Rough Start Turns into Breslin Ending
March 22, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Some may consider it ironic that Detroit Community will play for the Class B championship Saturday despite nine losses this season.
But the Hurricanes are the first to explain those losses are why they’ll play in their first MHSAA Final.
Community advanced to the final game for the first time with a 58-37 win over Wyoming Godwin Heights in a Semifinal on Friday at the Breslin Center.
And now senior Byron Zeigler and his teammates will face No. 1 Detroit Country Day – although they won’t be intimidated after facing and falling to the likes of Romulus, Detroit Pershing, Cass Tech, Southeastern and others during the regular season.
“We’ve played all the top teams in the state, so there’s nothing we haven’t seen before,” Zeigler said. “Any situation we came to, we knew we had to stick together, play hard, and we knew we’d have a good outcome.”
Saturday’s Final tips off at 6:30 p.m. Community (18-9) entered the tournament unranked – but given this outcome, likely wouldn’t have scheduled any other way.
The Hurricanes found themselves at 6-5 just after the midpoint of the season. In three of their defeats – to Pershing, Southeastern and reigning Class D champion Southfield Christian – they led going into the final minutes.
During this run they’ve won three games by six or fewer points.
“I think that helped us out going down the stretch. We’re closing those games out now,” Community coach Venias Jordan, Jr., said. “Playing in every holiday tournament and not closing those games out, I guess we can’t help but get better.”
Closing out wasn’t a worry Friday. The Hurricanes took a 10-point advantage three minutes into the second quarter and led by double digits the rest of the way.
Zeigler, a 6-foot-6 forward headed to South Florida after graduation, said he wanted to be aggressive early and remind his teammates they’d reached the big stage. He scored 10 of his 17 points in the first quarter, and also finished the game with 12 rebounds. Godwin Heights coach Chad Conklin said Zeigler was the best his team had faced this season.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes worked to keep Godwin Heights’ standout guards out of the lane. Plugging the middle worked – the Wolverines’ point total was their lowest this season by 10. Three Godwin Heights guards entered the week averaging more than 10 points per game, but none scored more than four Friday.
“It’s a double-edged sword. If you’re not making your shots on the perimeter, and then go inside and your shots are blocked … to score 37 points like this is disappointing,” Conklin said. “I thought we got some decent shots outside, but they didn’t go in. We tried to attack the glass, but they did a good job of blocking (us).”
Community junior Jason Buyck grabbed 10 rebounds in just 11 minutes as his team outrebounded Godwin Heights 46-37.
Junior center Markese Mayfield led the Wolverines with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Conklin explained to his players after that they’d put Godwin Heights hoops on the statewide map. His teams were a combined 66-8 over the last three seasons including 23-3 this winter.
Jordan no doubt can say the same to his Community players, regardless of what happens Saturday.
“Over the last three years, we’ve been through a lot, faced a lot of obstacles,” Community senior Ramell Robinson said. “This last year, we have to take it all the way. Our first practice goal was March 23, and not to just get to the championship (game), but to win the championship.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Community's Byron Zeigler (35) tries to drive past Wyoming Godwin Heights' Markese Mayfield during Friday's Class B Semifinal. (Middle) Godwin Heights' Jamal Bland pushes the ball upcourt against a Community defender. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Breslin Bound: Boys Report Post-Break
January 8, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The holiday break across our state is over, and the drive toward March will click into a second gear as most teams this week jump into the heart of league play.
Today’s Breslin Bound – powered my MI Student Aid – takes a look at a number of contenders that made impressive strides over the last three weeks while classes were out of session, plus gets us back into the regular swing with a look at five games of special note coming up.
These reports are based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com – to offer corrections, email me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of holiday break’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit East English 80, Clarkston 71 – East English’s David DeJulius scored 42 points at North Farmington’s Holiday Extravaganza as his team handed reigning Class A champion Clarkston its only loss this season.
2. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 72, Wyoming Godwin Heights 68 (OT) – After two losses to open this season, Forest Hills Central has strung together three nice wins with this one over the previously-unbeaten Wolverines at Cornerstone’s tournament the most impressive.
3. Ann Arbor Skyline 74, Belleville 60 – Skyline emerged from a tough holiday schedule still undefeated and having handed possible Class A contender Belleville its third loss.
4. Bridgeport 68, Frankenmuth 54 – The first round between these Class B powers went Bridgeport’s way after last season’s split led to the rivals sharing the Tri-Valley Conference East title while finishing a combined 40-6 overall.
5. River Rouge 52, West Bloomfield 50 (OT) – The Panthers’ perfect start has included two overtime wins including this one over a Lakers team that has two two-point losses and made the Class A Semifinals a year ago.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Grand Haven (7-1) – The Buccaneers also opened 7-1 last season on the way to finishing 18-5, but this start is more impressive. The only loss was by three in double overtime to Spring Lake, which won 19 games last season. And the wins have included Grand Haven’s first over Muskegon since 2012.
Hazel Park (7-0) – There may not be another team that has started more impressively. Coming off 15-8 last season, the Vikings have double-digit wins against Class A powers Detroit East English and U-D Jesuit, an overtime win over Class B standout Detroit Henry Ford and a six-point win over possible Class C contenders Detroit Edison Public School Academy and Pershing (plus another double-digit win over Loyola).
CLASS B
Hillsdale (6-1) – Since opening with a loss to Hanover-Horton, Hillsdale has been rolling. The Hornets followed up a Pat Patterson Tournament championship at Hillsdale College with a 61-44 revenge victory over Onsted – which abruptly ended Hillsdale’s 2016-17 at 21-1 with an upset during last year’s District.
Otsego (5-1) – A slow start last season contributed to an 11-11 finish, but the outlook is better this winter. Otsego’s only loss was to Dowagiac by six during the first week, and the Bulldogs closed December by handing Marshall its only defeat, 80-60.
CLASS C
Detroit Edison Public School Academy (3-3) – DEPSA plays only a few schools its size as part of the Detroit Public School League, and similar experience paid off with a run to the MHSAA Semifinals last season. The wins this winter are over Belleville, Saginaw Arthur Hill and Southfield Christian, and the losses just as impressively have come against U-D Jesuit, Detroit Martin Luther King and Hazel Park.
Kalamazoo Hackett (7-0) – The Irish are another team surely fueled by an early exit last season; they were 19-1 when they fell to Kalamazoo Christian in their first District game. Hackett has a four-point win over reigning Class D runner-up Buckley and gets Christian for the first time this season Friday.
CLASS D
Hillman (6-0) – An MHSAA quarterfinalist last season, Hillman is up to its usual level of regular-season dominance. The Tigers have won all of their games by at least 14 points, with an 18-pointer over Cedarville (5-2) looking like the best so far.
Kingston (6-0) – The Cardinals are halfway to equaling last season’s 12-9 finish and survived their only single-digit scare to win by six over Sandusky on Dec. 20. Kingston followed that with 13 and 28-point wins to claim the Brown City Invitational title.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Maple City Glen Lake (4-0) at Buckley (2-2) – Reigning Northwest Conference champion Buckley is in third starting the week but gets the two first-place teams back-to-back, Glen Lake followed by also-undefeated Frankfort on Thursday.
Friday – Detroit East English (5-2) at Detroit Edison PSA (3-3) – The PSL East Division 1 is loaded with potential statewide contenders, and these are two with high hopes.
Friday – Canton (7-0) at Wayne Memorial (5-1) – These two lead the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Black, with Wayne’s opening loss to Clarkston the only defeat between them.
Friday – Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (6-0) at Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (5-1) – This will be a major test for the Grand Rapids area’s small-school powers.
Friday – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (6-1) at Detroit U-D Jesuit (5-2) – This should prove key again as the Eaglets chase the reigning Detroit Catholic League Central champ Cubs.
PHOTO: Bridgeport applies defensive pressure during its win over rival Frankenmuth on Friday. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)