Southfield Christian Earns Return
March 21, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Damarco White was not part of Southfield Christian’s run to the Class D championship last season. But he got an earful from teammates Bakari Evelyn and Lindsey Hunter IV about what to expect Thursday at the Breslin Center.
Not that he didn't believe them. But it didn’t take long for the 6-foot-7 junior to truly understand what they meant.
The Eagles' physical and fast-paced Class D Semifinal against Lansing Christian featured 123 shots and 67 free-throw attempts, 15 tie scores and 17 lead changes. But over the final 2:15, Southfield Christian simply outlasted the Pilgrims in pulling away for a 75-68 win and another title game berth.
“They told me it wasn’t easy, and they were right,” White said. “I just tried to play my best. I try not to let my team lose every game I go out there.
“We’ve won 19 straight. We’re trying to make it 20.”
Southfield Christian (22-4), No. 3 at the end of the regular season, will face top-ranked Wyoming Tri-unity Christian at 10 a.m. Saturday to decide the title.
The Eagles no doubt will spend some of Friday resting up.
Only over the final two minutes – and after three Lansing Christian players fouled out – was Southfield Christian able to secure Thursday’s win. And those final two minutes followed six during which either the Pilgrims led or the score was tied.
“That’s what these guys have done all year. In tough games, tough situations, they hang in,” Eagles coach Josh Baker said.
“Our guys definitely picked up the intensity, picked up the ball pressure, sped up the pace. Part of it was (Lansing Chrstian) got into foul trouble and lost some guys. But I think we’re a little deeper. Hopefully we wore them down.”
Southfield Christian also took advantage of its ability to make free throws, connecting on 35 of 44 after entering the game on a streak of 23 straight makes. Sophomore guard Bakari Evelyn made 13 of 15 on the way to a team-high 22 points, and Hunter hit 8 of 9 in scoring 21 points total. White made 7 of 8 and finished with 19 points.
The game style and pace indeed took a toll on the Pilgrims, who played mostly their starting five through the first three quarters. Lansing Christian’s standouts showed lots of hustle and forced a number of the Eagles’ 24 turnovers. But only two starters were around for the final minutes.
“That’s how we’ve played all year long. We’ve got great kids on the bunch, but a lot of them are just getting their start in the game of basketball,” Lansing Christian coach Steve Ernst said. “Certainly, that was a different type of game than we’ve seen this year.”
Still, it took a final jolt to get the Eagles moving on. And Hunter delivered it during a timeout, when he told his teammates that “this is our stage” and they needed to play to that level.
White had six of his points and three of his seven blocks during the fourth quarter. He also grabbed 12 rebounds for the game. Evelyn had six steals and Hunter had five.
“We’ve been in that situation before, and we just had to stick with each other,” said Evelyn, a top sub on last season’s team.
“For some reason, we always play better defense in crunch time. I guess that’s our fault, but we noticed they got tired. I guess we turned up the heat.”
Senior Skylar Ross led Lansing Christian with 23 points. Senior Josh Whitney had 16 and eight rebounds, and senior Jay Noyola had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Junior Jordan Terry added 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Lansing Christian finished 22-4 and tied its longest postseason run. The Pilgrims also made the Semifinals in 1984.
“Certainly we appreciate being able to play on this big stage,” Ernst said, “and the tremendous group of seniors who helped transform this program in a short period of time. We’re proud of their effort, and we were excited to play a program like Southfield Christian.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Southfield Christian's Lindsey Hunter IV rises toward the basket during Thursday's Class D Semifinal at the Breslin Center. (Middle) Southfield Christian's Bakari Evelyn (22) works to get around Lansing Christian's Jay Noyola while Pilgrims coach Steve Ernst directs his players from the sideline. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Boys Report Week 11
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 21, 2022
The first 12 weeks of this boys basketball season will culminate in a highly-anticipated announcement this week.
Sunday morning, District brackets will be released with the top two teams seeded in each based on thousands of results going back to the start of December – including a few more that likely will have an impact this week.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Muskegon 84, Grand Blanc 79 The Big Reds (16-1) picked up a massive weekend win, downing the reigning Division 1 champion Bobcats (12-5) on Saturday.
2. Detroit Western 57, Detroit Cass Tech 53 The Cowboys (15-3) were coming off the Detroit Public School League Gold championship and earned a spot in the PSL Tournament championship game by downing the East runner-up Technicians (15-3).
3. Grand Haven 54, Rockford 51 The Buccaneers (16-1) avenged their 62-56 loss to the Rams 16-2 from Jan. 18 to move into a tie for first in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red.
4. East Lansing 68, Okemos 63 The Trojans (15-4) finished Capital Area Activities Conference Blue play as the outright league champion, sending Okemos (12-3) into second.
