For Their Teams, For Each Other, St. Mary Seniors Team Up 2 More Times
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
March 17, 2023
Shawn Bramer and Dylan Barnowski, as middle schoolers, attended the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals every year.
Last year, they nearly played in the Division 3 title game – falling in a Semifinal but almost making a dream come true for the then-juniors and their Lake Leelanau St. Mary coach, Matt Barnowski, also Dylan’s father.
That dream began for some when the boys were coached by Matt as third graders, and they made serious strides last season. Before last winter, the last time the Eagles had won a Regional championship was 1950 – and no St. Mary boys basketball team had reached the Semifinals. Bramer and Dylan Barnowski – along with current seniors Jack Glynn, Drew Thompson and Nick Linguar – had high hopes of making more history this winter.
The dream ended Wednesday night with a Regional Final loss to Frankfort, which St. Mary had defeated 54-41 during the regular season. This time, the Eagles were faced with a large number of K-12 students succumbing to illness – with all five of its starters at least somewhat sick – as nearly a third of the school’s tiny enrollment was out of school the day after the loss to the Panthers.
But you won’t hear any of the players or coaches making excuses. They give all the credit to Frankfort, and they’re ready to move on. And many in the LSM family know reaching the Regional Finals this season and Breslin Center in 2022 had absolutely no probability had Bramer and Barnowski not made an iron-clad agreement last summer.
The two friends vowed to help each other despite their personal, opposing challenges.
Barnowski and Bramer, through LSM’s cooperative agreement with Suttons Bay, went 3-for-3 playing in 8-Player Division 1 Football Finals during their first three years of high school. But through last summer Barnowski, who quarterbacked the Norseman, had no interest in football.
Bramer, meanwhile, had been nursing a quad tendon injury since his sophomore football season and battling two bad knees but was thinking he could suffer though football and sit out the basketball season to recover. The all-state running back experienced training difficulties and even had his strength training severely hampered.
Football was king for Bramer, and he also loved basketball too. Basketball is number one to Barnowski. The longtime friends decided cut a deal to help each other — and their teammates — out.
“I was kind of on the edge,” said Bramer, who plays with braces on both knees. “After talking to each other, we both ended up just playing.
“I really shouldn’t be playing sports, but I couldn’t miss out playing with my friends,” he continued. “We just figured it was our last season so we might as well just do it.”
Barnowski had been considering ending his football days immediately after the Norse fell short in their third-straight trip to the Finals, at Superior Dome in Marquette in Fall 2021. That loss was at the hands of Adrian Lenawee Christian 31-20.
The Norseman graduated most of their offensive and defense lines last spring and expected to be small in numbers. Until this fall, they had lost only one regular-season game on their way to three straight title game appearances. This year they finished 3-5.
The big linemen losses — Barnowski’s protection — was forcing him to weigh his injury risk against having a senior basketball season.
“We did it for each other,” Barnowski said. “I talked with Shawn, and we knew we had a big community behind us and it would be hard for them if we just quit.
“I knew we weren’t going to have the same powerhouse team we had,” he continued. “We weren’t very good this year, but we still had a blast.”
This week’s loss put an end to the possible Breslin championship finish, but it left the friends happy with the decision to play both sports. The Eagles finished 20-4.
Barnowski led St. Mary in scoring. He averaged better than 20 points a game with more than seven rebounds and five assists. Bramer averaged just under 15 points per game, and almost 10 rebounds.
The two big men each scored 11 in the season-ending loss. Thompson scored 14. This year’s senior-dominated team likely will be remembered for its basketball success for some time. Barnowski, Bramer and Glynn experienced only one loss in District play over their four seasons.
“It’s a really special groups of kids,” Coach Barnowski said. “These kids kind of transformed St. Mary’s basketball.
“They’ve really built the program,” he continued. “It’s been a roller coaster ride.”
Bramer and Dylan Barnowski also played baseball in the past for the Eagles, but that likely won’t happen this spring. Barnowski plans to golf, and Bramer expects to sit the spring season out and heal.
