Ford's Drive Ends With School's 1st Title
March 26, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – The final celebration of the 2015-16 Michigan high school basketball season started during the final seconds when a Detroit Henry Ford assistant coach slapped hands of everyone sitting on the bench.
After the buzzer, the crowd moved to the south end of the Breslin Center floor, before players and coaches arm in arm made their way upcourt to the opposite baseline and into position to receive the first MHSAA championship trophy in school history.
Saturday night’s Class B Final was guaranteed to produce a first-time winner in boys basketball. It ended up being the team that fell just one victory short the season before – from a school that had never won a title in any sport in Finals competition.
Henry Ford, runner-up in 2015, is champion in 2016 thanks to a 61-47 win over Stevensville Lakeshore, which like the Trojans entered the postseason unranked but more than topped that expectation.
“Ever since the loss, we’ve been preparing in the gym to get back here, and not just to get here but to win it,” Henry Ford senior guard James Towns said. “It took a lot of work to get back here. It’s almost like losing everything when you get back here and lose.
“This year they doubted us; nobody had us winning. We were the bottom of Class B, and we came up here and proved them wrong.”
Henry Ford became the 13th school from the prestigious Detroit Public School League to win an MHSAA boys basketball title, giving the league two in two seasons after Detroit Western International also won its first boys hoops championship in 2015, in Class A.
The Trojans (20-6) fell in last season’s Class B Final 85-68 to Wyoming Godwin Heights, another first-time champion at the time.
This trip, Henry Ford was faced with multiple styles, first charged with shutting down guard-driven Williamston in the Semifinal (which it did 70-48) and then matched against a Lakeshore team boasting 6-foot-11 senior Braden Burke and 6-7 junior Max Gaishin. The tallest players in Ford’s regular rotation were 6-4.
Burke and Gaishin both had four points as Lakeshore stayed within a point during the first quarter, trailing 11-10 at the break. But they were unable to have an effect during a second quarter that saw the Lancers make only 1 of 7 shots from the floor and turn the ball over five times as Ford went on a 16-3 run to open up a 14-point advantage by halftime.
Burke and Gaishin would still lead a Lakeshore run. Burke had seven points and Gaishin four during the third quarter as their team cut into Ford’s lead substantially. The Trojans led 34-28 with a quarter to play. Another Burke bucket made the margin six again at 36-30 with 7:17 left on the clock.
“It’s a shame we got ourselves down in the first half. I’m not sure we reacted as well as we needed to the physicality of the ballgame in the first half,” Lakeshore coach Sean Schroeder said. “The second half, I think we did. We were one or two plays from really getting ourselves back in it.
“We had the momentum. If we get a stop, cut it to four, maybe it gets more interesting.”
Instead, Ford hustled to create its breakaway moment after Lakeshore did just about everything possible to prevent it.
After Burke's basket, a 3-pointer by sophomore Deonta Ulmer pushed the Trojans’ lead back to nine. Towns stole the ball on Lakeshore’s ensuing possession and pushed it into the post, where Burke and Gaishin blocked consecutive shots.
But 6-3 junior Malik Harris came up with the ball after the second block and moved it to Towns, who found senior Jeremy Crawley in the corner for a back-breaking 3-pointer that pushed Ford’s advantage to 42-30.
“We gave up so much size all season. You can’t question the size of our hearts though,” Ford coach Kenneth Flowers said. “These guys play with so much passion, so much desire, and understand that the game is really won in the trenches. These guys always battle, always played against bigger guys, but they knew how to be tough down there.”
Burke, who scored a game-high 19 points, continued to battle and got the deficit back to seven with 1:48 to play. But nine of the game’s final 11 shots were made Trojans free throws.
Crawley scored 18 points, and Towns closed his high school career with 15 points and three assists. Senior forward Alston Hunter, who with Towns started on last year’s team, had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Ford outrebounded Lakeshore 30-19 and had 17 second-chance points.
Senior guard Logan Steffes added 10 points for Lakeshore, and Gaishin finished with nine points, five rebounds and two blocks.
The Lancers were playing in their second MHSAA Final and also finished Class B runner-up in 2012. They will graduate seven including four starters.
“When this class was growing up, we knew we had Braden and we knew we had Logan coming through,” Schroeder said. “But to see the development of some of these other kids, we had a tremendous senior class, a tremendous amount of leadership.
“A kid like Logan Steffes, who has put so much time and energy into this program. You saw at the end, he was trying to will us to win the game. He steals it, misses the shot, gets the ball back, misses. He wanted badly to win that game.”
The Boys Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Henry Ford players celebrate their first MHSAA championship in any sport Saturday. (Middle) The Trojans' James Towns soars as he prepares to launch.
Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Boys Report Week 7
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 24, 2022
Nearly all of the MHSAA’s 750 member high schools have a varsity boys basketball team, and “Breslin Bound” highlights the notable performances throughout the state.
But it’s been impossible this season to not turn a lot of attention toward Detroit.
The Detroit Catholic League Central features five teams with overall records of 6-3 or better despite two weeks of matchups against each other. The Detroit Public School League Blue features at least three championship contenders as well. River Rouge is sure to be in the Division 1 mix too, but just lost for the first time to an intriguing Division 3 riser in Ecorse. And as always, the suburbs are loaded with teams with March possibilities.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Ecorse 60, River Rouge 58 The Raiders (5-1) are a combined 33-11 over the last three seasons but hadn’t defeated Rouge (12-1) since 2014 and lost last year’s matchup by 11.
