Southfield Christian Nets 3rd Title Try
March 20, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Lindsay Hunter IV sank his first shot 43 seconds into Thursday’s first Class D Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
And he didn’t stop until top-ranked Southfield Christian had cemented itself in a third straight championship game.
Hunter made 7 of his first 10 shots, missing just one more at the start of the third quarter before leaving the game with 21 points in 14 minutes as his team cruised to a 97-68 victory over Frankfort.
The two-time defending champion Eagles will face Adrian Lenawee Christian in Saturday’s 10 a.m. championship game.
“I just wanted to come out and get a win. I did everything (possible),” Hunter IV said. “It’s been like that all playoffs. I don’t know what’s going on. All of a sudden the swishes flew.”
And not just for Hunter. Southfield Christian (25-1) shot 50 percent from the floor including 41 percent from 3-point range. It took the lead for good 1:08 into the game and led by 14 by the end of the first quarter.
During the first half, when the Eagles' starters played most of the minutes, the team shot 60 percent from the floor and 75 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
Southfield Christian set a Class D Semifinal record for points, scoring two more than Detroit East Catholic did in its 95-65 win over Concord in 1986. Junior guard Bakari Evelyn added 17 points for the Eagles, making 7 of 8 shots from the floor including all three of his 3-point attempts.
Senior forward Damarco White added seven points, six rebounds and four blocked shots in only 12 minutes. He, Evelyn and Hunter also were main contributors in last season’s championship run, and Hunter and Evelyn played major roles in 2012 as well.
“Especially this year, it’s my last year and I’ve got to play as hard as I can every game because it could be my last,” White said. “I don’t want to let our team lose. Just like last year, I want to play for everybody in the locker room, everybody at my school, so I go out there and do the best I can.”
Frankfort seniors Connor Bradley and Brandon Schaub helped the Panthers to their first Semifinal since 1969, earning a legacy in their school's history. Total, they were part of three District and two Regional titles and “had as good a career as anybody in the history of Frankfort,” Panthers coach Reggie Manville said.
Junior center David Loney led Frankfort with 32 points and 13 rebounds. Schaub added 11 points and sophomore guard Kole Hollenbeck had five assists.
Frankfort finished 20-7 after entering the postseason as an honorable mention in the final Associated Press poll.
“Each year we’ve taken a step forward, from the District to the Regional to the final four, and we still have 10 guys coming back,” Manville added. “We want to take the next step, and yet we realize the next step is a big step. But at the same time, I’ve got confidence in my program that we’ll be there next year.”
Click for a full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTO: (Top) Southfield Christian's Jalen Bouldes drives to the hoop as Frankfort's Ryan Plumstead defends. (Middle) Frankfort's Kole Hollenbeck works to get past Southfield Christian's Kameron Garner.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) David Loney got Frankfort out to a 5-1 lead in the Class D Semifinal, hitting this 3-pointer for the first points of the game. He finished with a game-high 32. (2) Lindsay Hunter IV takes a long pass on a fast break and scores as part of an 11-point run for Southfield Christian in the first quarter. Hunter led his team with 21 points.
Ribel's Return Sets Up TC Central for 2nd-Half Rebound, Postseason Push
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
January 19, 2024
Best of three.
That’s the perspective Traverse City Central’s varsity basketball team has as the Trojans travel to play undefeated Cadillac tonight. And really, they have the same vision for most of their Big North Conference opponents as they reach midseason.
Central has hopes of getting in two or more wins against those rivals with a third meeting likely coming during the postseason. Central also is hopeful of getting to play those conference and postseason games with their leading scorer Anthony Ribel healthy and in the line-up.
Ribel missed the first seven games this season with a foot injury, including an opening day 68-33 route by the Vikings on the Trojans’ court. He will be in the line-up this time – and the Trojans are a much more confident and experienced team than they were in the first meeting.
Cadillac is entering tonight 10-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big North. Central, 2-8 but coming off its highest-scoring game in 15 years (a 94-50 victory over Alpena), owns a 2-3 league record. But the Trojans haven’t given up winning the conference title just yet. Ribel’s injury occurred at practice just three days before the season opener, and since returning he has averaged 30 points per game.
“Cadillac beat us pretty bad,” second-year coach Ben Fischer acknowledged. “The guys are very motivated to show them how we play Trojans basketball.
“Anthony is a big addition – it goes without saying,” he continued. “We’re a much different team offensively and defensively than we were before.”
Last year, the 6-foot-3 Ribel broke the junior-season scoring record at Traverse City Central previously owned by Dan Majerle, who played 14 seasons in the NBA, made three all-star teams and helped the U.S. Olympic team to a bronze medal in 1988. Ribel scored more than 600 points and also eclipsed the 1,000-point career mark during his junior campaign.
Despite missing the first third of this season, Ribel has a shot at Majerle’s career scoring record of 1,388 points. He started this winter with 1,133 career points after joining the varsity as a freshman.
Ribel recalled how he struggled through Cadillac’s lopsided win in the season opener while sitting the bench. Cadillac dominated the inside game, and Ribel is confident that will change tonight.
“When you lose at home by that much, it is embarrassing,” Ribel noted. “We have a lot of extra motivation.
“We’re less worried about what they can get from outside — we’re more worried about what they can do inside,” he continued. “We just have to take over the paint the best we can.”
Ribel led the way with 25 points in the Alpena win. The Trojans also got contributions from Owen Ribel (20 points), Brendan Slack (12 points), EJ Maitland (10 points), Jaden Clark (10 points, five assists), Jack Potgieter (nine points, eight rebounds) and Ethan Rademacher (five assists).
“We’re starting to find our stride.” Fischer pointed out. “Guys are getting a lot more dialed into their roles. We have relied on a lot of guys who didn’t have much experience coming into the season. Now they know they can go out there and compete having played some really good teams already.”
Slack is averaging 11.2 points per game and Maitland is contributing 10.1. Potgieter and Anthony Ribel are collecting six rebounds per game. Maitland and Potgieter kick in more than two assists.
Owen Ribel, only a sophomore, is also making a big mark for the Trojans. He’s thrown down a few dunks and had the 20-point effort against Alpena.
Owen and Anthony are the sons of past Trojans standout Ryan Ribel, a key team member of the last Central team to win a Regional, back in 1996. As a junior that year, Ryan Ribel averaged 17.5 points per game.
This season’s potential District opener opponents include the Big North’s Gaylord, Alpena, Petoskey and Traverse City West. Marquette also is in the District. The Trojans have wins over Alpena and Petoskey and lost to Gaylord and West the first time around. Anthony Ribel’s second game back was against West. He scored 19 points, but the Titans prevailed 64-59 with some strong free throw shooting down the stretch. Cadillac is a possible Regional opponent.
Regardless of tonight’s outcome, the Trojans will look forward to every rematch that comes their way as they hope to win all of their best-of-three series – of even sweep them.
“We’ve got a really good group of young men who are hungry to compete,” Fischer said. “Our biggest goal is to win Districts and hopefully Regionals. We’re getting a little bit better every single day.”
Anthony Ribel agreed.
“My teammates were put in some uncomfortable positions to start the year,” he said. “I think it will benefit us for the rest of the season.
“Getting the chemistry back with each other is going to be important,” he continued. “We need to string some big games together with all of us healthy, and make a good run.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City Central’s Anthony Ribel, left, gets to the basket during his first game this season, against Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern on Jan. 2. (Middle) Ribel elevates for a jumper. (Photos by Rick Sack, TC Rick Photo.)