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.

Class C: Buccaneers land in Finals again

March 22, 2012

EAST LANSING – When the buzzer sounded and long after subs filled the floor in Thursday’s first Class C Semifinal, Flint Beecher junior Monte Morris quietly pointed to the Breslin Center rafters, symbolically signing No. 1.

Beecher needs just one more win to finish in that top spot for the first time since 1987.

This was the Buccaneers’ third-straight Semifinal appearance. The first two ended in disappointments.

But they climbed step closer to forgetting those with a 65-45 win over reigning champion Schoolcraft to earn a first championship game berth since 2008.

 “Not too many teams get this opportunity we have right here. It’s just something special,” Beecher senior Antuan Burks said. “Monte’s a junior and might not get to go through this his senior year. We just want to go out physical, play hard, and bring that championship back home.”

The Bucs will face Traverse City St. Francis in Saturday’s noon Final.

Burks and Beecher (27-0) haven’t lost since last season’s Semifinal against McBain. Saturday’s Final will be Beecher’s fourth in 13 seasons. Two of those three championship game losses during the run were by just three points apiece.  

“All year long, I kept reminding these guys that the number one ranking means nothing,” Beecher coach Mike Williams said. “Schoolcraft had what we wanted, which was a state championship. I keep reminding our kids, we were ranked in the top two all last year. And that meant nothing. These kids have felt and dealt with disappointment.”

By the end of Thursday’s first quarter, they had to feel confident that this season’s good vibes would last at least two more days.

Taking advantage of Schoolcraft turnovers – and turning them into quick-strike points – Beecher rolled to a 12-2 run to finish the first quarter up 10 points. The Bucs extended that advantage to 36-19 by halftime, and for the game scored 29 points off Schoolcraft’s 23 turnovers.

“They’re quicker, and it’s hard for us to have that happen in practice to prepare for that,” Schoolcraft senior all-stater Luke Ryskamp said.

It also didn’t hurt that Beecher shot 49 percent from the floor. Burks made 67 percent of his shots and finished with a game-high 24 points. Morris, this season’s Associated Press Class C Player of the Year for the second straight, added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

“Last year we did get off to a quick start (too), but this year we showed the maturity and wherewithal to sustain that lead and build on it,” Williams said. “We had miscues. We had mistakes. But we were able to overcome them.”

Ryskamp finished with 22 points and six rebounds. He was one of only two starters back from last season’s team – making it more impressive that the Eagles finished 22-5 and returned to East Lansing.

Senior Bryan Jones, the other returning starter, had seven points and a game-high nine rebounds in his final high school game.

“We’re an entirely different team this year,” Schoolcraft coach Randy Small said. “We’re not the prettiest team. We had to have a lot of guys do the dirty work, the behind-the-scenes stuff, the scratching, clawing, digging kind of stuff. The kids have done that real well.

“Last year we were probably a little more fun to watch. … But I’m proud of my guys for getting back here.”

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

PHOTO: Beecher's Monte Morris attempts a shot in Thursday's Semifinal win. He finished with 18 points. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.)