Godwin Heights Caps Long Trip to Top
March 28, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – The final seconds of Friday night at the Breslin Center were about relief for Wyoming Godwin Heights senior Delaney Blaylock, after he led the Wolverines to their first MHSAA championship game berth.
Relief turned into disbelief Saturday – and satisfaction for a community that started this trip nearly 90 years ago.
Godwin Heights defeated Detroit Henry Ford 85-68 in the final game of this season to earn its first MHSAA title, 86 years after its first trip to the final week.
Grand Rapids Godwin made its first MHSAA Quarterfinal in 1929 and finished runner-up in 1950 and then as Wyoming Godwin in 1960. The Wolverines played in four more Semifinals – including in 2013 – and then fell in the Quarterfinals again in 2014.
“I was just thinking I can’t believe we’re here,” Blaylock said Saturday night. “I just didn’t want to be comfortable being in the state championship, but (wanted) to win the state championship.”
Like Powers North Central did in winning Class D earlier Saturday, Godwin Heights (26-1) capped a three-year run that will go down among the most successful in MHSAA history.
The Wolverines were a combined 74-5 over the last three seasons, which tied them for the ninth-most wins over a period of that length.
And the last of those wins was more or less decided by halftime.
Henry Ford scored the first basket of the game and never led again, as Godwin Heights build a lead as large as 23 points during the second quarter while shooting 55 percent from the field and making 8 of 11 3-point shots during the first 16 minutes.
The Wolverines led 50-29 at the break and never by fewer than 14 points during the final two quarters.
“I don’t think I ever saw a team shoot like that in the Breslin,” Henry Ford coach Kenneth Flowers said. “The craziest part about it, they didn’t shoot the ball well yesterday (33 percent from the floor, 26 from 3-point range). They came out today on fire. … They played like state champions.”
The Godwin Heights basketball community had to struggle through sadness at the end of summer. Junior-to-be Ta’Carhri Richardson – who played for first-year Wolverines coach Tyler Whittemore on the junior varsity in 2013-14 – was shot and died Aug. 3.
Whittemore, a 2005 graduate, was promoted to the varsity job after coaching in the program at various levels for eight seasons.
“Toughness is what defines them,” Whittemore said of his players. “It’s tough to go through what they did, have that tragedy happen (during) the summer before the basketball season was going to start. We had one of our games on his birthday, the second game against Holland (on Dec. 16). The guys rallied around each other. They were playing hard for one another, getting loose balls for one another … not for themselves.”
Blaylock led five scorers in double figures Saturday, with 19 points, and he also grabbed 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Lamar Norman came off the bench for 17 points, while senior forward Michael Williams and junior guard Leon Redd both scored 13 and junior forward Richard Major had 12. Williams also grabbed nine rebounds and had four assists.
Detroit Henry Ford, playing in its first Final after also playing in and winning its first Semifinal on Friday, finished 21-6.
Senior forward Joshua Davis had 16 points and 11 rebounds and junior point guard James Towns had 15 points and six assists. They were the leading scorers this season as the Trojans bounced back from two straight sub-.500 seasons to also make their first Quarterfinal since 1984.
“I was telling them I know it hurts, and they’re crying their eyes out right now too,” Flowers said. “But they took Henry Ford High School to a place it’s never been before. These guys are the foundation of good things to come.”
Click for the full box score and video from the postgame press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Godwin Heights players celebrate the first MHSAA title in program history. (Middle) Henry Ford guard Antaun Carter is surrounded by Wolverines defenders in the lane.
Thanks in Part to Super Subs, Balanced Lincoln Set to Make Finals Debut
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2024
EAST LANSING – It may be that Warren Lincoln is short on star power.
But success certainly isn't lacking.
In fact, the Abes' latest includes the chance to play in their first state championship game after surging to a 60-48 win over Flint Powers Catholic in Friday's first Division 2 Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
Warren Lincoln does have four players averaging more than nine points per game. But coach Wydell Henry said it's hard to single out a particular player as a bona fide star.
"Who is our superstar? We don't have one," said Wydell, whose team advanced to Saturday's 6:45 p.m. finale. "Sometimes a star shines through, but today it was the bench."
How impressive was the bench? Warren Lincoln's subs outscored Powers’ 27-1, with a handful of non-starters on the floor for a devastating 19-7 run over 10 minutes from the last minute of the first quarter to the 7:10 mark of the third.
It's a bench which has evolved during the season, junior guard Markus Blackwell said. Four months ago, during the opening weeks of practice, there were some roles which were up in the air. But Blackwell said those roles were quickly defined, and success followed.
"We knew in the summer we were going to have depth," said Blackwell, who led the Abes with 20 points. "We just needed to get better and learn to make shots. Everyone can score, everyone can make their shots. That's what makes it a lot of fun."
Warren Lincoln (23-4) trailed by as much as 17-9 with 54 seconds left in the first quarter. But the Abes tied the game 20-20 on a 3-pointer by Christopher Morgan with 5:15 left in the half, then outscored Powers 17-6 in the third quarter.
The closest Powers came after that was 47-40 with five minutes left in the game, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Blackwell clinched the win.
Javontae Ross led Powers (22-6) with 16 points, and Connor Kelly added 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Wydell said his team goes nine deep and considering the returning experience this season, he was expecting Lincoln to be a factor. The Abes finished 9-1 to claim the Macomb Area Conference White title, and all four its losses this season were to strong Division 1 teams.
"I knew we had eight back and that was going to be deep enough," he said. "I didn't know who, but we have guys who work hard. We just needed to put it together.”
Defensively, Warren Lincoln held Powers to just 40.8-percent (20 of 49) shooting from the field. The Chargers were slowed by 14 turnovers, many when it seemed they could make a run.
"Offensively, we got a little bogged down today; we couldn't find any rhythm. They scouted us well. It wasn't any particular player, we just couldn't find the hoop," Powers coach Zach Collins said. "They definitely have depth, they go about nine deep and they're huge. They go 6-5, 6-6 and can roll in a lot of guys. They can roll in a lot of guys who understand their scheme. We knew that was something we'd have to contend with."
Wydell said the game-clinching run came after a timeout in which he told the players ignore any pressure.
"We called a timeout, got together and just told the kids to relax," he said. "Hopefully it would work because we really didn't have any answers. We just had to settle down and play the right way."
PHOTOS (Top) Warren Lincoln’s Markus Blackwell (2) cuts between Flint Powers Catholic defenders Grant Garman (2) and Dempsey Cull (35) during Friday’s Division 2 Semifinal. (Middle) Jamari Culver (23) looks for an opening with Cull attempting to wall off his path. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)