CLASS A SEMI-FINALS

Game 1: Saginaw High vs. East Lansing

The first “Class A” semi-final game became a battle of mascots as both Saginaw and East Lansing hail the Trojans as the pride of their school.  East Lansing fed off the home crowd that packed in the Breslin Center due to the fact they only had to travel a street light to get there.

East Lansing kept pace as the score stayed tied half way through the first quarter. A steal and jumper from Daniel West, followed by a 3-pointer from Mike Green gave Saginaw the momentum.  Draymond “Day-Day” Green gave the defending camps an 18-8 lead with his jumper to end the first quarter. 

Day-Day beat up on East Lansing in the second quarter and his offensive rebounds allowed Saginaw to really start pulling away.  A pair of 3-pointers from 6-6 Charlie Woods kept East Lansing some what close as they only trailed 39-24 at the half.    

Day-Day continued to impress the Breslin crowd with offensive put back after another.  A 3-pointer from Day-Day gave Saginaw a 20 point lead and the Champs were never again threatened by East Lansing as the lead got to as many as 30 points in the 69-49 win.   

 

Breakdown

Game Ball- Draymond Green #32 Day-Day must have already felt at home on his future court, he exploded for 30 points and 16 rebounds.  He was just too much of a beast for East Lansing to handle down low. 

Charlie Woods, #32 East Lansing- I can’t believe the best offer Woods received was to the University of Denver.  For being 6-6 he can flat out shoot.  He was 4-of-8 from the 3-point line and every shot he had Trojans in his face.  He led Lansing with 16 points and 10 boards.   

Will Marlow, #24 Saginaw- Will doesn’t get much attention because he doesn’t do allot of scoring but he has been a huge piece in Saginaw’s success.  He plays lock down defense and does all of the garbage work for the Trojans.  Marlow was credited for 2 steals but he constantly deflected passes through out the game.      

Courtney Washington, #30 Saginaw – got out and put his focus on defense, he had 3 steals and 2 blocks to go with 13 points.  He’s usually the first Trojan to get down the floor after turnovers and that usually result in him getting easy buckets.

 

Game 2: Detroit Pershing vs. Romulus

No disrespect to East Lansing but everyone could foresee the outcome of the first “Class A” semi-final; the big question was who would win the second semi-final.  Romulus beat Pershing earlier this year, but in that game Derrick Nix was a non-factor.  This time around Nix didn’t waste any time to leave his mark as the 6-9 junior center scored six of Pershing’s first eight points to give his Doughboys an early 8-2 lead. 

Romulus took their first lead in the second quarter off of four straight points from Martell Anderson.  Mr. Basketball finalist, Dominique Buckley, used his ability to penetrate and kick out, to find open shots for his team.  Romulus jumped up 28-18 and a Buckley lay up in traffic gave the Eagles a 30-18 lead.  A 3-pointer from Dontae Molden stopped the Romulus run but the Eagles still led 38-27 at the half.

Romulus led for most of the second half but the Eagles were never able to put the game away because Pershing guards Dell Ward and Keith Appling continued to get into the lane for scoring opportunities.  A lay up from Appling with 2:42 left in the fourth cut the lead to two points and a pair of free throws from Molden tied the score. 

Pershing regained the lead when Appling split a pair of free throws with 45 seconds on the clock making the score 72-71.  Laron Rodgers also split a pair of free throws for Romulus tying the score at 72 a piece.  Pershing ran off the last 36 seconds of the game but they were unable to get a shot off sending the game into overtime.

The two teams matched basket for basket in the extra session.  With 25 seconds left to play, and the score still tied at 77-77.  Pershing put the ball in the hands of senior, Dell Ward.  Ward drove right and pulled up from 13 feet out and swished a jumper with one second left to send the Doughboys into the State Championship.             

 

Breakdown

Game Ball- Dell Ward #1 Ward is a pure scorer but he was struggling to get shots to fall, until he came through with his biggest bucket in overtime with one second left to send his team into the State Championship.  Ward had a game high 18 points.    

Dominique Buckley, #1 Romulus- It wasn’t the game “Bucks” was hoping for with the 6 turnovers and fouling out, but it doesn’t take away from the great career he had as an Eagle.  Once Buckley fouled out you could just feel that the Eagle were done.  He is the reason Romulus got this far.   

Derrick Nix, #50 Pershing- “Big Nix” was the single reason Pershing was able to rally back.  Nix started banging down low and his guards fed him the ball.  The 6-9 center powered his way to 17 points and 16 rebounds. 

