Muskegon Makes Return to Semis Count
March 21, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Muskegon High School has waited a long time for this.
And after waiting one more year than they'd hoped, the Big Reds finally have earned the opportunity to play for their first MHSAA boys basketball title since 1937.
Senior Deshaun Thrower said he and his teammates thought last year might’ve been theirs – but fell by three points to Grand Rapids Christian in a Quarterfinal.
Playing Friday in its first Semifinal since 1947, Muskegon earned that title chance with a 63-47 win over Mount Pleasant at the Breslin Center.
“Last year we were 32 minutes away from here, and we felt we could’ve won it. We beat ourselves,” Thrower said. “That feeling never left us. It’s something we’ve prepared for and something we go off of every game and every practice.”
The top-ranked and undefeated Big Reds (27-0) will finish this season facing either Detroit U-D Jesuit or Bloomfield Hills at noon Saturday.
And despite discussions about Mount Pleasant possibly pulling off the biggest comeback in MHSAA Semifinals history – the record is 18 points – the result never felt completely up for grabs after the end of the first quarter.
Muskgon led by as many as 23 points, nearly halfway through the third quarter before the Oilers were able to wither the advantage to nine twice during the fourth quarter. But they could get no closer.
“When you dig yourself a hole the way we dug it, you’ve got to press so hard to try to make a comeback because you’ve got to start giving up things on the defensive end," Mount Pleasant coach Dan Schell said. "And when you don’t capitalize when you do have opportunities, it’s huge because possessions are so limited and important at that point in time.
“You can go down the stretch when we had a chance, but the first 8 to 14 minutes is what cost us the game.”
All five Muskegon starters scored between nine and 14 points and grabbed 4-6 rebounds. Combined, the starters shot 50 percent from the floor and scored all but five of their team’s points.
Senior William Roberson, Jr., and junior Joeviair Kennedy led with 14 points, while senior guard Jordan Waire added 11 and junior center Deyonta Davis had 10 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots.
Thrower – this season’s Mr. Basketball Award winner – scored only nine points, but grabbed six rebounds to go with five assists. Kennedy had 13 of his points during the first quarter as Muskegon jumped to an 18-9 lead.
“It’s the flow of the game. Because I think in that starting lineup, we’ve got five guys who can put it in the basket,” Muskegon coach Keith Guy said. “(Kennedy) got it going early and it didn’t do anything but help us. Hopefully he can do the same thing (Saturday).
Mount Pleasant, itself ending a long Semifinals absence by playing in this round for the first time since 1981, finished 22-5 to double its win total from 2012-13.
The Oilers started five seniors, with center Jaleel Hogan leading with 14 points and 10 rebounds and guard Aaron Leasher adding six points, eight rebounds and five assists.
“People around the state who know basketball know how hard it is to get through our Regional because you have to go through Saginaw or Saginaw Arthur Hill every year, or a good Flint team,” said Schell, an Oilers player during the early 1990s. “So just to get out of the Regional, we were happy but not content.
“We sure wanted to bring a state championship back. Hopefully we’ll get another special group some day and we’ll find a way to get back here.”
Click for the full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Muskegon's Jordan Waire works to get past Mount Pleasant's T.J. Johnson on Friday. (Middle) The Big Reds' Deshaun Thrower drives to the basket.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Mount Pleasant got a 14-point, nine -ebound effort in the Class A Semifinal against Muskegon from Jaleel Hogan. Here he takes a feed from Aaron Leasher and scores to give his team a 4-2 lead. (2) Off the long miss, Muskegon's Deyonta Davis scores on the putback for two of his 14 points. He was one of four players in double figures for the Big Reds.
Southfield Christian Follows New Leaders
March 14, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – It’s a new Finals, with another trip for Southfield Christian, and Jon Sanders and Da’Jion Humphrey’s turns to take on the spotlight.
The Eagles – last season’s Class D champions – will play for a second straight title Saturday morning after defeating Dollar Bay 55-28 in Thursday’s first Division 4 Semifinal.
Sanders and Humphrey started on last season’s team but played supporting roles. Now they’re the leaders, and have led the way this week. Sanders, a senior, scored 23 points in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal win over Burton Genesee Christian. Humphrey, a junior, had a game-high 16 and nine rebounds in the Semifinal.
“It’s a blessing to be able to step into a big role I wasn’t in last year,” Sanders said. “You always find a role and fit it and do the best you can. This year I’ve been doing the best of my ability with a couple guys we lost (after last season), and my teammates just helping me do it.”
Southfield Christian (20-6) will take on Frankfort in Saturday’s first Final at 10 a.m.
Humphrey opened the scoring Thursday with a 3-pointer just 27 seconds into the game. He had another later in the first quarter to give Southfield Christian a 16-10 lead, and went on a personal 8-0 run over 45 seconds at the end of the second quarter while the Eagles extended their lead to 18 heading into the break.
“We always stress to play hard and play smart and let the game come to you, and I thank my teammates – they found me when I was open,” Humphrey said. “I was just trying to do anything to win and get to the next game. That’s what we always preach – try to get to 1-0. We were just trying to get to 1-0 today.”
Humphrey was averaging 16.4 points per game entering this week, and Sanders was averaging 16.5. Sanders finished this game with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals.
“(Da’Jion) plays really hard. He’s kinda like our Draymond Green, how he rebounds and passes. He can really get it going,” Southfield Christian coach Josh Baker said. “Jon did last game, and Noah (Rheker) went on a huge run the game before. Each of them can bring a spark, and they’ve been doing it all year for us.”
Dollar Bay, making its second straight Semifinals appearance after also falling to Southfield Christian in this round a year ago, brought back only one starter from that team. The Blue Bolts stayed close through most of the first two quarters this time, but struggled mightily shooting the ball making only 22 percent of their attempts from the floor.
They entered this week connecting on 32 percent of their 3-point attempts, and found only 19 percent success from beyond the arc.
“They make you do things you’re uncomfortable doing – they made us play fast, they sped us up, and it’s hard to run any kind of sets, hard to run action,” Dollar Bay coach Jesse Kentala said. “It’s just defensively, they’re relentless. We knew that, and it wasn’t a surprise. But it came down to execution, and we kinda picked the worst time of the season to have a poor shooting night.”
Junior Ashton Janke had nine points, seven rebounds and three assists for Dollar Bay.
The Blue Bolts (21-5) ended this season with 14 wins over their final 16 games.
“Of course they’re a great program. They’re always good, and you know that,” said Dollar Bay senior Brendan LeClaire, that lone returning starter from last season, of Southfield Christian. “Every time we come here, the two times I’ve been here, you always think you have a chance. You always have to think you have a chance. We knew they have great players, but you try to find their weaknesses and try to exploit that.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Southfield Christian’s Jon Sanders hits the floor trying to gather a loose ball as Dollar Bay’s Ashton Janke goes for the same. (Middle) Noah Rheker hoists a 3-pointer – he made two of three attempts from beyond the arc.