Through the Years: Boys Basketball 1925-2016

September 23, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We close our “Through the Years” look at MHSAA tournaments with an event rooted in the earliest work of this association.

The Boys Basketball Finals were first played only a few months after the MHSAA formally was formed in December 1924. More than 400 champions have been honored over nearly a century of games that traditionally have finished up each winter.

This feature is from the spring issue of benchmarks, built and written by Rob Kaminski. Scroll to the bottom of the page for links to our previous installments.


Previous installments 

September 25: Girls Basketball - Read
September 13:
Competitive Cheer - Read
September 9:
Wrestling - Read
August 26:
Boys/Girls Skiing - Read
August 23:
Boys/Girls Bowling - Read
August 19:
Boys Ice Hockey - Read
August 16:
Girls Gymnastics - Read
August 12:
Boys/Girls Swimming & Diving - Read
August 9:
Football - Read
August 5:
Girls Volleyball - Read
August 2:
Boys Soccer - Read
July 30:
Boys Cross Country - Read
July 26:
Girls Cross Country - Read
July 22:
Boys/Girls Lacrosse - Read
July 19:
Boys/Girls Tennis - Read
July 15:
Boys/Girls Golf - Read
July 12:
Girls Soccer - Read
July 8:
Boys Track & Field - Read
July 5:
Girls Track & Field - Read
July 1:
Baseball - Read
June 28:
Softball - Read

Lockdown 'D' Proves Key Again as Sacred Heart Continues Title Pursuit

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 14, 2024

EAST LANSING — When your biggest team strength is actually stronger than it’s been all year, that’s pretty much a formula for victory.

Such was the case for Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in its Division 4 Semifinal on Thursday.

The Irish have ridden their defense all year, and did so even more against Allen Park Inter-City Baptist, holding the Chargers to a season-low point total in claiming a 51-33 win at Breslin Center.

Sacred Heart (26-2) advanced to meet Wyoming Tri-unity Christian in the championship game at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

“We play unbelievable defense,” Sacred Heart head coach Justin Sherlock said. “That’s what got us here this far. When you get into the last week of the regular season, it’s one-day preps and you have to stick to your fundamentals. Our guys did that.”

Sacred Heart held Inter-City Baptist to 25.6-percent shooting from the field overall (11 of 43) and 3 of 15 from 3-point range. 

“They dictated the game defensively,” Inter-City Baptist head coach Mark Kraatz said. “We haven’t struggled to score this year. Kudos to them. They were able to control us and force us to take shots we haven’t done all year.” 

Grady Pieratt brings the ball upcourt for the Irish. Sacred Heart didn’t exactly light it up from 3-point range (4 of 17), but was 14 of 21 on 2-point shots to make up for it. 

“Our offense didn’t look too good in the first half,” Sacred Heart sophomore Noah Zeien said. “We were shooting a lot of threes, and we were bricking them. In that second half, we picked it up on offense and our defense did the same. I think that’s what won us the game.” 

Zeien scored 19 points, and senior Aidan Halliday added 11 to lead Sacred Heart (26-2). 

Now, the Irish will get a chance for redemption. Sacred Heart suffered a 71-41 loss at Tri-unity Christian in the second game of the season, and Sherlock hopes that experience will pay dividends. 

“We’re different now,” Sherlock said. “That was 24 games ago. We’ve gotten better. We’ve gelled more as a team, and I have no doubt our guys won’t be afraid on Saturday. It’s for a state championship.” 

Senior Andrew Frank scored 13 points in defeat for Inter-City Baptist (23-5), which made its first Semifinal appearance since its Class D championship year 1985. 

“That was not a representation of how we’ve played (this year), but it was also a fair representation of how the opposing team played,” Kraatz said. “They played well. Their defense was just gritty and tough.” 

Sacred Heart used a 10-2 run late in the second quarter to take a 22-16 lead into halftime, and then continued that momentum in a big way to start the third quarter.

The Irish opened the third with a 12-0 run to take a 34-16 lead midway through the period and put Inter-City Baptist in a deep hole. 

Sacred Heart built its lead to 37-19 with 1:16 left in the third and took a 37-22 lead into the fourth quarter. 

Inter-City Baptist cut its deficit to 13 on a couple occasions in the fourth, but that was as close as the Chargers would get. 

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Sacred Heart’s Alex Latham (20) walls off Inter-City Baptist’s Luke Taylor during Thursday night’s Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) Grady Pieratt brings the ball upcourt for the Irish. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)