Southfield Christian Follows New Leaders
March 14, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – It’s a new Finals, with another trip for Southfield Christian, and Jon Sanders and Da’Jion Humphrey’s turns to take on the spotlight.
The Eagles – last season’s Class D champions – will play for a second straight title Saturday morning after defeating Dollar Bay 55-28 in Thursday’s first Division 4 Semifinal.
Sanders and Humphrey started on last season’s team but played supporting roles. Now they’re the leaders, and have led the way this week. Sanders, a senior, scored 23 points in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal win over Burton Genesee Christian. Humphrey, a junior, had a game-high 16 and nine rebounds in the Semifinal.
“It’s a blessing to be able to step into a big role I wasn’t in last year,” Sanders said. “You always find a role and fit it and do the best you can. This year I’ve been doing the best of my ability with a couple guys we lost (after last season), and my teammates just helping me do it.”
Southfield Christian (20-6) will take on Frankfort in Saturday’s first Final at 10 a.m.
Humphrey opened the scoring Thursday with a 3-pointer just 27 seconds into the game. He had another later in the first quarter to give Southfield Christian a 16-10 lead, and went on a personal 8-0 run over 45 seconds at the end of the second quarter while the Eagles extended their lead to 18 heading into the break.
“We always stress to play hard and play smart and let the game come to you, and I thank my teammates – they found me when I was open,” Humphrey said. “I was just trying to do anything to win and get to the next game. That’s what we always preach – try to get to 1-0. We were just trying to get to 1-0 today.”
Humphrey was averaging 16.4 points per game entering this week, and Sanders was averaging 16.5. Sanders finished this game with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals.
“(Da’Jion) plays really hard. He’s kinda like our Draymond Green, how he rebounds and passes. He can really get it going,” Southfield Christian coach Josh Baker said. “Jon did last game, and Noah (Rheker) went on a huge run the game before. Each of them can bring a spark, and they’ve been doing it all year for us.”
Dollar Bay, making its second straight Semifinals appearance after also falling to Southfield Christian in this round a year ago, brought back only one starter from that team. The Blue Bolts stayed close through most of the first two quarters this time, but struggled mightily shooting the ball making only 22 percent of their attempts from the floor.
They entered this week connecting on 32 percent of their 3-point attempts, and found only 19 percent success from beyond the arc.
“They make you do things you’re uncomfortable doing – they made us play fast, they sped us up, and it’s hard to run any kind of sets, hard to run action,” Dollar Bay coach Jesse Kentala said. “It’s just defensively, they’re relentless. We knew that, and it wasn’t a surprise. But it came down to execution, and we kinda picked the worst time of the season to have a poor shooting night.”
Junior Ashton Janke had nine points, seven rebounds and three assists for Dollar Bay.
The Blue Bolts (21-5) ended this season with 14 wins over their final 16 games.
“Of course they’re a great program. They’re always good, and you know that,” said Dollar Bay senior Brendan LeClaire, that lone returning starter from last season, of Southfield Christian. “Every time we come here, the two times I’ve been here, you always think you have a chance. You always have to think you have a chance. We knew they have great players, but you try to find their weaknesses and try to exploit that.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Southfield Christian’s Jon Sanders hits the floor trying to gather a loose ball as Dollar Bay’s Ashton Janke goes for the same. (Middle) Noah Rheker hoists a 3-pointer – he made two of three attempts from beyond the arc.
Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Boys Report Week 5
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 10, 2022
Every basketball season, with little research needed, we can list at least a handful of elite teams we’ll be talking about often as they make their way toward possible March trips to the Breslin Center.
But as we reach mid-January, teams big, small, north, south and all points between are still in the early stages of creating the stories of their seasons. And this week’s report includes a pretty good mix of regulars and others we haven’t highlighted for quite a while.
“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. Flint Beecher 75, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 69 The reigning Division 3 champion Bucs (6-0) ended reigning Division 2 champ GRCC's winning streak at 27 games.
2. Muskegon 84, Benton Harbor 58 This Big Red Classic win moved host Muskegon to 4-0, and it should earn the Big Reds some significant attention as it also was the first defeat for the Tigers (6-1).
3. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 65, Grand Blanc 62 The reigning Division 1 champ Bobcats may be only 1-3, but at their Classic they gave the Eaglets (4-2) the latter’s toughest challenge so far this season.
4. North Farmington 45, Clarkston 43 The Oakland Activities Association Red is one of the strongest leagues in the state, and this opener was a big first step for the contending Raiders (7-1).
5. Detroit Edison 66, Harper Woods Chandler Park 60 The Pioneers (2-3) have played four teams either unbeaten or with one loss, and Chandler Park (2-1) is one of two teams to which they’ve dealt that first defeat.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
East Lansing (6-1) After opening with a loss to another of the top teams in Division 1, North Farmington (see above), the Trojans have won six straight with four of those victories against teams with winning records. They handed Hamtramck (5-1) its lone loss during the Motor City Roundball Classic after edging Kalamazoo Central by three at Cornerstone University. East Lansing made the Division 1 Quarterfinals last season.
Grand Haven (6-0) The Buccaneers are following up last season’s District title run with a fast start this winter. They defeated Traverse City St. Francis and West to win their Lakeshore Cup at the end of December, and have dealt the lone defeats to St. Francis (5-1) and Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (4-1).
Division 2
Marshall (6-0) Five of Marshall’s six opponents are sitting .500 or better, making this start even more impressive. But it appears to be a continuation of last season’s surge. The Redhawks finished last winter 10-6 and on a 9-3 run, and Tuesday they get a chance to avenge their season-ending loss with a road trip to Battle Creek Pennfield.
Ovid-Elsie (6-0) The Marauders have won league titles four of the last five seasons, with a runner-up finish in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference a year ago. They’re back in the thick of things, tied with Chesaning for first at 4-0 in league play and with a 37-31 win over another possible contender in Durand (4-2).
Division 3
Blanchard Montabella (5-0) The Mustangs already are in line for their best season since 2018-19 after winning seven games a year ago and six the season before. The best victory so far came in mid-December, 51-43 over Mid-State Activities Conference foe Breckenridge, which remains the Huskies’ lone loss. Montabella lost to Breckenridge by seven and 32 last season.
Union City (6-1) The Chargers won six games last season and a combined 10 over the last two. But after opening with a loss to still-undefeated Olivet this winter, Union City has yet to lose again – with a two-point win over Buchanan on Dec. 18 its only single-digit victory of the run.
Division 4
Ellsworth (7-0) The Lancers are seeking a fifth-consecutive Northern Lakes Conference championship this winter, and they’re off to the right start with five wins by double digits and one of the single-digit victories last week over league foe Mackinaw City. Coming off a District title as well from last season, they’ve gotten rolling again quickly as well; Ellsworth is one of only eight teams statewide that has reached seven wins entering this week.
Ewen-Trout Creek (5-0) The Panthers are playing for a third-straight championship in the Porcupine Mountain division of the Copper Mountain Conference. Among their first five wins are the lone defeat for Wakefield-Marenisco and an avenging of last year’s District Final loss to Bessemer. E-TC opened the calendar year last week with a 35-point win over Dollar Bay, winner of 15 games a year ago.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (6-0) at Warren De La Salle Collegiate (7-0) – The Detroit Catholic League Central will do some initial sorting out this week, with this one of a handful of contests that could reshape the early standings. (In another, Brother Rice faces Detroit U-D Jesuit on this night.)
Tuesday – Dexter (4-0) at Ann Arbor Huron (4-1) – These are the early co-leaders in a Southeastern Conference Red featuring four teams unbeaten or with one loss.
Tuesday – Alma (6-0) at Freeland (5-0) – Three teams remain undefeated in Tri-Valley Conference 8 play, and Freeland gets the third, Frankenmuth, on Friday.
Tuesday – Napoleon (6-0) at Vandercook Lake (6-0) – These are two of three teams tied for first in the Cascades Conference, and also the only two in the league with overall winning records.
Friday – Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (6-0) at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (6-0) – This pits the two Catholic League Central teams that arguably have generated the most buzz.
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 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s traveled to Grand Blanc on Saturday and won 65-62 in one of the week’s most notable games. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)