Freshman Shines As Eagles Repeat in D

March 23, 2013

By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half

EAST LANSING — There was no need for Eugene Brown to sit quietly in the background and ease his way into a prominent role on Southfield Christian's basketball team.

One game was all it took for the freshman guard to prove he belonged on the defending MHSAA Class D Finals champion.

When Brown scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a season-opening overtime victory over traditional Class A power Orchard Lake St. Mary's, it justified coach Josh Baker's decision to put a ninth-grader in the starting lineup of a team with Breslin-or-bust aspirations.

"To come in as a freshman, that's a pretty good first game against a great team," Baker said.

Brown was a mere spectator at the Breslin Center when the Eagles won their first championship last season. He thrived under the bright\ lights on Saturday as Southfield Christian repeated as Class D
champion with a 65-46 victory over Wyoming Tri-unity Christian.

He jump-started the Eagles' championship victory, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the first half and helping Southfield Christian build a 16-point second-quarter lead. Brown shot 5 for 8 from the field,
3 for 3 from the line, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out four assists and had three steals.

Freshman jitters? Not in this kid.

"I just tried to come out and not be nervous," Brown said. "Just play the game like you know how, just go out and do your best."

Baker wasn't concerned how his freshman phenom would respond on the big stage, just as he was confident that Brown could handle making his high school debut against a team like St. Mary's in early December.

"He's usually pretty cool and casual under pressure," Baker said. "Part of that is his problem, because he's not aggressive enough all the time. We wanted him to be aggressive. We've been on him all year to be aggressive. He did it tonight, and he showed he can make plays. He's so skilled as a freshman. When he's aggressive and he keeps the ball low, he's really good."

As Brown started sinking shots during a decisive second quarter, the Southfield Christian student section chanted, "He's a fresh-man!" It was a warning to the rest of Class D that Brown will have to be reckoned with for three more seasons. For that matter, the entire program could dominate Class D for years to come.

It's not too early to begin speculation that Southfield Christian is a dynasty in the making. Winning back-to-back championships is an excellent start. All 65 of the Eagles' points against Tri-unity were scored by players who are eligible to return next season.

The team's only two seniors didn't play until a 58-40 lead had been built midway through the fourth quarter.  The Eagles started a freshman, two sophomores and two juniors.

"We can only get better," said 6-7 junior Damarco White, who had 15 points and five blocks.

"The sky's the limit," added junior guard Lindsey Hunter IV, who scored 11 points.

A man who is an expert on Class D dynasties is Mark Keeler, who has coached four MHSAA Finals champions and four runners-up in his 26 seasons at Tri-unity.

"Seeing how young their team is, they're definitely going to be a force in Class D," said Keeler (499-142), who was trying to celebrate a Finals championship and his 500th victory on the same day.

The Eagles rebuilt on the fly after winning the title last year. Their returning players combined for only 12 points in last year's MHSAA Final, with Hunter scoring eight of them.

After a 3-4 start, Southfield Christian won its final 20 games.

"We knew we had the potential. It's just that early on we struggled with understanding the work ethic you have to put in," Baker said. "It's not just handed to you. Every game you play, every team is going to come after you. That's why we started off 3-4. We just got drilled by some guys. When they understood the work ethic and what it takes every game, we started to go on a nice run."

Tri-unity (25-3) got out to an 8-6 lead, but Southfield Christian took the lead for good by scoring the next nine points to ignite a 26-8 run. The lead reached 34-18 with 3:48 left in the second quarter. The Eagles didn't score the rest of the half, while the Defenders cut the margin to 34-23 at the intermission.

Matt Wachter's basket with 7:04 left in the third quarter trimmed the deficit to single digits at 34-25, but Tri-unity didn't put together consecutive scores again until Southfield Christian was comfortably ahead, 56-34.

Tri-unity forward Joey Blauwkamp, The Associated Press' Class D Player of the Year, was held to seven points on 2 for 9 shooting before fouling out with 2:38 left in the game.

"For us coming into halftime, being down only 11, I wasn't too concerned," Keeler said. "But when Joey picked up three and four (fouls) so quickly, it definitely messes with you."

