-43 win, launching a 14-1 game-ending run after the Chargers had come all the way back from the earlier double-digit deficit.
“I have seniors here, and these guys do a pretty good job of keeping guys focused on what we need to do and when we need to do it,” Edison coach Brandon Neely said. “I had confidence these guys were going to rise to the occasion.
“We were going to just maintain composure. We’ve been in a lot of tough battles this year, but we’re battle-tested. We’ve had teams come back on us before. We’ve lost some games that way. We’ve lost a game just about any way you could imagine. … (but) we always competed.”
Edison (16-10) will face Maple City Glen Lake in Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. championship game.
The Pioneers have won 10 of their last 11 games, which means they started 6-9 – and they finished fourth in their PSL division, which also included two Class A, a Class B and another Class C school.
But lessons learned from those defeats helped Edison weather Covenant Christian’s comeback and the momentum shift that could’ve come with it.
The Pioneers moved on with senior center Deante Johnson playing only 20 minutes because of foul trouble. They held on despite hitting only 35 percent of their shots for the game.
Instead of folding during Covenant’s comeback, Edison got help in the post from senior guard Gary Solomon, who finished with team highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds. And they climbed out of their cold shooting to make 5 of 11 tries from the perimeter during the fourth quarter, including 4 of 5 during the run to close out the game. Johnson came back to score the first five points of that final stretch.
“I work on (shooting) every day, and I had to come up big for my team,” Johnson said. “I was in foul trouble all throughout the game. I wasn’t the presence in the middle that I’d usually be. So I had to make it up somehow, some way in the fourth quarter for my team.”
As a team, Covenant Christian (22-5) shot a nearly identical 35 percent to the Pioneers, but made 9 of 13 attempts to knock down the 16-point deficit over the first 12 minutes of the second half.
But as the Pioneers closed on a roll, the Chargers finished making just 1 of 6 shots and turning the ball over twice.
“We knew we had to shoot it well today, and we didn’t in the first half and I thought that cost us,” Covenant Christian coach Tyler Schimmel said. “In the second half, we started playing Charger basketball.
“We changed a few things defensively (at halftime), but not many. For some reason, we were timid early on. We thought we were just as good as Edison, and they’re a good team. The shots just didn’t fall for us.”
Senior forward Carson Meulenberg led Covenant Christian with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and senior forward Trenton Koole also scored 12 points.
Mitchell added 13 points for Edison, and senior guard Keith Johnson was key off the bench with 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting over 14 minutes.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Edison’s Keith Johnson puts up a jumper during Thursday’s Class C Semifinal against Grand Rapids Covenant Christian. (Middle) The Chargers’ Nathan Minderhoud drives the baseline with Johnson defending.
D2 Preview: Formidable Foursome Expected to Make for Memorable Matchups
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 23, 2022
This weekend’s final four contenders for the Division 2 boys basketball championship make up a high-echelon group, to say the least.
On one side of the bracket, reigning champion Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Ferndale will meet in a Semifinal rematch after both played many of the state’s best on the way to East Lansing. On the other side? Just the only two undefeated teams playing at Breslin Center this weekend.
Additionally, Ferndale's Treyvon Lewis (Loyola of Chicago signee) and Grand Rapids Catholic Central's Jack Karasinski (William & Mary) were two of four finalists for the Mr. Basketball Award this week.
DIVISION 2 Semifinals – Thursday
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (24-1) vs. Ferndale (21-3), 5:30 p.m.
Williamston (25-0) vs. Freeland (25-0), 7:30 p.m.
FINAL – Saturday – 6:45 p.m.
Tickets for this weekend’s games are $12 for both Semifinals and Finals and are available via the Breslin Center ticket office. All Semifinals will be broadcast and viewable with subscription to MHSAA.tv, and all four Finals will air live Saturday on Bally Sports Detroit, with the Division 4 and 1 games on BSD EXTRA and the Division 3 and 2 games on BSD’s primary channel. All four will be broadcast live as well as on the BSD website and app. Audio broadcasts of all Semifinals and Finals will be available free of charge from the MHSAA Network.
Here’s a look at the four Division 2 semifinals (with rankings by MPR at the end of the regular season, and statistics through Regional Finals):
FERNDALE
Record/rank: 21-3, No. 4
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red
Coach: Juan Rickman, fourth season (62-26)
Championship history: Class A champion 1966 and 1963.
Best wins: 68-55 over No. 12 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in Quarterfinal, 60-55 over No. 18 Detroit Country Day in District Final, 57-46 over Division 1 No. 9 Muskegon, 63-52 over Division 1 No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, 56-49 over Division 1 No. 13 North Farmington, 63-52 and 58-47 over Division 1 No. 14 Oak Park.
