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.
In Semifinal Return, Schoolcraft Dethrones Reigning Champ to Take Next Step
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 24, 2022
EAST LANSING – There are many teams around the state that probably figured no recipe existed for dominating Flint Beecher in a boys basketball game.
They likely were taking notes Thursday while watching what Schoolcraft accomplished in the second Division 3 Semifinal at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
Playing just about flawlessly on offense and defense, Schoolcraft advanced to its first Finals championship game since winning the Class C title in 2011 with a stunning 55-39 win over the reigning Division 3 champion.
“Five weeks ago, we just kind of overhauled our offense,” Schoolcraft coach Randy Small said. “We tried to play more inside-out and have more post-up action than what we had previously. I think that has helped us out overall offensively. It’s just given us more flow.”
It was a return trip to the Semifinals for the Golden Eagles, who fell 54-50 in overtime to Iron Mountain last year at Breslin.
The simplest explanation for what happened this time is that Schoolcraft (24-2) made its shots throughout – with an especially notable showing from 3-point range – while Beecher (22-3) did not find similar success.
Schoolcraft shot 9 of 12 from 3-point range and made 17 of 27 shots from the field overall, while Beecher made 5 of 19 shots from 3-point range and 15 of 46 overall.
But going a bit deeper, much of the credit for Schoolcraft’s shooting has to go to the way it handled any pressure Beecher threw at it, effectively creating a halfcourt game and patiently moving the ball on offense for good shots.
Schoolcraft turned the ball over a reasonable 12 times and rarely let Beecher speed the game up.
“I think the whole team handled it pretty well,” senior Ty Rykse said of Beecher’s pressure. “We knew they were going to pressure. The past couple of days, we had just been stressing to handle the ball pressure and I think we did.”
Defensively, Schoolcraft used its height advantage inside, employing a zone defense to pack in Beecher and force the Buccaneers to win from the perimeter.
“I just thought we did a pretty good job of controlling the paint and keeping them out of the paint,” Small said. “We had to give up some threes because they are quicker than we are. We didn’t want to spread ourselves too thin. I thought overall, we did a pretty good job of that.”
Schoolcraft made five of its first six shots from 3-point range in the first half and took a 28-17 lead into halftime.
The third quarter saw Schoolcraft continue to make it a halfcourt contest and shoot well from the outside. Schoolcraft grew its lead to 17 points at 41-24 with 55 seconds remaining in the third following a 3-pointer by junior Eli DeVisser.
A Beecher run never materialized, and the lead increased to 49-27 with 5:36 remaining and was never threatened the rest of the game.
“We had shots we missed; they had shots they made,” said first-year Beecher coach Marquise Gray. “I think we took some good, quality shots. You’ve got to give them credit.”
Sophomore Shane Rykse scored 21 points, senior Tyler DeGroote scored 13 and Ty Rykse added 12 points for Schoolcraft.
Senior Carmelo Harris scored 15 points and junior Robert Lee added 10 for Beecher.
PHOTOS (Top) Schoolcraft celebrates its Semifinal win Thursday afternoon at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Golden Eagles’ Tyler DeGroote (24) and Beecher’s Bryce Carr (32) reach for a loose ball. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)