Sophomore Bakari Evelyn scored 11 points for Southfield Christian, which shot 22 for 42 from the field and 17 for 21 from the line.

Daniel Cole scored 21 points and Wachter 11 for Tri-unity.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) Southfield Christian coach Josh Baker presents the championship trophy to his team Saturday at the Breslin Center. (Middle) Eagles freshman Eugene Brown goes up for a shot against Wyoming Tri-unity Christian's Joey Blauwkamp (4) and others. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

McKenney Grows Legend in Leading St. Mary's to 1st Title since 2000

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 16, 2024

EAST LANSING — At one point early in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Boys Basketball Division 1 Final, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s junior Trey McKenney had scored as many points as North Farmington had as a team.

That pretty much tells the story of who the man of the day — and arguably the season — was for 2023-24. 

McKenney showed why he is one of the most highly-regarded juniors in the entire country, finishing with 32 points to lead St. Mary’s to a 63-52 win over North Farmington and its first Finals title in Division 1 or Class A, the predecessor division for the state’s largest schools. 

“We’ve been going at it every day,” McKenney said. “Just being consistent. I don’t think it’s really sunk in, winning a state championship. It’s kind of crazy.”

The Eaglets’ Trey McKenney (1) gets to the basket for two points.McKenney finished 8 of 11 from the field overall and made all 14 of his free-throw attempts. He added 10 rebounds.

After the game, North Farmington head coach Todd Negoshian could only ask, “Can he graduate early?”

“He’s tough. He does a lot of things. He’s got the NBA style game right now with floaters and fadeaways. He’s so strong,” Negoshian added.

St. Mary’s (27-1) won its fifth Finals title and first since earning the Class B crown in 2000. 

Ranked No. 1 for most of the year, the Eaglets navigated through that high expectation and all the way to the top of Division 1 after losing in a Semifinal last year. 

“We’ve been dreaming about this a long time,” St. Mary’s head coach Todd Covert said. “This is a dream come true. It means everything.”

St. Mary’s was in control throughout, until late in the game when North Farmington made things interesting. 

Trailing 46-26 with 6:27 remaining, North Farmington amped up its full-court pressure, created turnovers and did something it struggled to do prior to that point – make shots.

The Raiders cut their deficit to 59-50 with 1:46 remaining after a free throw by senior Landon Williams, making up much of the margin despite leading scorer Tyler Spratt fouling out with 3:27 left when St. Mary’s was up 55-39.

But that was as close as the Raiders could get, as McKenney essentially wrapped up the game by hitting two free throws with 12.9 seconds remaining to give the Eaglets a 63-52 lead. 

St. Mary’s made 17 of 18 shots from the free-throw line during the fourth quarter. 

St. Mary’s Sharod Barnes (0) gets a shot up with Dylan Smith (13) defending.“That was the longest fourth quarter of my life,” Covert said. “It seemed like there was seven guys out there. But we weathered the storm, and that is what it’s all about.”

Spratt finished with 17 points, and Williams had 16 to lead the Raiders (24-3). 

Saturday was North Farmington’s second championship game appearance after the Raiders faced a similarly elite player in Cassius Winston with Detroit U-D Jesuit in 2016.

“I thought we wore them down a little bit to where they ended up turning the ball over,” Negoshian said. “I thought we struggled to score at times. I think we got it to where we wanted to with them turning it over and keeping us right where we needed to be within striking distance. But we just couldn’t score at times offensively, and I think that was our downfall tonight.”

Trailing 25-19 at halftime, North Farmington cut the St. Mary’s lead to 25-22 with 6:56 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Rob Smith.

But McKenney answered by scoring the next seven points, and then senior Andrew Smith drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Eaglets a 35-22 lead with 3:17 remaining in the third. McKenney then hit a jumper from the baseline to finish off a 12-0 run and push the lead to 15.

Click for the full box score. 

PHOTOS (Top) Orchard Lake St. Mary’s coach Todd Covert presents the Division 1 championship trophy to his players Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Eaglets’ Trey McKenney (1) gets to the basket for two points. (Below) St. Mary’s Sharod Barnes (0) gets a shot up with Dylan Smith (13) defending. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)