Performance: Jesuit's Cassius Winston
March 31, 2016
Cassius Winston
Detroit U-D Jesuit senior - Boys Basketball
Winston said his team's trip last weekend to the Breslin Center was like a final exam for his high school career – and he earned a perfect score. Winston led the Cubs to their first MHSAA basketball championship and the final victories of a 28-0 season to earn the Michigan National Guard Performance of the Week.
The 6-foot-1 guard, who earlier in the week received the state's Mr. Basketball Award as the top senior in Michigan, scored 27 points and dished 12 assists in a Semifinal win over then-undefeated Macomb Dakota to send U-D Jesuit to its first championship game. He had 31 points in the Final, making 14 of 16 shots to go with nine assists in the 69-49 win over North Farmington.
For the season, Winston averaged 21.9 points and 7.5 assists per game and also started on the U-D Jesuit teams that reached the Semifinals his sophomore and junior seasons. He has signed to continue his career at Michigan State University, and as the Detroit Free Press reported earlier this season carries a 3.5 grade-point average while taking a number of honors classes.
Coach Pat Donnelly said: "Nothing Cassius does surprises me. He's been doing this for four years. He was 14 of 16 from the floor, and a lot of that is great shot selection. He's one of the most unselfish players I've ever coached, if not the (most unselfish). The reason he shoots such a high percentage is he's talented, and he also takes great shots; he doesn't force things. If he does get double-teamed or there's help, he finds the open man."
Performance Point: "(Saturday) was definitely one of those days where I knew I had to have my best performance. It was going to be my last high school game, last chance at winning a state championship. I was just kinda zoned in, focused and ready to go. ... We've been working for this moment right here."
Hot hand: "I just do what I can. I was scoring the basketball. My teammates, they kept going to me. They kept ball-screening for me every time. If I was open, I was getting the ball because I was making shots. So they provided for me."
Openings and opportunities: "Last year we didn't have as many dudes that could score the basketball, so everyone would just be waiting in the paint for me. This year, we had Scotty (Nelson) have 13, 14 points - he's been hot from the 3-pointers. We've got Ike (Eke) and Greg (Eboigbodin) down there who would be making plays. The defense couldn't just focus on me. There's a lot out there that they have to focus on. So it was kinda easier for me to get to the basket."
Perfect finish: "Everything that you want in a basketball team, we had. Matt Schearer, I don't think he shot a shot (Saturday), maybe one if that, but he doesn't mind. He's going to play defense, he's going to rebound, he's going to do whatever you need to do. We got Ike and Greg averaging 10 points, 10 rebounds. We've got dudes that come off the bench. Everything that you would like in your basketball team, we had this year, and that's how we became successful."
Green and White: "It's just a good feeling knowing I'm going to step into that huge family that's going to support me. I know there's probably a lot of Spartan fans out there who are coming out to support me and watch me do what I do. I just want to say thank you to the Spartan family."
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
March 23: Kierra Fletcher, Warren Cousino girls basketball - Read
March 16: Jacob Montague, Grosse Pointe South swimming & diving - Read
March 9: Kyle Tuttle, St. Charles boys bowling - Read
March 2: Brittney Schnicke, Caledonia girls bowling - Read
Feb. 24: Kamari Newman, Detroit East English boys basketball - Read
Feb. 17: Jason Whitens, Powers North Central boys basketball - Read
Feb. 10: Rachel Hogan, Grand Ledge gymnastics - Read
Feb. 3: Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 27: Mardrekia Cook, Muskegon girls basketball - Read
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit U-D Jesuit's Cassius Winston (5) looks for an open lane during Saturday's Class A Final against North Farmington. (Middle) Winston (left) and teammate Matt Schearer join the rest of the Cubs in beginning the title celebration.
P-W Finishes Historic March Atop D3
March 16, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Collin Trierweiler found himself outside with his older brother again, firing up free throws, one of his favorite things to do when he was younger.
