Soaring Eagles Score Big with Record Range
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2020
HANNAHVILLE – The Hannahville Nah Tah Wahsh boys basketball team likes to play uptempo and has a knack for hitting 3-point field goals.
The Soaring Eagles excelled at both on their home court Feb. 5 when they sank an Upper Peninsula-record 24 3-point shots in a 73-39 triumph over Northern Lights League rival Big Bay de Noc. They also drained 20 trifectas just four days earlier in a 68-20 victory on Mackinac Island.
In addition to tops in the U.P., the 24 3-pointers also rank third all-time in MHSAA history, while the 20 are tied for seventh-most by a team in one game.
"We didn't think that was a big deal," said 6-foot-2 junior Joe Larson, who connected on six 3-point shots for 18 points against Big Bay. "It's just great to be part of this program. It's like a family atmosphere.
“Coach (Josh Eagle) wants us to split it up a little. He wants us to work the ball inside and continue shooting the threes. Getting the record was so much fun and getting 20 at Mackinac Island got us a step closer. We still need to work on some little things in practice. Once we get those ironed out, we'll be fine."
Eagle tries to encourage the players to take the 3-point shots, which he believes is just part of the game.
"We try to get a shot up pretty quick," he said. "Earlier this season, the kids were pretty shy about shooting the threes when we were facing zones. Now, they're not shy. Our strength is running the floor. We try to launch as many threes as we can and get offensive rebounds."
The Soaring Eagles (14-4) rode an eight-game winning streak into last weekend's NLL Tournament, where they beat Beaver Island and then lost in the championship game to Kinross Maplewood Baptist.
In their previous outing the Saturday before, sophomore Gage Sagataw scored 23 points as the Soaring Eagles hung on for a 60-58 triumph over Bay Mills Ojibwe Charter.
Sagataw sank seven triples and scored 22 points on Hannahville's record-setting night.
"It felt great to do that," he said. "We've been close friends for a long time, which made it more special. We put a lot of time in on our shooting in the offseason, but sometimes we have to rely on our defense. It doesn't bother me if I miss a three because I know we just have to get back on defense.”
Hannahville now will prepare for the Division 4 District tournament at Rapid River. The Soaring Eagles face Rock Mid Peninsula in a District Semifinal on March 11.
Eagle coached the girls team at neighboring Bark River-Harris for three seasons prior to returning as boys coach to the school on the Potawatomi Reservation in northeastern Menominee County.
"They always work real hard, and we're giving them the opportunity to become men," said Eagle, who coached boys and girls basketball at Hannahville prior to his time at BR-H. "Training the kids to be good people and teaching them the value of hard work is the main objective. Seth Miller (former coach), Ross Rahoi (current assistant coach) and I work with each other and other people from the community to help make them good representatives.
"We're proud of all the players. They're good ambassadors for the community, and as always, there's a long road ahead of us."
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS: (Top) Hannahville’s Joe Larson (14) looks for an open teammate during this past weekend’s Northern Lights League Tournament game against Mackinac Island. (Middle) Gage Sagataw brings the ball up the court. (Photos by Robyn Rhode.)
Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 12
February 27, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
For a good portion of Michigan’s best, the final week of this high school boys basketball regular season will be like starting the playoffs a week early.
Only a few league championships are left to be decided. But a number of top teams face off for one more test before the season goes into win-and-advance mode with the start of Districts a week from today.
Below is our final regular-season Breslin Bound report – powered by MI Student Aid – before we switch up the format a bit to preview each week of the MHSAA Tournament.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Flint Carman-Ainsworth 99, Saginaw 60 – After beating Saginaw by seven earlier this season, Carman-Ainsworth posted one of its most impressive wins in some time in a crossover of Saginaw Valley League champs, Saginaw from the North and the Cavaliers from the South.
2. Romulus 73, Kalamazoo Central 63 – These Class A powers love to traverse the state looking for strong nonleague competition, and this one actually bodes well for both heading into Districts, although obviously a little better for the Eagles.
