With Lee in Lead, Beecher Seizes Day Again with 2nd Title in 3 Seasons
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 25, 2023
EAST LANSING – Robert Lee Jr. didn’t mind shouldering the scoring load in Saturday’s Division 3 Final.
Especially with a championship at stake.
The Flint Beecher senior guard scored a game-high 29 points to lead Flint Beecher past Traverse City St. Francis 64-50 at Breslin Center.
“Before the game I got up some shots at a high school, and usually when I do that I feel good,” Lee Jr. said. “I felt like I had to step up for my team. I did my part, and my teammates did their part. We won it together.”
It was Beecher’s second Finals title in three years and sixth since 2012. The Bucs lost in the Semifinals last year and were eager to return and reclaim the championship.
“Last year I brought my team up here and it was tears of hurt and disappointment, and that's something we talked about not just tonight, but all season long,” Beecher coach Marquise Gray said. “I constantly reminded the guys of that feeling and I think it drove us, and we are fortunate and blessed to come away with a title tonight.”
The 6-foot-2 Lee Jr. scored 18 of his 29 in the second half. He was 12 of 19 from the field and also grabbed 11 rebounds.
“I couldn’t score that many points without my teammates,” said Lee Jr., who also was part of a Division 3 title team as a sophomore. “It feels good … and spring break is going to feel a lot better, and food is going to taste better.”
Beecher (24-4) blitzed St. Francis early and led 8-0 after the first three minutes. The opening run included a pair of layups and an emphatic dunk by Lee Jr.
However, the Gladiators fought back and ended the quarter on a 7-0 run. Senior Wyatt Nausadis drilled a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to give St. Francis a 17-15 lead.
The Gladiators carried the momentum into the second quarter and built a 28-21 lead. But defense helped bring Beecher closer as it scored the last four points of the half and trailed 30-27.
Lee Jr. helped Beecher reclaim the lead (35-32) with back-to-back buckets. He then had a three-point play and mid-range jumper to make it 42-34 – and a steal and layup to push the lead to 10. A 3-pointer from Wasir James in the final minute of the quarter gave Beecher its biggest lead (47-35) of the game.
Lee Jr. then added 13 points in the third quarter as Beecher outscored the Gladiators 20-7.
“Both of my calves started cramping up (at the end of the third quarter),” Lee Jr. said. “I tried to do whatever I could to prevent it, but I had to fight through it. When we got the win, I knew it was going to feel good.”
In the fourth quarter, St. Francis got to within five (47-42), but a Lee Jr. 3-pointer ignited a 7-0 surge that put the game out of reach.
Lee Jr. was the only Beecher player in double figures. Senior Jaylen Townsend had nine points and five rebounds, while senior Kevin Tiggs Jr. had eight points.
The Bucs shot 50 percent (26-52) from the field and recorded nine steals.
“We talked all year about seizing the moment, and tonight I think we did a great job of that,” Gray said. “Our road wasn't easy, but we continued to believe.”
St. Francis (24-4) was seeking its first Finals championship. Its best finish was Class C runner-up in 2012.
“That’s a good team, and we battled well,” Gladiators coach Sean Finnegan said. “We had a good first half and put ourselves in position, but they made a couple runs in the second half and we struggled to finish a little bit at times.
“But I can’t say how proud I am of the boys and the fact that we’re here and had the opportunity we had.”
Nausadis finished with a team-high 20 points, while senior center John Hagelstein added 12 points and seven rebounds. Senior Drew Breimayer had nine points.
PHOTOS (Top) Flint Beecher celebrates its Division 3 championship Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Bucs’ Keyonta Menifield (2) finds his way to the basket with Drew Breimayer (3) and John Hagelstein (23) defending. (Below) Kevin Tiggs Jr. elevates for a shot as Hagelstein and Joey Donahue (13) look to block it.
