Unity Adds Hoops to 2018-19 Trophy Run
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 16, 2019
EAST LANSING – Noah Wiswary answered quickly when asked Saturday night if he had planned on winning multiple MHSAA championships during his senior season.
“No,” the Hudsonville Unity Christian guard said shaking his head. “Not at all. When we started football, we were like, ‘Let’s get a winning record.’ When we started basketball, it was like, ‘Let’s win Districts again.’ Then we won Regionals, and it was like, ‘All right, let’s do this again.’”
Wiswary – who also played on the Crusaders’ Division 5 champion football team – scored 17 points to lead Unity Christian to a 58-55 win against River Rouge in the Division 2 Boys Basketball Final.
He’s one of seven players on the Crusaders roster who played on an MHSAA championship team in the fall, as the Crusaders also won the Division 3 soccer title. So while Saturday’s win gave the Crusaders their first basketball title, being in championship games was nothing new to many of the players.
“Being in the football one, we knew we just had to come out and play hard right away, and that’s what we did tonight,” Unity Christian senior T.J. VanKoevering said. “We came out and we played hard right away. That’s what we did in both, so I think that’s a big key to it.”
Unity Christian had to play hard from the beginning against a River Rouge program making its 20th Finals appearance – the most in MHSAA history – and seeking its first title since 1999.
The Panthers’ high-pressure defense forced Unity Christian into an uncharacteristic 23 turnovers.
“We do not turn the ball over, so I’m going to give River Rouge a lot of credit – we just don’t,” Unity Christian coach Scott Soodsma said. “We are averaging probably 10.5 to 12 all year long, and ball security is something we preach. But with the intensity of that game and the way they were coming at us, I give them a lot of credit. We did make a few mistakes that we probably typically don’t do.”
River Rouge had possession of the ball down just three with 12.4 seconds remaining. The Panthers were able to get two looks at a 3-pointer, but neither fell. Their final attempt to tie the game came on a ¾-court heave by senior Nigel Colvin, which was off the mark.
“I feel like (the first 3-point attempt) had a chance,” Colvin said. “But after I let it go, obviously I saw that it was off.”
River Rouge had trailed by as many as 13 points late in the third quarter, as Unity Christian started to heat up and looked to be putting the game away. Wiswary was big during the quarter, scoring 11 of his game-high 17 points.
“I just think my teammates got me open,” Wiswary said. “I got in the lane a little bit, and they were open on the three and I just got a lot of floaters, then Ryan Takens hit a big 3 there, so that was big.”
River Rouge was able to claw back with its pressure defense, however, and force the dramatic ending sequence. It was too little, too late, however, in River Rouge coach LaMonta Stone’s eyes.
“Our defense creates our offense, and defensively we were bad the whole game,” Stone said. “They were getting too many easy looks. They were getting in the lane, and that’s just not the way we’ve been playing defensive basketball to this point.”
VanKoevering had 13 points for Unity Christian, while Takens had 10, and Zac Velthouse had eight points and eight rebounds. Among the Unity Christian starting five – which also includes Chandler Collins, who added seven points – only Velthouse returns.
“I couldn’t be prouder of these two guys,” Soodsma said, gesturing to Wiswary and VanKoevering. “They’ve been leaders all year long, on and off the floor. They’ve put in all kinds of work and effort, and those are the two guys we look to all the time. They have been a little bit special – it's going to be hard to say goodbye to them.”
River Rouge, meanwhile, started five seniors – Colvin, who led the team with 15 points, Micah Parrish who added 13, Donavan Freeman, Bralin Toney and Dan Few. The group helped bring River Rouge back near the top, as the Panthers had advanced to the Semifinals in 2017 and 2018. It was a great ride, but at River Rouge, championships are the goal.
“We’ve talked all week and talked all year, River Rouge basketball is based on state championships,” Stone said. “There’s banners in our gymnasium – there's 14 state championship banners. (Former coach Lofton Greene) has a number of runner-up places, but he didn’t place those banners in the gymnasium, so I’m not going to place it. That’s my mentor, that’s the guy I played for. Everything I know about basketball is based on Coach Greene. If he’s not satisfied with runner-ups, neither can I be.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Hudsonville Unity Christian raises its Division 2 championship trophy Saturday night at the Breslin Center. (Middle) Unity’s Chandler Collins gets a hand on a River Rouge shot.
Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Boys Report Week 7
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 24, 2022
Nearly all of the MHSAA’s 750 member high schools have a varsity boys basketball team, and “Breslin Bound” highlights the notable performances throughout the state.
But it’s been impossible this season to not turn a lot of attention toward Detroit.
The Detroit Catholic League Central features five teams with overall records of 6-3 or better despite two weeks of matchups against each other. The Detroit Public School League Blue features at least three championship contenders as well. River Rouge is sure to be in the Division 1 mix too, but just lost for the first time to an intriguing Division 3 riser in Ecorse. And as always, the suburbs are loaded with teams with March possibilities.
“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. Ecorse 60, River Rouge 58 The Raiders (5-1) are a combined 33-11 over the last three seasons but hadn’t defeated Rouge (12-1) since 2014 and lost last year’s matchup by 11.
