NorthPointe Comes Back to Land 1st Final
March 26, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Preston Huckaby is a four-year varsity starter for Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian’s basketball team.
So he had a decent idea what was necessary to earn one more chance to suit up for the Mustangs, and with history on the line.
NorthPointe trailed Boyne City by 12 points less than a minute into the second quarter of their Class C Semifinal at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
Huckaby sank his first shot seconds later – and went on to score a game-high 26 points to lead the Mustangs back and into their first MHSAA Final with a 48-45 edging of the Ramblers.
“I think going into the game, we were a little nervous, this being our first time in this type of environment. We said if we want to play another game, we have to do what we need to do to win this game,” Huckaby said. “I think I needed to be more aggressive. That’s what I needed to do to get our team where we needed to be.”
And that’s in Saturday’s 4 p.m. Class C Final, where NorthPointe (21-5) will seek its first MHSAA title, taking on Flint Beecher.
Huckaby was a solid 9 of 20 from the floor and also grabbed nine rebounds. And falling in line with that "aggressive" approach, he made a final deciding play at the other end of the court.
Boyne City (21-6) came back from a 23-point swing to pull within 46-45 with 31 seconds to play. The Ramblers took two strong drives to the basket – the first ended with miss but an offensive rebound; Huckaby stepped in front of the second and took a charge that all but sealed the win. He made two free throws to extend NorthPointe's lead to three, and Boyne City’s final shot to tie hit off the front of the rim.
“He might be the all-time leading scorer in our school’s history, but in my three years at NorthPointe he’s probably taken 75 charges,” NorthPointe coach Jared Redell said of his senior guard. “If there was a stat on all-time charge takers, I imagine not only at our school, but he’d be close to a state record.”
Boyne City senior guard Cole Butler scored 11 of his team’s first 15 points as the Ramblers quickly built their early double-digit advantage. Huckaby scored 11 points during the second quarter, his last-second shot tying the score at 26-26 heading into halftime.
Senior Andrew Holesinger opened the second half with a 3-pointer to give NorthPointe its first lead in more than 13 minutes. But Butler got hot again in the fourth quarter, scoring five more points to put Boyne City in position to take back the lead.
“We talked about coming in today, playing loose, playing confident and playing to win. And I felt we did that tonight,” Boyne City coach Nick Redman said. “We got off to a great start, and I’m super proud of that. They gave themselves an opportunity to win, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Butler had 16 points and 10 rebounds taking on the lead role from senior teammate Corey Redman, who will play at Central Michigan University next season. Redman ended with only six points and five rebounds playing 30 minutes despite a foot sprain he suffered during the District that required he wear a walking boot.
Senior guard Zach Napont added five points, five rebounds, seven assists and four steals for the Ramblers, who started four seniors total. Holesinger added nine points for NorthPointe and a key blocked shot on Boyne City’s first attempt to re-take the lead with 1:25 to play.
Leaders from both teams brought experience at this level into Thursday – both schools’ football teams advanced to the Division 6 Semifinals this fall.
But NorthPointe coach Jared Redell saw his team’s nerves early in the shots it was allowing and the way the Mustangs seemed out of sync.
“The third quarter always has been great for us, all tournament long,” Redell said. “We barely hung on, and you don’t want to hang on; we want to make sure we finish and we put them away. There’s a lot of things to learn from the game, and the good thing is we get to learn from them and play another game.”
Click for the full box score and video from the postgame press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) NorthPointe Christian’s Andrew Holesinger (23) drives during Thursday’s Class C Semifinal. (Middle) Boyne City’s Zach Napont pushes the ball upcourt against a number of defenders.
Schoolcraft Completes Breslin Return This Time as D3's Best
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 26, 2022
EAST LANSING – Last season, the Schoolcraft boys basketball team came close to reaching its ultimate goal.
A year later, the Eagles were motivated to take that next step and complete what they started.
Schoolcraft defeated overall top seed Menominee 59-49 on Saturday in the Division 3 Final at Breslin Center.
The Eagles (25-2) won the program’s first Finals title since claiming Class C in 2011.
Schoolcraft advanced to the Semifinals last year and lost to Iron Mountain in overtime.
“Last year it was really cool for us to get here, but we wanted more,” said senior Ty Rykse, who helped lead Schoolcraft with 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
“We came into practice wanting more, and we didn't just expect to show up here and be satisfied with a great season. We wanted to win it.”
Rykse’s younger brother, sophomore Shane Rykse, also contributed sizably with 15 points as the Eagles held off a late run by the Maroons.
“We had a chip on our shoulder since Day 1, and especially against Flint Beecher (in Thursday’s Semifinal win),” Shane Rykse said. “We were counted out from the start, but we found a way to get it done.”
Ty Rykse had nine of the team’s first 15 points.
The Eagles got off to a hot start and shot a torrid 72 percent (8-of-11) from the field in the first quarter en route to a double-digit advantage (20-10).
The Maroons trimmed the deficit to 24-18 in the second quarter. However, Schoolcraft’s Eli DeVisser scored on a nifty pass from Ty Rykse during the final 30 seconds to push the lead back to 31-20 at the half.
Shane Rykse helped extend the lead late in the third quarter. A driving scoop lay-up with the left hand and an ensuing 3-pointer gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game at 46-28.
“They are a great tandem,” Schoolcraft coach Randy Small said of the Rykse brothers. “Ty’s leadership is phenomenal, and it was very important for him to treat his brother like a teammate.”
Eli DeVisser also finished in double figures with 14 points, while senior Tyler DeGroote had a game-high 12 rebounds and seven points.
The Eagles outrebounded the Maroons 40-25 and shot 47 percent for the game, including 50 percent (6-of-12) from behind the 3-point line.
“I thought our preparation was pretty good, and I think overall we did a pretty decent job,” Small said. “We rebounded the ball better in the second half and we continued to shoot the ball well, so I was proud of that. We hit our open shots for the most part, and it's special to get here two years in a row."
The Maroons got to within 53-45 with less than two minutes remaining, but couldn't get any closer.
“I thought we fought our hearts out, and we played hard until the end,” Menominee coach Sam Larson said. “Probably a little bit too much size and physicality at different parts of the game, and we didn’t shoot the ball particularly well tonight. We picked a poor time to have an off night, especially from the free throw line.”
Menominee (23-4), in search of its first Finals championship since 1967 in Class B, will graduate five senior starters who helped resurrect the program from a point where the varsity went 4-17 just three years ago.
“What these guys have done has changed the program,” Larson said. “They have made basketball relevant again, and you couldn’t get these seniors out of the gym. They love basketball, they love each other and they would do anything for this program.”
Seniors Brady Schultz and Aidan Bellisle led Menominee with 19 and 14 points, respectively.
PHOTOS (Top) Schoolcraft’s Tyler DeGroote (24) and his teammates celebrate at the final buzzer of their Division 3 championship win Saturday. (Middle) Shane Rykse (10) cuts between a pair of Menominee defenders. (Below) Schoolcraft’s Ty Rykse (33) gets up court as Menominee’s Brady Schultz (24) follows. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)