In Semifinal Return, Schoolcraft Dethrones Reigning Champ to Take Next Step
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 24, 2022
EAST LANSING – There are many teams around the state that probably figured no recipe existed for dominating Flint Beecher in a boys basketball game.
They likely were taking notes Thursday while watching what Schoolcraft accomplished in the second Division 3 Semifinal at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
Playing just about flawlessly on offense and defense, Schoolcraft advanced to its first Finals championship game since winning the Class C title in 2011 with a stunning 55-39 win over the reigning Division 3 champion.
“Five weeks ago, we just kind of overhauled our offense,” Schoolcraft coach Randy Small said. “We tried to play more inside-out and have more post-up action than what we had previously. I think that has helped us out overall offensively. It’s just given us more flow.”
It was a return trip to the Semifinals for the Golden Eagles, who fell 54-50 in overtime to Iron Mountain last year at Breslin.
The simplest explanation for what happened this time is that Schoolcraft (24-2) made its shots throughout – with an especially notable showing from 3-point range – while Beecher (22-3) did not find similar success.
Schoolcraft shot 9 of 12 from 3-point range and made 17 of 27 shots from the field overall, while Beecher made 5 of 19 shots from 3-point range and 15 of 46 overall.
But going a bit deeper, much of the credit for Schoolcraft’s shooting has to go to the way it handled any pressure Beecher threw at it, effectively creating a halfcourt game and patiently moving the ball on offense for good shots.
Schoolcraft turned the ball over a reasonable 12 times and rarely let Beecher speed the game up.
“I think the whole team handled it pretty well,” senior Ty Rykse said of Beecher’s pressure. “We knew they were going to pressure. The past couple of days, we had just been stressing to handle the ball pressure and I think we did.”
Defensively, Schoolcraft used its height advantage inside, employing a zone defense to pack in Beecher and force the Buccaneers to win from the perimeter.
“I just thought we did a pretty good job of controlling the paint and keeping them out of the paint,” Small said. “We had to give up some threes because they are quicker than we are. We didn’t want to spread ourselves too thin. I thought overall, we did a pretty good job of that.”
Schoolcraft made five of its first six shots from 3-point range in the first half and took a 28-17 lead into halftime.
The third quarter saw Schoolcraft continue to make it a halfcourt contest and shoot well from the outside. Schoolcraft grew its lead to 17 points at 41-24 with 55 seconds remaining in the third following a 3-pointer by junior Eli DeVisser.
A Beecher run never materialized, and the lead increased to 49-27 with 5:36 remaining and was never threatened the rest of the game.
“We had shots we missed; they had shots they made,” said first-year Beecher coach Marquise Gray. “I think we took some good, quality shots. You’ve got to give them credit.”
Sophomore Shane Rykse scored 21 points, senior Tyler DeGroote scored 13 and Ty Rykse added 12 points for Schoolcraft.
Senior Carmelo Harris scored 15 points and junior Robert Lee added 10 for Beecher.
PHOTOS (Top) Schoolcraft celebrates its Semifinal win Thursday afternoon at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Golden Eagles’ Tyler DeGroote (24) and Beecher’s Bryce Carr (32) reach for a loose ball. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
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.)