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.
GRCC Earns Repeat Title Bid with Repeat Semifinal Win over Ferndale
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 25, 2022
EAST LANSING – The showdown between two Mr. Basketball finalists, Jack Karasinski of Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Treyvon Lewis of Ferndale, certainly didn’t disappoint – and ended in a virtual draw.
It was the supporting cast which lifted reigning Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Catholic Central back into Saturday’s title game.
The Cougars (25-1) used their relentless fast break to offset a 3-point barrage by Ferndale in an 82-71 victory in the first Division 2 Semifinal on Friday at the Breslin Center.
“Everything stems from our defense,” said ninth-year GRCC coach TJ Meerman. “When we get stops, we’ve got a lot of guys with guard skills on the floor, who have an opportunity to get out and run.”
One of those with guard skills is Karasinski, a 6-foot-6 senior who has committed to William & Mary. The versatile Karasinski finished with a game-high 34 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, five rebounds and three blocked shots.
That performance was nearly matched by Lewis, a 6-5 senior who is headed to Loyola of Chicago. With Loyola head coach Drew Valentine sitting courtside, Lewis scored 32 points, with four 3-pointers and seven rebounds.
The difference in the game was Ferndale’s inability to slow down the Cougars’ fast break. GRCC pushed the ball for the full 32 minutes, repeatedly beating Ferndale down the floor and leading to an 18-2 advantage in fast-break points, a 38-14 edge in points in the paint and a 48 percent shooting percentage.
Sophomore Durral Brooks had six rebounds and five steals, and after each of those, would use his speed to beat Ferndale down the court, leading to 22 points (on 8-of-12 shooting) and also a game-high eight assists.
When asked about his dynamic performance at the postgame press conference, Brooks pointed to something not even listed on the stat sheet.
“I drew three charges today,” Brooks said with a smile.
That answer was music to the ears of Meerman, who has four starters back from last year’s championship team. The Cougars have lost only one game over the past two seasons – a 75-69 defeat to Division 3 semifinalist Flint Beecher earlier this season – and captured the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold title.
It was the second-straight Semifinal win for GRCC over Ferndale, as the Cougars won the same matchup 81-55 last year at Breslin.
But it’s clear they won’t be satisfied unless they win it all again Saturday.
“It would mean the world to me,” said Karasinski when asked about the possibility of a second consecutive championship. “Not a lot of teams have gone back-to-back, especially from West Michigan.”
GRCC led by five points after the first quarter, extended the lead to seven by halftime, then bumped it to 13 points, 55-42, entering the fourth quarter. Ferndale was never able to get the deficit down to single digits.
Kaden Brown scored seven points and had nine assists for the Cougars, while Luka Ressler and Jorden Brooks each scored seven points.
Ferndale (21-4) stayed in the game throughout thanks to its 3-point shooting.
The Eagles made almost as many 3-pointers (11) as they did 2-point field goals (12). Lewis led the way with four 3-pointers, while junior Cameron Reed made three to account for all of his nine points.
Ferndale was hurt by foul trouble for 6-2 senior guard Jason Drake Jr., a returning first-team all-stater. Drake scored 12 points with five rebounds and four assists, but played only 16 minutes due to fouls – then fouled out with 1:57 remaining in the third quarter.
“Give credit to Grand Rapids and TJ does a great job with them,” said Ferndale coach Juan Rickman, who is in his fourth year and led the Eagles to the Oakland Activities Association Red title. “But I feel bad for Jason Drake. … It was hard for us to hang with them without him on the court.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Kaden Brown (4) walls off Ferndale’s Cameron Reed (0) during Friday’s first Division 2 Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) Ferndale’s Noah Blocker (4) and Treyvon Lewis (5) and GRCC’s Nathan VanTimmeren (11) try to gather a loose ball at the backboard. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)