Except this time, he was standing at the free-throw line at the Breslin Center, with no one else on his side of the court, less than a second remaining on the clock, and Pewamo-Westphalia’s first MHSAA Finals championship hanging on the shots he was about to take.
A meeting of undefeated finalists came down to the slimmest of margins Saturday at the Breslin Center. Trierweiler, on the line after an intentional foul was called on Iron Mountain with seven tenths of a second to play, made it through two timeouts before sinking the first shot, and a third timeout before making the second to put the Pirates ahead 53-52 and all but ice the Division 3 championship.
Trierweiler hadn’t practiced all postseason, and sat out multiple games with an ankle injury. But he played 26 minutes in the Final, on the court when it counted most.
“As a senior, right around the time when I get hurt, right as the playoffs start, it was frustrating, Trierweiler said. “Coach said it would be best to sit out the practices and just fight through the games. Every game I just had my teammates on my back saying you’ve got this, you’re fine, just keep playing the game. And when I was feeling pain, they’d help me forget about it.
“The free throws, I just tried to calm myself down and think about myself out in the driveway with my older brother. We used to practice all the time, and it was one of my favorite things to do. I always dreamed of a moment to be put on the free-throw line, a big moment. Maybe not quite this big, it was a little scary, but I tried to just block out the background, see the trees in my yard, and put them up and shoot them in.”
P-W (28-0) previously had finished Class C runner-up in 1993 and 2014.
Trierweiler entered this week making 59 percent of his free-throw tries this season.
But his absence from normal practice activities the last few weeks may have been a blessing in disguise.
“When he’s been sitting out, he’s been shooting free throws. I had him shooting free throws again (Saturday),” P-W coach Luke Pohl said. “Was I a little leery? Not really, because he’s a pretty tough-minded kid.
“I remember his mother telling me this season, (that) when he was just a little boy, he’d be dribbling the basketball in front of his mom saying, ‘Mom, someday I’m going to be the point guard at Pewamo-Westphalia,’ and he was so proud of that.”
The Pirates had led most of the first five minutes of the first quarter, but didn’t lead again until Trierweiler’s free throws at the end.
Iron Mountain (27-1) led by as many as eight points during the second and third quarters and by six multiple times during the fourth. Pirates senior Andre Smith took a six-point lead to three with a 3-pointer with 1:44 to play. After Trierweiler missed two 3-point tries to tie the score, he went in for a layup instead with 22.7 seconds left to bring the margin down to one.
Two free throws by Mountaineers’ sophomore Foster Wonders pushed the lead back to three, but again Trierweiler scored with 11.5 seconds left to make the margin one. Iron Mountain broke the ensuing pressure but was called for a travel, and on P-W’s last attempt to get down the court for a final shot, Trierweiler drew the intentional foul.
The ending was emotional for obvious reasons. Pohl said his heart went out to Iron Mountain. But he believed if Trierweiler hadn’t been fouled, he would have scored.
The Iron Mountain contingent certainly was disappointed, but completed a memorable run that saw the Mountaineers defeat last season’s Class C champ Detroit Edison in the Semifinal on the way to Saturday.
“We put in tremendous effort. It didn’t just start this year – it’s been going on for years with these guys,” Iron Mountain coach Bucky Johnson said. “Their effort has never been in question. I’m really proud of them for that. Pewamo, great effort by them too.”
Smith finished with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, for P-W. Junior Aaron Bearss had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Wonders scored a game-high 20 points for Iron Mountain, and junior Marcus Johnson had 17 points, six rebounds and three assists.
“I thought our kids played awesome,” Bucky Johnson added. “They went toe to toe, both teams. Give them credit, give us credit, what do you say? … It’s part of the game. It stinks to be on this end of it.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia’s Aaron Bearss makes a move to the basket while Iron Mountain’s Charlie Gerhard defends during Saturday’s Division 3 Final. (Middle) Collin Trierweiler shoots one of his last-second free throws.