Hoops on Film: 1973 Class C Boys Final

June 22, 2015

By John Johnson
MHSAA communications director

Straight out of the dusty tin canisters where they’ve sat for a long time, some of the classic basketball championship games of years past will be featured for 10 weeks this summer on MHSAA.tv’s Hoops On Film Series.

From the late 1940’s to the mid 1970’s the Michigan High School Athletic Association shot portions of the action at its basketball finals on 16mm film. The films were loaned out, primarily to the participating schools, to help them relive the moments of playing in a championship game.

While many of the old films have wandered astray over time, about 60 games still exist in the MHSAA archives. Anyone in possession of such a film is encouraged to contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office ([email protected]) to discuss having the film converted to a digital format.

Some of the films only have portions of the second half and the postgame awards; some have most of the action. None of the films have sound. They range in length from 10 minutes to about an hour. A new film will be posted online each Monday beginning June 22, through the week of August 17.

Click below for the first installment of the Hoops On Film series and to check out the game recap courtesy of MHSAA Historian Ron Pesch of Muskegon.

Detroit East Catholic 50, Saginaw St. Stephen 49 – 1973 Class C Boys Final - With four ticks remaining on the clock, Larry Merchant's 18-foot jumper from left of the key gave underdog Detroit East Catholic a 50-49 win over top-ranked Saginaw St. Stephen in Class C. Merchant, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half, gave the Chargers a 48-47 lead with just over a minute to play, but a pair of free throws by Elijah Coates pushed St. Stephen out front 49-48 with 45 seconds left.

Today in the MHSAA: 5/13/24

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

May 13, 2024

1. TRACK & FIELD Zeeland East’s girls – ranked No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – won their seventh straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship meet title, and LPD1 No. 3 Zeeland West won on the boys side – Holland Sentinel Girls | Boys | Athletic.net

2. TRACK & FIELD The LPD1 No. 4 Traverse City West girls extended their Big North Conference championship meet streak to three, while Central’s boys ended West’s three-year title run – Traverse City Record-Eagle | Athletic.net

3. BASEBALL Division 1 top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice shut out Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 3-0 in the Catholic High School League Bishop championship game – Oakland Press

4. BOYS LACROSSE Temperance Bedford clinched a share of its first Southeastern Conference Red title in this sport with a 16-6 win over Ann Arbor Huron – Monroe News

5. TRACK & FIELD The Corunna boys and Owosso girls repeated as Flint Metro League Stars meet champions, and the Linden girls and Fenton boys won in the Stripes – Owosso Argus-Press | Athletic.net

6. TRACK & FIELD Sturgis swept Wolverine Conference championship meet wins – Sturgis Journal | Athletic.net

7. TRACK & FIELD The Freeland girls and Saginaw Heritage boys won Korf/Schultz Saginaw County Invitational team titles – Saginaw News | Athletic.net

8. TRACK & FIELD Bay City Western swept Bay County championships, the boys for the 15th-straight season and the girls for the fifth consecutive – Bay City Times | Athletic.net

9. GIRLS LACROSSE Novi defeated Flint Powers Catholic 16-6 as the Wildcats’ Ally Katinas scored her 100th goal this season and 200th of her career – Oakland Press

10. TRACK & FIELD The LPD2 No. 5 Hudsonville Unity Christian girls and No. 2 Hamilton boys won O-K Blue meet titles, while the LPD1 top-ranked East Kentwood girls and No. 2 Rockford boys won in the O-K Red – Holland Sentinel | Athletic.net Blue | Athletic.net Red

Also of note …

TRACK & FIELD Northville swept the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship meet titles – Livingston Daily Press & Argus | Athletic.net

TRACK & FIELD The Hart girls and North Muskegon boys won West Michigan Conference Rivers championship meets – Ludington Daily News | Athletic.net

TRACK & FIELD The Ludington girls and LPD2 No. 7  Whitehall boys won in the WMC Lakes – Ludington Daily News | Athletic.net