5. Romulus Summit Academy 67, Warren Michigan Collegiate 45 The Dragons (14-2) finished an impressive run through the Charter School Conference Tournament with wins over Detroit Edison (12-6) and then Michigan Collegiate (13-2) in the final.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Detroit Catholic Central (9-7) This speaks to the level competition DCC has faced this season – the Shamrocks finished fifth in the Detroit Catholic League Central but are No. 4 in statewide Division 1 MPR. Every team they’ve played has a winning record, and 15 games came against teams with at least 10 wins. DCC avenged a Feb. 8 loss to Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (11-6) with a 66-64 win to open Catholic League Bishop Tournament play Saturday and earned solid early-season wins over Rockford and Hamtramck (13-3).
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (13-4) Perhaps no team in any division faced higher expectations heading into this season, and the Eaglets will pursue the Bishop Tournament championship this week potentially on the verge of a run heading into postseason play. They finished third in the Central, but three of their four losses were by a combined seven points. Similar to DCC, 12 games have come against opponents with at least 10 wins, and some of the best victories outside the league were against Grand Rapids Christian (13-4), Grand Blanc (12-5), Ferndale (13-3) and Canton (13-4).
Division 2
Benton Harbor (14-2) The Tigers have appeared to be fueling up for another long tournament run, as they sit No. 7 in Division 2 MPR with losses only to Muskegon and Edison. Benton Harbor has six wins over teams with double-digit victories, including over Battle Creek Pennfield (11-5) in overtime and Kalamazoo Central (10-7) in double overtime over the last two weeks. An early victory over Flint Carman-Ainsworth (11-4) also continues to impress as the Tigers prepare to build on last year’s run to the Quarterfinals.
Standish-Sterling (16-1) The rest of the Tri-Valley Conference 10 has been chasing Carrollton all season, and last week Standish-Sterling caught up with a 70-64 win over the Cavaliers to give both a single league defeat with two weeks to play. The Panthers’ only loss was 77-69 to Carrollton (16-2) on Jan. 18. A pair of wins over Ithaca (14-4) and another over Reese (14-2) have helped boost Standish to No. 12 in Division 2 MPR.
Division 3
Riverview Gabriel Richard (17-0) The Pioneers have been a Catholic League force for a few seasons with this winter’s Intersectional #1 title its third straight division championship. But much more could be in store as Richard looks to win this week’s Cardinal Tournament on the way to the postseason. Victories over Dearborn Divine Child (10-7) and Erie Mason (10-5) are among others that are notable, and they were two of only three opponents to give the Pioneers a single-digit game this season.
Schoolcraft (15-2) It’s a good season to be an Eagle, as combined with the girls team the school’s varsities are a combined 33-3. The boys team handed Parchment (17-1) its only loss Friday to create a shared championship in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley. Parchment on Dec. 10 handed Schoolcraft its first defeat; the other came to Division 1 Hudsonville. Wins against Pewamo-Westphalia (12-3) and twice each over Fennville (12-5) and Kalamazoo Christian (12-6) also have helped Schoolcraft reach No. 7 in Division 3 MPR.
Division 4
Buckley (14-4) The Bears can’t catch co-leaders Benzie Central and Maple City Glen Lake in the Northwest Conference but give the league another strong representative heading into the playoffs. Those two combined to give Buckley three of its losses, and the Bears won their first meeting with Glen Lake (15-3). The other defeat came Saturday in double overtime to undefeated Mesick (17-0), and a pair of wins over Traverse City Christiaan (12-4) also have helped Buckley move up to No. 8 in Division 4 MPR.
Eau Claire (13-4) The Fighting Beavers would need some help to catch Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference White leader New Buffalo, but regardless this has been a memorable turnaround after going 5-8 a year ago. The team’s last eight wins have come by nine points or more, and the losses were solid, against New Buffalo (16-1), Three Oaks River Valley (12-5) and Buchanan (10-6). Eau Claire sees New Buffalo and River Valley again over the next two weeks and shares a District with both as well.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Detroit Western (15-3) vs. Detroit Martin Luther King (17-1) at Oakland University – As noted above, this will determine the champion of the PSL Tournament.
Tuesday – Munising (14-1) at Powers North Central (14-2) – These Division 4 statewide contenders will face off twice over the next two weeks.
Tuesday – Romulus (10-2) at Romulus Summit Academy (14-2) – Romulus High leads the Western Wayne Athletic Conference, and Summit just finished clinching the Charter School Conference West and tournament titles.
Friday – Maple City Glen Lake (15-3) at Benzie Central (15-1) – These two both will enter with one loss in the Northwest Conference and the winner taking the league title outright.
Saturday – Detroit Catholic League Bishop final at Eastern Michigan University – The winners of Wednesday’s semifinals (U-D Jesuit/Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Detroit Catholic Central/De La Salle) face off for the championship.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO Muskegon and Benton Harbor, here during a Jan. 8 Big Reds win, are among teams expected to contend in their respective divisions when MHSAA playoffs begin in two weeks. (Photo by Tim Reilly.)