McKenney Grows Legend in Leading St. Mary's to 1st Title since 2000
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 16, 2024
EAST LANSING — At one point early in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Boys Basketball Division 1 Final, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s junior Trey McKenney had scored as many points as North Farmington had as a team.
That pretty much tells the story of who the man of the day — and arguably the season — was for 2023-24.
McKenney showed why he is one of the most highly-regarded juniors in the entire country, finishing with 32 points to lead St. Mary’s to a 63-52 win over North Farmington and its first Finals title in Division 1 or Class A, the predecessor division for the state’s largest schools.
“We’ve been going at it every day,” McKenney said. “Just being consistent. I don’t think it’s really sunk in, winning a state championship. It’s kind of crazy.”
McKenney finished 8 of 11 from the field overall and made all 14 of his free-throw attempts. He added 10 rebounds.
After the game, North Farmington head coach Todd Negoshian could only ask, “Can he graduate early?”
“He’s tough. He does a lot of things. He’s got the NBA style game right now with floaters and fadeaways. He’s so strong,” Negoshian added.
St. Mary’s (27-1) won its fifth Finals title and first since earning the Class B crown in 2000.
Ranked No. 1 for most of the year, the Eaglets navigated through that high expectation and all the way to the top of Division 1 after losing in a Semifinal last year.
“We’ve been dreaming about this a long time,” St. Mary’s head coach Todd Covert said. “This is a dream come true. It means everything.”
St. Mary’s was in control throughout, until late in the game when North Farmington made things interesting.
Trailing 46-26 with 6:27 remaining, North Farmington amped up its full-court pressure, created turnovers and did something it struggled to do prior to that point – make shots.
The Raiders cut their deficit to 59-50 with 1:46 remaining after a free throw by senior Landon Williams, making up much of the margin despite leading scorer Tyler Spratt fouling out with 3:27 left when St. Mary’s was up 55-39.
But that was as close as the Raiders could get, as McKenney essentially wrapped up the game by hitting two free throws with 12.9 seconds remaining to give the Eaglets a 63-52 lead.
St. Mary’s made 17 of 18 shots from the free-throw line during the fourth quarter.
“That was the longest fourth quarter of my life,” Covert said. “It seemed like there was seven guys out there. But we weathered the storm, and that is what it’s all about.”
Spratt finished with 17 points, and Williams had 16 to lead the Raiders (24-3).
Saturday was North Farmington’s second championship game appearance after the Raiders faced a similarly elite player in Cassius Winston with Detroit U-D Jesuit in 2016.
“I thought we wore them down a little bit to where they ended up turning the ball over,” Negoshian said. “I thought we struggled to score at times. I think we got it to where we wanted to with them turning it over and keeping us right where we needed to be within striking distance. But we just couldn’t score at times offensively, and I think that was our downfall tonight.”
Trailing 25-19 at halftime, North Farmington cut the St. Mary’s lead to 25-22 with 6:56 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Rob Smith.
But McKenney answered by scoring the next seven points, and then senior Andrew Smith drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Eaglets a 35-22 lead with 3:17 remaining in the third. McKenney then hit a jumper from the baseline to finish off a 12-0 run and push the lead to 15.
PHOTOS (Top) Orchard Lake St. Mary’s coach Todd Covert presents the Division 1 championship trophy to his players Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Eaglets’ Trey McKenney (1) gets to the basket for two points. (Below) St. Mary’s Sharod Barnes (0) gets a shot up with Dylan Smith (13) defending. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
'Rock-Solid' Huron Earns Championship Chance
By
Jason Schmitt
Special for MHSAA.com
April 8, 2021
EAST LANSING — Ann Arbor Huron head coach Waleed Samaha knew he was going to have his hands full Thursday with Warren De La Salle Collegiate in a Division 1 Semifinal matchup at the Breslin Center.
De La Salle head coach Gjon Djokaj knew Samaha’s team almost as well as the River Rats coach himself.
“Gjon is a hell of a coach,” Samaha said. “He’s really like family with our guys. He coaches some of them in the offseason, in AAU.”
That’s true. Djokaj coaches Huron seniors Devin Womack and Julian Lewis and he often coaches against seniors Kingsley Perkins and Tyson Edmondson on the circuit.
“I’m very familiar with this team,” Djokaj said. “They’re actually like family to me. I knew these guys inside and out.”
Despite knowing all of the questions before the test, Djokaj’s Pilots had troubles containing the River Rats, inside and out, as Huron played stellar defense in a 55-39 victory over De La Salle.
Edmondson scored 18 points, hitting four 3-pointers, and Kingsley dominated down low, scoring 13 points while pulling down eight rebounds.
“It’s pretty difficult,” said Edmondson, talking about how tough it is to cover the River Rats’ inside-outside game. “We have threats outside and inside. We’ve played together so much that we know where we’re going to be and what we’re going to do. We’re like a well-oiled machine.”
The two teams battled back and forth for much of the first half, with Huron leading 19-15 at the break. The River Rats extended their lead to six points after three quarters, and then used a 9-3 run to open the fourth quarter — all but putting an end to the game. Perkins had a pair of putbacks during the run, which was capped off by a 24-foot 3-pointer by Edmondson, making it a 42-30 ball game.
“I had the confidence from my team and when I was open, I was hitting my shots,” Edmondson said. “I take those (long) shots in practice and I tell ya, practice makes perfect. It really does convert to the game.”
De La Salle senior guard Linden Holder led all scorers with 19 points. His drive to the basket and long 3-pointer gave his team an early 9-4 lead. But it was short-lived. Huron used a 9-0 run at the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter to move ahead 13-9. The River Rats would not relinquish that lead.
“They are a physical presence at every spot,” Djokaj said of the River Rats. “They’re obviously no stranger to the weight room. They’re tough and physical and this was the type of game where (the officials) didn’t make a lot of calls and let us play both ways. Typically we like that style, but today it didn’t work out well for us.”
De La Salle entered the game averaging nearly 61 points per contest. Huron, known for its defense, was allowing just 36 per game. The River Rats dictated the tempo that has worked for them all season long.
“We knew if we could stay patient and run the play, run the clock, we might get that open layup or that open 3,” Samaha said. “We had our key guys making key plays in key moments. They played hard, and tonight we made a few more shots and hung on defensively
“I’m really proud of our guys. We’ve been preparing really hard for this moment. The kids really stepped up to the opportunity that they had.”
Senior Brandon Rawls had 10 points and six rebounds for Huron (20-0), which will advance to Saturday’s Division 1 championship game.
Sophomore Nino Smith had 10 points and sophomore Michael Sulaka added six for De La Salle (14-4), which will lose just three players to graduation.
“Ann Arbor Huron, in my opinion, is the best team in the state,” Djokaj said. “They’re just so versatile and dynamic in a lot of ways, positionally, so sound at point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, center. They bring physicality, they bring togetherness and toughness. They’re a great example of what a rock-solid team looks like.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Huron's Devin Womack (3) defends against De La Salle's Nino Smith during Thursday's Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) Huron's Brandon Rawls gets up a shot in the paint. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)