Ford Arrives in 1st MHSAA Title Game

March 27, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
 

EAST LANSING – Kenneth Flowers has been reminded more than a few times this week what he stepped into when he took over the Detroit Henry Ford boys basketball program eight seasons ago.

Congratulatory e-mails. Phone calls. Contacts from Henry Ford alumni dating back to the class of 1971. 

“The community is huge over there,” Flowers said. “It’s amazing how basketball brings a community together like this.”

Imagine if he leads the Trojans to their first MHSAA championship Saturday. 

They earned that opportunity, winning the first Semifinal in program history Friday, 64-38 over Cadillac at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.

Prior to this season, Henry Ford had played in a Quarterfinal only once before, in 1984. But it will take on Wyoming Godwin Heights at 6:30 Saturday night to decide this season’s Class B champion. 

“Our school, it’s the first time in history coming into the Breslin. And making this deep run, I just want to keep it going,” Ford senior guard Joshua Davis said. “Especially this being my last year, I’m very excited, very anxious, ready to make history.”

Flowers played his high school basketball at Detroit Redford and later led the junior varsity under coach Derrick McDowell – who has Detroit Western International playing for its first MHSAA championship as well, in the Class A Final. 

Flowers took over for McDowell at Redford for the 2005-06 season and stayed until the school closed during the summer of 2007. Flowers started at Ford that fall.

The Trojans have posted winning records six of eight seasons under him – with the two sub-.500 records coming the last two seasons. But they rebounded this winter and finished second in the Detroit Public School League West Division 1 behind only Western. 

Ford seemed to play with the jitters many first-time visitors to Breslin Center experience. It fell behind by five halfway through the first quarter to Cadillac, which played in a Semifinal for the third straight season.

But the Trojans (21-5) got the score back to even at 11-11 by the end of the quarter – and put the game nearly out of reach over the next eight minutes with a 23-6 run. 

Junior point guard James Towns got comfortable quickly on the collegiate floor, making 9 of 12 shots and all six of his free-throw attempts for 24 points to go with four assists and three steals. Davis added 17 points and senior guard Antaun Carter added 10 and four steals.

Senior guard Andrew Emington led Cadillac with 14 points, and senior forward Ethan Myers had 13. To its credit, their team came back from a 5-6 start this winter and despite graduating its leading scorer from a year ago. The Vikings finished 18-9 and went a combined 58-21 over the three-season run. 

“I told our guys in the locker room that were getting emotional, you can cry for the finality of the season, but don’t cry for the outcome of the game,” Cadillac coach Ryan Benzenberg said. “Because all we ever wanted, when this thing ended, was to lose to a team better than us. And I have no shame saying that Henry Ford is a better basketball team than we were tonight.”

Click for the full box score and video from the postgame press conference.

PHOTOS: (Top) Henry Ford players including freshman Da’Mon Gilmore (15) celebrate their first Semifinal win as they leave the floor Friday night. (Middle) Ford’s Joshua Davis finishes a dunk.

Perez Poised to Lead Hudsonville Charge

December 18, 2019

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half

HUDSONVILLE – Max Perez remembers the despair he and his Hudsonville teammates felt after a disheartening 61-60 loss to East Kentwood in last season’s Division 1 Regional Final.

The Eagles stormed back from a 19-point second-half deficit only to watch their season end in the closing seconds.

Hudsonville hopes to use the defeat as a rallying cry for this season.

“The motivation we have going into the season is really high. … We were that close to going to the Quarterfinals, which only three other Hudsonville teams had done,” Perez said. “We beat them twice (in the regular season) and they got us when it counted, so that really stung us.”

Although their postseason run ended prematurely, the Eagles still won 22 games and captured the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red championship. 

Perez, a 5-foot-10 point guard, played a major role in the team’s success despite missing nine games with a broken thumb.

That was the first time the four-year varsity player had suffered an injury that forced him to sit out for an extended period of time. 

“It was really tough, then I got the news that I would be out six weeks. But I just knew that I couldn’t get down on myself, and I would be back,” Perez said. “I just had to pick up my teammates every day in practice and encourage them and stay positive.”

Perez will be the floor general for an Eagles’ squad that has eight seniors, including 6-foot-7 Justin DeGraaf, who moved back to Hudsonville after five years living in Indiana.

Through an intense passion for the game and a strong work ethic, Perez has made giant strides since beginning his high school career as an undersized freshman on the varsity.

“I think my game has improved a lot,” Perez said. “I’m stronger now, I’m bigger now and I’ve really worked on my game. I’ve implemented more of a drive game because when I was a freshman I was small and just stayed on the 3-point line and shot jumpers.

“As the years have gone on, I’ve become more mature and added more of an arsenal to my game while also improving my defense, which was important to me.”

Hudsonville coach Eric Elliott also has seen Perez’ progression, and it’s been even more evident entering this season.

“I’ve seen a ton of growth in all aspects and every year he has grown up as a player and matured, but I think the largest leap has been from last year to this year and it’s been significant,” Elliott said. “He’s stronger and more mature, and he’s more of a calming force than in the past. He seems more at ease and relaxed.”

Perez, who averaged 15 points per game last season, has had a basketball in his hands since before he could walk.

Through the years, he’s attended numerous camps, played on successful travel teams and spent countless hours in the gym fine-tuning his pure jump shot.

“He’s more than a classic gym rat; he’s non-stop in the gym and on the gun, and there’s no doubt that it has made him a very good basketball player and an incredible shooter,” Elliott said. “He’s an extremely confident kid and a confident shooter, and that comes from repetition and time spent in the gym.”

Perez’ dedication recently helped him fulfill a goal he’s had since middle school.

Last week he committed to Indiana Tech, an NAIA school, on a full-ride scholarship.

“They showed me love since day one, and they were my first offer,” Perez said. “I love the coaching staff, their facilities and campus and I love the guys. I think it will be a great help for the season just to know that I’m playing for my team and not doing anything for myself since I’ve already committed to college.

“I can focus on the season and winning, and I think we can go a long way with this talented senior group.”

Elliott is thrilled for Perez to get the opportunity to play at the next level.

“I’m incredibly happy for Max,” he said. “Anytime you see a kid that puts in the time and the energy and the passion that he has, and then to see him get rewarded, as a coach, it’s awesome to see. I’m excited that he could make a decision now so he can totally relax and can just play now. He has that behind him.”

Perez scored 21 points in a season-opening win over Godwin Heights. It was a solid start for a team that has lofty aspirations.

“Our goal is to win the conference and win Districts, but we know how good teams are around us and the O-K Red is brutal,” Elliott said. “We have high expectations, and we feel like we can beat anybody on any given night. However, we also feel like we can be beaten by anybody. We have some things to work on, but we are very excited.”

Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at[email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.

PHOTO: Point guard Max Perez directs the offense for Hudsonville. (Photo courtesy of the Hudsonville athletic department.)