Ferndale Caps Winter Season with 1st Boys Hoops Title Since 1966
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 25, 2023
EAST LANSING – One team was going to end a long championship drought in Saturday’s boys basketball Division 2 Final.
Ferndale’s was especially lengthy, and spanned more than five decades.
And now it is no longer.
The Eagles won their first Finals championship in 57 years with a 44-38 victory over Grand Rapids South Christian at Breslin Center.
Ferndale had last won a state title in 1966.
“The drought is over,” Eagles coach Juan Rickman said. “That’s big time, and the biggest part about making it down here was seeing how charged up the community was and the school was so charged up. It’s the greatest feeling to see how vested our community was in our success.”
Ferndale senior Christopher Williams led the way with 16 points and four rebounds.
“It feels great,” Williams said. “Especially since the past four years we’ve been to the same place and lost twice in a row to the same team, and now it feels like weight is lifted off my shoulders.
“We started off the season 1-5, and going till now we knew if we stayed together through adversity then we could do it. And it made it more impactful that it was our coach’s first state title, and that’s what we wanted to do.”
Added senior point guard Cameron Reed, who had a game-high seven assists: “It’s incredibly special. I wasn't born back then, my teammates weren’t born and my coaches weren’t born. It definitely rejuvenated the whole city and community.”
Ferndale led 8-4 at the end of the first quarter, and both teams shot poorly in the first half. The Eagles connected on a paltry 24 percent from the field, and South Christian on 35 percent of its attempts. Nate Brinks drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Sailors a 16-14 halftime lead.
Junior guard Jake Vermaas opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to make it 19-14, but Ferndale made a charge.
The Eagles sliced the deficit to one (25-24) on a 3-pointer by Trenton Ruth, and Cameron Reed tied it at 28-28 with an acrobatic layup.
“Our team was mentally strong, and I’m so proud of them for their accomplishment,” Rickman said. “Just so committed to the process and just being resilient.”
An 8-2 spurt by Ferndale over the first three minutes of the fourth quarter made it 36-30.
“That was extremely important, and we always want to win the first four minutes,” Rickman said. “And we tried to open up the fourth quarter with what we call a kill; we want to get five straight stops and score on two or three of those possessions so we can build a lead. We did that fairly well against a good team.”
South Christian was attempting to win football and basketball Finals championships during the same school year, and was looking for its first basketball title since 2005.
“It was a really hard-fought game and I thought we played at our speed, but it got away from us a little bit,” first-year Sailors coach Taylor Johnson said.
“But it doesn’t take away from what we accomplished this year. We’ve been through it all, including three season-ending injuries, and to still make it to the state finals is an incredible feat.”
Senior Jacob DeHaan and Vermaas led the Sailors with 14 points apiece, while senior Sam Medendorp added seven points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
PHOTOS (Top) Ferndale raises the Division 2 championship trophy Saturday night at Breslin Center. (Middle) Christopher Williams (13) tries to power past South Christian’s Sam Weiss (23) to the rim. (Below) Cameron Reed (0) leads a break for the Eagles.
St. Mary's Sharp in Breslin Return, Rides Strong Shooting to Semifinals Win
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2024
EAST LANSING – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s is within a step of finishing off a year-long mission.
With Friday's impressive 82-42 Division 1 Semifinal win over Ann Arbor Huron, the Eaglets find themselves on the doorstep of wiping out last year's disappointment at the Breslin Center.
It's a disappointment that none of the returning players has forgotten, junior Trey McKenney said.
"We've been on a mission all year," McKenney said of playing in Saturday's 12:15 p.m. championship game. "We've taken it one day at a time all year. The last time we were on the biggest stage, we were hurt. Now we just want to get the job done."
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (26-1) fell to Muskegon 65-42 in last year's Semifinal, a game in which the Eaglets shot only 26 percent from the field. It was a complete reversal Friday as they hit 52.7 percent (29 of 55) from the floor, including nine of 18 3-point attempts.
St. Mary’s, which upped its winning streak to 23 games, was in little jeopardy against Huron (22-5). The Eaglets scored 14 of the game's first 17 points, increased their lead to 39-17 at the half and 57-29 at the end of three quarters.
St. Mary’s junior Jayden Savoury said taking last year's playoff run two steps further has been on players' minds all season.
"It's something that's been preached all season," he said. "We came up short last year, and all the accolades and awards don't mean anything because what you remember is a state championship."
McKenney led the team Friday with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Senior guard Daniel Smythe had 18 points and Savoury 14 points and eight rebounds.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s coach Todd Covert said the quick start was key. Whereas the team made just six field goals in the first half against Muskegon a year ago, the Eaglets shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half against Huron, with seven 3-pointers.
"We tried to get out as fast as we could," Covert said. "We executed well and got the ball into (McKenney and Smythe’s) hands early. We had to be physical to get through their screens on defense. I thought we had a solid effort defensively; we tried to get in the gaps and eliminate space.”
After making the Semifinals a year ago, Eaglets players say they've been aware of having a target on their backs. The team hasn't lost since a 60-55 decision against Detroit U-D Jesuit in the fourth game of the season.
The fact they have typically battled opponents' best showings has actually worked for the team, McKenney said.
"There is a target because of last year's run," he said. "But we don't care. You don't win without having the best players in the state. We embrace pressure."
"We've been No. 1 all year, and people bring their best against us," Savoury said. "We think we have the best team, now we just have to prove it."
Huron coach Mohammad Kasham, whose team had won its MHSAA Tournament games by an average of three points per, said there is little doubt the Eaglets are a power. The game plan included playing a zone defense to offset St. Mary’s perimeter shooters.
"We ran into a buzzsaw," he said. "We picked the worst day of the year to have our worst shooting night. We missed a lot of shots we've made all season. We could never get on a run. We were outplayed and outcoached.
"Give them a lot of credit; they made the shots. We tried to be the best version of ourselves, and we didn't."
Macari Moore had 11 points for Huron.
PHOTOS (Top) Sharod Barnes (0) makes a move into the lane during Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Semifinal win Friday at Breslin Center. (Middle) St. Mary’s Trey McKenney (1) gets up a shot as Huron’s Macari Moore defends. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)