Sweet-Shooting Briggs, Talented Teammates have Muskegon Dreaming Big Again
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
January 10, 2023
Jordan Briggs put on another shooting clinic Saturday night in front of a packed house at Muskegon’s historic Redmond-Potter Gymnasium, repeatedly elevating and hitting 3-pointers and mid-range jumpers, making it look effortless.
While the Muskegon senior has certainly been blessed with plenty of God-given ability, there is so much more to his story.
To fully understand Briggs’ emergence as one of the state’s best pure shooters, you had to be in the gym this summer when there was no crowd, no opposing team, no coaches and no media – just Briggs and the school’s shooting machine.
The only sounds on those days were the squeaks of his shoes echoing off the walls, followed up repeatedly by the swish of a leather ball through nylon. Five-hundred made shots every day. No exceptions. No excuses.
“I love to shoot,” said Briggs, a 6-foot-1 senior who scored a team-high 24 points Saturday to keep Muskegon undefeated with a 62-51 victory over Ferndale in the finale of the three-game Muskegon Basketball Showcase.
“I never get bored, and I could do it all day. That work I’ve put in gives me and my coaches confidence to take those shots in games. I pretty much have the green light.”
He’s not kidding.
Late in the first half Saturday, Briggs had the ball on a 2-on-1 fastbreak when he suddenly pulled up and fired a 3-pointer, which just rimmed out. Muskegon coach Keith Guy, who loves his team to constantly attack the rim, clapped his approval.
“Jordan is a pure shooter,” explained Guy, whose team is 5-0 and 1-0 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green. “But he’s also crafty with the basketball. He can get other guys involved and he’s got it on a string, so that’s a nightmare for other teams.
“A lot of great shooters can’t hurt you off the dribble, but he can do both.”
Muskegon’s win Saturday was the 400th career victory for Guy as a head coach – with 191 in nine years at Muskegon Heights and 209 wins in 11 years at Muskegon.
Guy, whose tenure at Muskegon is highlighted by a Class A title in 2014 and two Mr. Basketball winners in DeShaun Thrower (2014) and Deyonta Davis (2015), has another team with the makings of a championship run and another Mr. Basketball candidate in Briggs.
Muskegon features two floor general-type point guards in senior David Day III and junior M’Khi Guy, along with a loaded front court with seven players standing 6-4 or taller, led by starting juniors Terrance Davis (6-6) and Stanley Cunningham (6-5).
A pure shooter like Briggs – a three-year starter who has committed to Wayne State – is something that Guy hasn’t always had, and might be what makes the difference in March.
Briggs had his best game of the season back on Dec. 28 at the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame Classic at Reeths-Puffer High School. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was there to get a close look at recruiting target Durral Brooks of Grand Rapids Catholic Central, but it was Briggs who stole the show.
Briggs scored a game-high 35 points, including the winning bucket in overtime in an 81-79 victory.
“I just happened to catch fire that night,” said Briggs, who is a 4.0-GPA student and a National Honor Society member. “That was a great win for us and we’re rolling to start the season, which is great. But we want to keep it going and play our best basketball in March, when it really counts.”
In the Big Reds’ first league game Friday night at cross-town rival Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, Briggs got in foul trouble and didn’t score in the first half. He made amends by scoring his team’s first 12 points of the second half (on four 3-pointers), as Muskegon pulled away for a 51-26 victory.
He followed that up with his 24-point performance against Ferndale and is now averaging 24 points, six rebounds and five assists per game.
Guy hopes that, led by Briggs, this year’s team is ready for a long run – literally.
Guy made all of his varsity players that were not on the football team run cross country this fall, and not just for conditioning reasons.
“It put them out of their comfort zones, which is a good thing,” explained Guy, who is also Muskegon’s athletic director. “Take Jordan, for example. Basketball is comfortable for him. I wanted to put him in situations that weren’t as comfortable for him so that he would learn how to adapt and handle being uncomfortable a little better.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon’s Jordan Briggs (2) pulls up for a shot at the 3-point arc during his team’s win Saturday over Ferndale. (Middle) Briggs makes his move toward the basket. (Photos by Tim Reilly.)