Players to watch: Jason Drake Jr., 6-2 sr. G (16.8 ppg, 6.7 apg); Treyvon Lewis, 6-5 sr. F (22.4 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.1 bpg); Chris Williams, 6-5 jr. F (10.2 ppg, 9.8 ppg).
Outlook: After making the Semifinals last season for the first time since 1985, Ferndale is making the trip for the second season in a row after navigating one of the strongest schedules in the state. Four of five starters are back from the team that lost 81-55 to Grand Rapids Catholic Central last year at Breslin, with junior guard Cameron Reed (9.1 ppg, 4.9 apg, 2.9 spg) joining Drake, Lewis and Williams. Drake made the all-state second team last season, and Lewis earned an honorable mention. The Eagles’ losses this season were all to Division 1 teams that won Regional titles – Grand Blanc, Warren De La Salle Collegiate and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
FREELAND
Record/rank: 25-0, No. 14
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference 10
Coach: John Fattal, third season (49-15)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 67-47 over Cadillac in Quarterfinal, 55-52 (OT – Regional Semifinal), 68-47 and 69-57 over Alma, 82-59 over Flint Hamady in Regional Final, 63-57 over Division 3 No. 17 Pewamo-Westphalia.
Players to watch: Josh Elliott, 6-3 sr. F (18.5 ppg, 70 3-pointers); Bryson Huckeby, 6-4 sr. F (14.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 6.4 apg); Alex Duley, 6-4 sr. C (13.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.4 apg).
Outlook: After winning its first Regional title since 1971, Freeland will make its first trip to the Semifinals and after playing only three single-digit games during this season’s undefeated run. Huckeby earned an all-state honorable mention last season and guides a high-scoring offense that’s gone over 80 points in three of five postseason games. In addition to the three double-digit scorers, junior Cullum LeBaron added 8.3 points per game and had 63 3-pointers entering the week. Both he and Elliott connect on 44 percent or better of their attempts from beyond the arc, with Elliott nearing 50 percent.
GRAND RAPIDS CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 24-1, No. 6
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold
Coach: TJ Meerman, ninth season (141-64)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2021, Class B runner-up 2018.
Best wins: 86-60 over No. 9 Benton Harbor in Quarterfinal, 69-44 (Regional Final) and 48-45 over Grand Rapids Christian, 68-48 over No. 2 Hudsonville Unity Christian in District Final, 64-59 over Division 1 No. 8 Grand Blanc, 80-66 over Division 1 No. 1 Detroit U-D Jesuit.
Players to watch: Jack Karasinski, 6-6 sr. F (16.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.1 ppg); Kaden Brown, 6-0 jr. G (21 ppg, 65 3-pointers, 4.2 apg); Durral Brooks, 6-2 soph. G (14.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.5 apg).
Outlook: The reigning Division 2 champion has lost just one game over the last two seasons – to 2021 Division 3 champion Flint Beecher, 75-69 on Jan. 8. Otherwise it’s been all wins despite a loaded schedule, but with four starters back from last season’s undefeated title earner. Karasinski made the all-state first team last season, while Brown made the second and Brooks earned honorable mention, and senior Jorden Brooks (11 ppg, 59 3-pointers) joins them as a returning starter. No opponent, including previously-undefeated Unity Christian, has come closer than 11 points since the Beecher loss.
WILLIAMSTON
Record/rank: 25-0, No. 7
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference White
Coach: Tom Lewis, sixth season (record N/A)
Championship history: Lower Peninsula Class C champion 1940.
Best wins: 70-54 over No. 20 Detroit Edison in Quarterfinal, 57-38 over No. 3 Onsted in Regional Semifinal, 66-29 over Chelsea in District Final, 66-37 over Division 1 No. 7 East Lansing, 49-32 over Division 1 No. 13 North Farmington.
Players to watch: Jacob Wallace, 6-4 sr. G (13.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg); Mason Docks, 6-0 sr. G (16.2 ppg, 4.8 apg, 3.8 spg); Max Burton, 6-10 sr. F (13.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg).
Outlook: Williamston will be playing in its first Semifinal since 2016, led by a pair of 1,000-point career scorers in Wallace and Docks. The Hornets have had one single-digit game all season, against Lansing Everett, and they’ve won their five postseason games by an average of 27.2 points per. Wallace made the all-state second team last season, and with Docks and Burton is part of a group of 10 seniors.
PHOTO Freeland, including Alex Duley (42), defends the lane during Tuesday’s Quarterfinal win over Cadillac. (Photo courtesy of the Freeland athletic department.)