2. Detroit Martin Luther King 56, Detroit Cass Tech 51 These two and Renaissance are starting to separate at the top of the Detroit Public School League Blue, with King (9-1) earning a valuable advantage over the Technicians (9-2) as both face Renaissance this week.
3. Menominee 51, Powers North Central 26 The Maroons (9-1) handed the Jets (9-1) their only loss and appear capable of finishing the regular season as the top team in Division 3 MPR.
4. Detroit U-D Jesuit 65, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 61 Another must-see week of games in the Detroit Catholic League Central concluded with Jesuit (6-3) and Detroit Catholic Central (8-2) tied for first, with the Eaglets (8-2) next.
5. Ferndale 56, North Farmington 49 The Eagles (8-2) won this road matchup for first place in the Oakland Activities Association Red, with North Farmington (10-2) set to make a return trip Feb. 17.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Detroit Renaissance (9-1) While last season’s 6-8 record wasn’t a good indicator of the team’s ability – Renaissance lost four games by six points or fewer and fell to Detroit U-D Jesuit (11-1) by just a basket in District play – the Phoenix are closing in on guaranteeing their first winning season since 2018-19. They are in the PSL Blue mix (see above) and have scored at least 79 points in their last four games, with a high of 106. They have wins over Romulus Summit Academy North (9-2) and Bloomfield Hills (8-2), with the lone loss by five to Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (7-2).
Rockford (10-1) The Rams are seeking to repeat in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red and sit alone in first place after last week’s 62-56 win over Grand Haven (9-1). That one meant even more because Rockford fell twice to the Buccaneers last season on the way to going 15-3 overall. The lone defeat this winter came Dec. 18 against Detroit Catholic Central (8-2).
Division 2
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (10-1) The Cougars’ perfect run to the Division 2 championship last season featured a lineup that graduated only one senior, making this season’s success predictable but no less impressive. Among the most notable wins were their first three – 48-45 over Grand Rapids Christian, then 80-66 over Detroit U-D Jesuit and 64-59 over reigning Division 1 champion Grand Blanc – and GRCC also has a victory over Ada Forest Hills Eastern, which is second to the Cougars in the O-K Gold. The team’s lone loss came 75-69 to reigning Division 3 champion Flint Beecher.
Kingsford (7-1) The Flivvers’ last Great Northern Conference championship came in 2011-12, and they’ve rarely had an impact on the race since – but that could change over the next six weeks. While Kingsford’s lone loss came to reigning champ Escanaba, 53-50 on Dec. 10, they haven’t allowed another opponent to come closer than 13 points. League leader Menominee is up next, and the Escanaba rematch is Feb. 4.
Division 3
Flint Beecher (8-1) The Bucs are under new but familiar leadership, with early 2000s star Marquis Gray taking over the program this winter. Through nearly the first half of the season, the reigning Division 3 champion looks headed toward another long run. In addition to the GRCC win (see above), Beecher is again leading the Genesee Area Conference Red and has lost only to Division 1 Martin Luther King – no one but King and GRCC have gotten closer than single digits. The Bucs finish the regular season with Division 1 Flint Carman-Ainsworth and Grand Blanc.
Traverse City St. Francis (7-1) The Gladiators have lost only to Division 1 Grand Haven and have a win over Division 1 Traverse City Central (50-48 in double overtime). St. Francis tied for second in the Lake Michigan Conference last season but opened this one with a 59-40 win over reigning champion Charlevoix. After losing twice to Elk Rapids last year, St. Francis handed the second-place Elks a 50-47 defeat last Tuesday to take over the league lead alone – and also-second place Boyne City hosts St. Francis this Friday.
Division 4
Deckerville (8-1) The Eagles are closing in on guaranteeing their first winning season since 2016-17, and after going 4-9 a year ago. They own two two-point and one three-point win and join Dryden –Tuesday’s opponent – as undefeated in North Central Thumb League Stars play. The lone loss came to Division 2 Imlay City, a contender in the Blue Water Area Conference.
Rudyard (8-0) Division 4 semifinalists last season, the Bulldogs are among a small group of Upper Peninsula teams that play in multiple leagues – and they lead both the Straits Area Conference and Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference and have wins over the second-place teams from each. Rudyard’s best victory came Saturday, nonleague, as it handed Munising its first defeat 57-34.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Detroit U-D Jesuit (6-3) at Detroit Catholic Central (8-2) – The co-leaders in the Catholic League Central meet up for the first time this season.
Tuesday – Richmond (8-1) at Croswell-Lexington (10-0) – The Pioneers have won the last two Blue Water Area Conference titles, and Richmond won two straight before that.
Tuesday – Olivet (10-0) at Lake Odessa Lakewood (8-1) – Both are undefeated in the Greater Lansing Activities Conference, and they split last season’s series.
Friday – Detroit Renaissance (9-1) at Detroit Martin Luther King (9-1) – Depending on Renaissance’s success Tuesday at Cass Tech, this eventually could determine the PSL Blue championship.
Friday – Carrollton (8-0) at Hemlock (7-1) – The Cavaliers are undefeated atop the Tri-Valley Conference 10, but Hemlock’s only loss was to Carrollton 44-43 in the season opener.
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 Davison and Detroit Edison face off earlier this season. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)