3. Wayne Memorial 55, Westland John Glenn 48 – Wayne split with its Kensington Lakes Activities Association South rival in winning the division, and got the tie-breaker with this victory to determine the Kensington champion and earn a spot in the overall KLAA finale.
4. Walled Lake Central 50, Walled Lake Western 45 – Central may have finished a game behind Western in the KLAA North, but beat its rival in their second meeting and followed up with this victory in the KLAA Lakes final.
5. Powers North Central 83, Munising 33 – We’ve seen plenty of impressive wins by the Class D Jets during this record run, but this one is notable too as Class C Munising entered 15-2.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Detroit U-D Jesuit (15-3) – After escaping Orchard Lake St. Mary’s with a 51-49 win in the semifinal, U-D Jesuit won its fifth straight Detroit Catholic League A-B title with a 63-56 title game win over Warren DeLaSalle. The reigning Class A champion's losses came either in overtime or by a point this winter.
Macomb Dakota (17-3) – The Cougars, Class A semifinalists last season, battled through multiple injuries to top players to finish the regular season as champions of the Macomb Area Conference Red and MAC Red-White Tournament. The Cougars hit 100 points in that tourney finale and have topped 95 two other times during a 14-game winning streak.
CLASS B
Big Rapids (17-1) – A big loss to Ludington on Feb. 7 not withstanding, Big Rapids has dominated again after making the Class B Semifinals last season. Only two of the Cardinals’ wins have come by single digits, and last week they finished an undefeated run through the Central State Activities Association Gold for the second straight season.
Macomb Lutheran North (15-3) – The Mustangs beat 16-win Riverview Gabriel Richard 70-62 on Sunday to win the Detroit Catholic League C-D title. They’ve made a nice jump from 11 wins two seasons ago to 13 last winter and now 15 with a week until the MHSAA Tournament begins.
CLASS C
Flint Hamady (13-6) – Hamady’s boys normally slot behind rival Beecher among Flint’s best – and finished tied for second to the Bucs in the Genesee Area Conference Red. But the Hawks fell to Beecher by only four in their second meeting earlier this month, and made a statement with a 71-66 win over Class B and 16-win Frankenmuth last week.
Grandville Calvin Christian (14-4) – After coming a 3-pointer from winning the Class C title last season, Calvin Christian is running third in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver behind Class B favorite Wyoming Godwin Heights and rising Kelloggsville. The Squires appear poised to strike again in the postseason with 10 wins over their last 12 games.
CLASS D
Pittsford (16-3) – The school’s reigning Class D champion girls don’t have a monopoly on the town’s hoops success. Coming off a 16-6 finish and second place in the Southern Central Athletic Association East last winter, Pittsford’s boys equaled that win total last week while also clinching the league title.
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (11-7) – It’s just about impossible to go a whole season without checking in on the Defenders, who made the MHSAA Semifinals last season and are a threat to contend even when their regular-season losses approach double digits. Lansing Christian is the only Class D team to beat them this winter.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Grand Rapids Christian (18-0) at Wyoming Godwin Heights (19-0) – Grand Rapids’ two best teams, arguably, and contenders in Class A and B, respectively, give each other a great test during the final week.
Tuesday – New Haven (18-1) at Flint Beecher (15-4) – These two both have championship aspirations as well, New Haven in Class B and Beecher in Class C.
Tuesday – Southfield Christian (15-3) at River Rouge (17-1) – Rouge loaded up the schedule as it prepped for a Class B run, and Class D favorite Southfield Christian will provide another strong challenge.
Thursday – Wayne Memorial (16-3) at Walled Lake Central (14-5) – The KLAA championship game pairs a Wayne team that went 8-14 last year with a Central team that finished second in its division before this run.
Thursday – Holland West Ottawa (18-1) at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (16-3) – The O-K Blue champion hosts the winner of the Red as they prepare for the Class B and A tournaments, respectively.
PHOTO: Grand Rapids Christian (in blue) and Holland West Ottawa both finish with tough regular-season challenges this week; Christian best West Ottawa 57-49 on Dec. 28. (Photo by Tim Reilly.)