Highlight Reel: Boys Basketball Finals

March 28, 2015

By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director 

The winter sports season concluded Saturday with the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals at the Breslin Center at Michigan State University.

Below are highlight clips from every game plus links to watch them in full

Class A

Detroit Western International 62, Saginaw Arthur Hill 59 

Blackshear Six-Point Run - Gerald Blackshear of Detroit Western scored the first six points of the fourth quarter in the Class A Final against Saginaw Arthur Hill. He ended the game with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Leaping Lumberjacks - Saginaw Arthur Hill gets its first lead of the Class A Final against Detroit Western on this alley-oop from Eric Davis to Brian Bowen. Bowen finished with a game-high 21 points. 

Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here. 

Class B

Wyoming Godwin Heights 85, Detroit Henry Ford 68 

A Couple Of Statements - Wyoming Godwin Heights makes a statement with its flashy taste in shoes, and a great alley-oop play to its leading scorer in the Class B Final, Delaney Blaylock. The Wolverines had four players in double figures, led by Blaylock's 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Davis Drives For Two - Josh Davis led Detroit Henry Ford with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Here he scores on a drive in the second quarter in the Class B Final. 

Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here. 

Class C

Flint Beecher 78, Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian 52 

Moten Gets The Basket - Cedric Moten goes coast-to-coast for Flint Beecher against Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian for the old-fashioned three-point play. Moten led the Bucs with 24 points.

Nice Dunk By Nhial - Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian had a seven-point run in the third quarter topped off by Kual Nhial's dunk. Nhial had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. 

Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.

Class D 

Powers North Central 67, Morenci 47

Whitens For The Hoop & One - Jason Whitens led Powers North Central in the Class D Final against Morenci with 19 points, including this three-point play in the first quarter. 

Sharing The Rock - Bobby Black makes a nice feed to Torin Merillat for a first-quarter basket for Morenci.

Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.

PHOTO: Flint Beecher’s Malik Ellison looks to make a move while being defended by NorthPointe’s Andrew Holesinger.

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."

Jamari Culver (23) looks for an opening with Cull attempting to wall off his path. 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."

Click for the full box score.

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.)