2. Detroit Martin Luther King 56, Detroit Cass Tech 51 These two and Renaissance are starting to separate at the top of the Detroit Public School League Blue, with King (9-1) earning a valuable advantage over the Technicians (9-2) as both face Renaissance this week.
3. Menominee 51, Powers North Central 26 The Maroons (9-1) handed the Jets (9-1) their only loss and appear capable of finishing the regular season as the top team in Division 3 MPR.
4. Detroit U-D Jesuit 65, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 61 Another must-see week of games in the Detroit Catholic League Central concluded with Jesuit (6-3) and Detroit Catholic Central (8-2) tied for first, with the Eaglets (8-2) next.
5. Ferndale 56, North Farmington 49 The Eagles (8-2) won this road matchup for first place in the Oakland Activities Association Red, with North Farmington (10-2) set to make a return trip Feb. 17.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Detroit Renaissance (9-1) While last season’s 6-8 record wasn’t a good indicator of the team’s ability – Renaissance lost four games by six points or fewer and fell to Detroit U-D Jesuit (11-1) by just a basket in District play – the Phoenix are closing in on guaranteeing their first winning season since 2018-19. They are in the PSL Blue mix (see above) and have scored at least 79 points in their last four games, with a high of 106. They have wins over Romulus Summit Academy North (9-2) and Bloomfield Hills (8-2), with the lone loss by five to Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (7-2).
Rockford (10-1) The Rams are seeking to repeat in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red and sit alone in first place after last week’s 62-56 win over Grand Haven (9-1). That one meant even more because Rockford fell twice to the Buccaneers last season on the way to going 15-3 overall. The lone defeat this winter came Dec. 18 against Detroit Catholic Central (8-2).
Division 2
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (10-1) The Cougars’ perfect run to the Division 2 championship last season featured a lineup that graduated only one senior, making this season’s success predictable but no less impressive. Among the most notable wins were their first three – 48-45 over Grand Rapids Christian, then 80-66 over Detroit U-D Jesuit and 64-59 over reigning Division 1 champion Grand Blanc – and GRCC also has a victory over Ada Forest Hills Eastern, which is second to the Cougars in the O-K Gold. The team’s lone loss came 75-69 to reigning Division 3 champion Flint Beecher.
Kingsford (7-1) The Flivvers’ last Great Northern Conference championship came in 2011-12, and they’ve rarely had an impact on the race since – but that could change over the next six weeks. While Kingsford’s lone loss came to reigning champ Escanaba, 53-50 on Dec. 10, they haven’t allowed another opponent to come closer than 13 points. League leader Menominee is up next, and the Escanaba rematch is Feb. 4.
Division 3
Flint Beecher (8-1) The Bucs are under new but familiar leadership, with early 2000s star Marquis Gray taking over the program this winter. Through nearly the first half of the season, the reigning Division 3 champion looks headed toward another long run. In addition to the GRCC win (see above), Beecher is again leading the Genesee Area Conference Red and has lost only to Division 1 Martin Luther King – no one but King and GRCC have gotten closer than single digits. The Bucs finish the regular season with Division 1 Flint Carman-Ainsworth and Grand Blanc.
Traverse City St. Francis (7-1) The Gladiators have lost only to Division 1 Grand Haven and have a win over Division 1 Traverse City Central (50-48 in double overtime). St. Francis tied for second in the Lake Michigan Conference last season but opened this one with a 59-40 win over reigning champion Charlevoix. After losing twice to Elk Rapids last year, St. Francis handed the second-place Elks a 50-47 defeat last Tuesday to take over the league lead alone – and also-second place Boyne City hosts St. Francis this Friday.
Division 4
Deckerville (8-1) The Eagles are closing in on guaranteeing their first winning season since 2016-17, and after going 4-9 a year ago. They own two two-point and one three-point win and join Dryden –Tuesday’s opponent – as undefeated in North Central Thumb League Stars play. The lone loss came to Division 2 Imlay City, a contender in the Blue Water Area Conference.
Rudyard (8-0) Division 4 semifinalists last season, the Bulldogs are among a small group of Upper Peninsula teams that play in multiple leagues – and they lead both the Straits Area Conference and Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference and have wins over the second-place teams from each. Rudyard’s best victory came Saturday, nonleague, as it handed Munising its first defeat 57-34.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Detroit U-D Jesuit (6-3) at Detroit Catholic Central (8-2) – The co-leaders in the Catholic League Central meet up for the first time this season.
Tuesday – Richmond (8-1) at Croswell-Lexington (10-0) – The Pioneers have won the last two Blue Water Area Conference titles, and Richmond won two straight before that.
Tuesday – Olivet (10-0) at Lake Odessa Lakewood (8-1) – Both are undefeated in the Greater Lansing Activities Conference, and they split last season’s series.
Friday – Detroit Renaissance (9-1) at Detroit Martin Luther King (9-1) – Depending on Renaissance’s success Tuesday at Cass Tech, this eventually could determine the PSL Blue championship.
Friday – Carrollton (8-0) at Hemlock (7-1) – The Cavaliers are undefeated atop the Tri-Valley Conference 10, but Hemlock’s only loss was to Carrollton 44-43 in the season opener.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO Davison and Detroit Edison face off earlier this season. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)