“We’ll never forget these last four years of varsity we played,” Barnowski said. “I‘ve decided to go a more relaxing route, and I’m going for some golf.”
With their Breslin dream over, the friends are ready to enjoy the St. Mary’s community support and move on. They’re bummed so many were sick in the end but won’t use it as an excuse.
“Hats off to Frankfort,” Barnowski said. “They did an incredible job of shutting us down.”
Bramer agreed.
“They just played their game better than we did,” he said. “They took the lead at the end of the third quarter, and it was a battle from there.”
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) St. Mary’s seniors Dylan Barnowski, left, and Shawn Bramer hold up the team’s District championship trophy last week. (2) Eagles coach Matt Barnowski, center, and assistant Sander Scott coach up their team during last week’s Regional Semifinal win over Mesick. (3) Dylan Barnowski and Bramer also teamed up during successful football careers. (4) St. Mary’s seniors, from left: Shawn Bramer, Jack Glynn, Dylan Barnowski, Drew Thompson and Nick Linguar. (Sideline photo by Tom Spencer; player photos by Emmerson Lamb Photography.)
Warren Lincoln Closes Boys Basketball Season with All-Time Accomplishment
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 16, 2024
EAST LANSING – You can't say Warren Lincoln is wary of rematches. Not even when the opponent is ranked No. 1 in the state for most of the season.
The Abes proved winning a midseason meeting was no fluke by outlasting top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian 53-39 in Saturday's Division 2 Final at the Breslin Center.
Lincoln had defeated the Eagles 49-47 in Grand Rapids on Jan. 20, but Abes players say that win had limited influence on the outcome of the championship game two months later – and that they had no problem facing Grand Rapids Christian a second time.
"Honestly, I thought it would be different," junior guard Da'Marion Bozeman said. "We beat them the first time, so we knew they'd be ready. But we wanted to win so bad, so there was that motivation."
The Abes used a 10-1 run in the fourth quarter to pull away for their first Finals title.
The Eagles (26-3) were within 34-33 during the waning seconds of the third quarter, but Lincoln junior guard Markus Blackwell went to work. He hit a pair of 3-pointers, a layup and two free throws over a four-minute stretch to up his team’s lead to 47-39 with three minutes to go.
Blackwell has his own theory on playing Grand Rapids Christian a second time. If the teams' first meeting showed anything, it's that Warren Lincoln (24-4) – which then won 13 of 15 games after downing the Eagles the first time – had to play well inside.
"We knew what they can do and that was stopping their big man, but what we do best is play defense," he said.
"I was locked in offensively because you have to score to win. My teammates put me in a position to score, I just had to make the shots."
Blackwell finished with 24 points, including hitting 4-of-5 3-point attempts. Moses Blackwell added 12 points.
Jaylan Ouwinga had 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks and three steals for Grand Rapids Christian. Malachi Hooser had 14 points for the Eagles.
Grand Rapids Christian shot just 34.9 percent (15 of 43) from the floor this time, missing 13 of 15 3-point tries. Warren Lincoln also held a 53-39 rebounding edge.
"We knew they had the one-two punch with the (Blackwell) brothers, and they have others who can shoot," Eagles coach Eric Taylor said. "We cut the lead and had to weather the storm. I thought at the end of the third quarter and going into the fourth we were in good position. They went to a zone, and we went a little stagnant."
Lincoln coach Wydell Henry said going to a zone was risky but paid off.
"We don't typically go to zone, we want to press teams,” he said. “We want to turn you over and speed up the game."
The championship game appareance was Lincoln's first. The Eagles were playing in their first Final since 2017.
"They're a big team. We knew that," Henry said. "We beat them in Grand Rapids, which was big. We weren't scared. We just told the kids to stick it out."
PHOTOS (Top) Warren Lincoln’s Moses Blackwell (0) soars into the lane as Grand Rapids Christian’s Jaylan Ouwinga (32) attempts to block his path Saturday night at Breslin Center. (Middle) Ouwinga gets a hand up as Lincoln’s Markus Blackwell looks for an opening. (Below) Abes players raise their championship trophy. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)