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February 27, 2012
Check out our must-know scores and news from Feb. 20-25.
(Click on links for coverage.)
Wrestling
We are the Champions: MHSAA powerhouses in all four divisions continued their recent successes at Saturday’s Team Finals at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena. Hudson became the third program to win four straight MHSAA team titles by outlasting Shelby in Division 4. Richmond in Division 3 and St. Johns in Division 2 both won third-straight championships. Detroit Catholic Central avenged last season’s Division 1 Final loss to Oxford by beating the Wildcats 47-9 – the Shamrocks' second championship in three seasons. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2) (Second Half D3) (Second Half D4)
Competitive Cheer
Stoney Creek goes 10 to 1: Rochester Hills Stoney made the biggest move up among teams that qualified Saturday for this weekend’s Finals at the Grand Rapids Delta Plex. Stoney Creek entered the postseason ranked No. 10 in Division 1 – but won its Regional by just more than a point, and in doing so finished ahead of No. 3 Rochester, No. 5 Southgate Anderson and No. 9 Lake Orion. Stoney Creek, the 2010 Division 1 Final champion, will try to make it two titles in three seasons beginning at 6 p.m. Friday.(Rochester.Patch.com)
Girls Bowling
Oxford stuns: The Wildcats won the closest and arguably most competitive girls or boys Regional on Friday, finishing 14 pins ahead of Fair Haven Anchor Bay and Macomb Dakota at Sterling Heights’ Star Lanes. Oxford rolled four Baker games of 180 or more, and a 918 team game to tie for the highest of those three rounds. The kicker: Oxford entered the postseason unranked; Dakota was No. 10, and No. 9-ranked Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, No. 2 Sterling Heights Stevenson and No. 7 Macomb L’Anse Creuse North all finished outside the top three and failed to qualify for this week’s Division 1 Final. (MHSAA.com)
Boys Basketball
No. 1 in Lansing: Occasionally, the No. 1-ranked teams in Class A and B play each other. Rarely does that happen with both from the same city and located only a few miles apart. Top-ranked Class B team Lansing Sexton’s only loss this season was by a point last month to Detroit Pershing – No. 1 in Class A until losing to Detroit Martin Luther King two weeks ago and falling from the top spot. The Doughboys were replaced by Lansing Eastern, which like Sexton is in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue. They met Friday – with the Big Reds winning 75-58 to finish a season sweep of the Quakers. (Lansing State Journal)
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Ewen-Trout Creek Starts Fast, Holds On to Reach 1st Final Since 1982
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 24, 2022
EAST LANSING – What began playing out early like a certain blowout turned into quite a thriller to begin Thursday’s Division 4 Boys Basketball Semifinals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
Making its first Semifinals trip since since finishing Class D runner-up 1982, Ewen-Trout Creek was in full control in the first Division 4 matchup of the night with a double-digit lead for the majority of the game.
But appearing in its first-ever Semifinal, Lake Leelanau St. Mary pulled off a furious comeback, tying the game with just over two minutes remaining.
Ultimately, Ewen-Trout Creek made more plays from there, holding off St. Mary to earn a 62-56 win and advance to its first championship game since it won the Class D title in 1972.
“Wow,” Ewen-Trout Creek coach Brad Besonen said. “That was fantastic. High school sports at its finest. Two small schools on the big stage at Breslin Center. These guys have dreamed about being here forever. They’ve played together since second grade.”
After trailing 48-31 with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter, St. Mary began its rally, mainly because it finally found some rhythm offensively.
St. Mary scored the final six points of the third quarter to make it 48-37, but Ewen-Trout Creek restored its lead to 12 at 54-42 with 6:13 remaining.
Then, the Eagles made their big move.
St. Mary went on a 14-2 run over the next 4:11 to tie the game at 56-56 with 2:02 remaining.
The comeback wasn’t anything new to the Eagles, who trailed by 18 in the second half of their District Final against Buckley and by 12 points in the final five minutes of their Regional Final against McBain Northern Michigan Christian before rallying to win both games.
“They just have no quit in them,” St. Mary coach Matt Barnowski said.
But down the stretch, Ewen-Trout Creek regained its composure.
Senior Jaden Borseth gave the Panthers a 58-56 lead with 1:46 remaining, and after St. Mary had 3-point shots rim out on back-to-back possessions, Ewen-Trout Creek took a lead with 33.8 seconds left on two free throws by senior Kelsey Jilek.
Following another missed 3-pointer by St. Mary, Borseth made two free throws with 8.2 seconds remaining to make it 62-56 Panthers.
Jilek led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Borseth scored 18 points and senior Eric Abramson added 15 points for Ewen-Trout Creek (23-3), which had its eye on this year the minute last season ended with a loss to Bessemer in the District round.
“We were in the gym the day after we lost,” Jilek said. “We wanted more than anything to make a run last year. We put everything we had into it, and here we are.”
St. Mary junior Shawn Bramer led all scorers with 25 points to go along with eight rebounds, and Schaub added 14 points to lead St. Mary (21-5).
The Eagles started the season 2-3, then went 19-2 the rest of the way to make school history.
“That was a fun game,” Barnowski said. “Everybody got their money’s worth, there’s no doubt about that. I’m proud of these kids.”
Ewen-Trout Creek got off to a good start offensively, making nine of its first 15 shots and taking a 20-14 lead after the first quarter.
Leading 24-18 in the second quarter, the Panthers started to separate, going on an 11-2 run to take a 35-20 advantage with 1:08 remaining before halftime.
The Panthers eventually took a 37-22 lead into the break.
PHOTOS (Top) Ewen-Trout Creek's Eric Abramson lays up a shot during his team's Division 4 Semifinal win Thursday. (Middle) St. Mary's Shawn Bramer (32) works to split the defense of Kelsey Jilek (24) and Brendan Polkky (44). (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)