Lugene Davis, #4 Pershing- Gene only played 12 minutes but every second he was on the floor he was making a play.  He was all over the floor and the three charges he drew were huge.  Gene is as tough as they come and he has a high hoops I.Q.

Will Clyburn, #21 Romulus- the 6-5 wing-forward is multi-skilled but against Pershing he only hit 1-of-7 3-pointers but that didn’t stop him from going for 18 points and 12 rebounds.

 

CLASS B SEMI-FINALS

Game 1: Lansing Catholic vs. Menominee

The football powerhouse, Menominee, entered the Breslin floor with the reputation that nobody has seen them play but everyone knows that they were the team to knock off Brad Redford.  Although the Breslin floor wasn’t as gracious to the Maroons as the turf at Ford Field. 

Menominee hung tough for the first half and only trailed 25-21.  Lansing Catholic was hot from the floor with four different players knocking down 3-pointers but the tempo of the game favored Menominee.  The Maroons weren’t knocking down shots like the Cougars, but they were able to get their hands on some offensive rebounds that turned into put backs.

Max Gover and Michael Repovz each opened the third quarter with a quick four points to help the Cougars go on a 10-2 run.  Menominee then got impatient offensively and started forcing shots.  Lansing continued its hot shooting and the Cougars were quickly up 20 points.  The Maroons just fell apart in the fourth quarter and the final score read 64-39.

 

Breakdown

Game Ball- Max Gover #23 the 6-5 wing forward paced a balanced Cougar attack with 14 points and 6 rebounds.  His all around game gave Menominee problems to match-up against. 

Austin Nichols, #10 Lansing- the junior point only had 9 points and 1 assist but he controls the ball and does a good job of putting his big wings in great positions to be successful.

 

Game 2: Flint Powers vs. Forest Hills Northern

The game came down to whether or not his feet were beyond the arc.  Down three points Cole Cline heaved up an underhand desperation shot the banked off the glass and fell in.  After a minute of discussion that felt like an hour, the officials decided that Cline stepped over the 3-point line and the shot was only worth two points, sending Flint Powers into the “Class B” State Championship with the 66-65 win.

The game didn’t favor Powers in the beginning as senior combo guard Tyler Moreland quickly picked up two fouls and was sent to the bench.  With Powers’ senior leader on the bench the Chargers looked out of sync.  Forest Hills’ Javontae Ford was using his athletic 6-3 frame to get his hands on loose balls and tip backs.  Bryan Huntley was also knocking down shots for Northern, helping the Huskies hold a small three point lead at the half.  Powers was able to keep the game close with their guard play of Patrick Lucas-Perry and Shane

Moreland.  The only problem was S. Moreland picked up his third foul in the second quarter keeping both Moreland brothers in foul trouble.

In the second half Powers fought desperately to keep the game close.  Northern got up 8 points in the third and 7 points midway through the fourth.  Consecutive baskets from role players Kevin Pickens and Xavier Walker gave Powers a 60-59 lead with two minutes left in the game.

Powers added six free throws down the stretch, with five coming from Lucas-Perry.  Lucas-Perry’s last free throw came with seven seconds left making the score 66-63, when Cole pulled off his over the line shot.

Breakdown

Game Ball- Shane Moreland #2 “Sugar” is starting to become a defensive weapon, he has great anticipation skills that allowed him to make 5 steals.  The junior stud also had 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting.   

Patrick O’Brien, #51 Powers- the 6-3 sophomore center helped lead Powers with 18 points and 5 rebounds.  He physically dominated Forest Hills.  His physical play threw Forest hills players off balance and O’Brien was looking like the neighbor hood bully.  O’Brien gives Powers that tough man mentality that every team needs.    

Javontae Ford, #35 Northern- the 6-3 junior has a decent blend of fundamentals but he has all the athletic ability in the world.  Fun junior to watch play with the ability to play D-2 college ball.

 

CLASS C SEMI-FINALS

GAME 1: Flint Beecher vs. Negaunee

Negaunee exploded out of the gates with 14 straight points to build an early 14-2 lead.  The Minors came in focused and quickly showed why they boasted a 25-0 record.  A Dominique Allen 3-pointer finally ended the run and Taron Boose ended the quarter with a leaner to keep the deficit at 16-7.   

The Miners again started the second quarter strong with early baskets from Travis Swanson and Anthony Katona to take a 21-7 lead.  Two steals from Janero Walker turned into a D’Marius Houston 3-pointer and a Simuel Overall runner to cut the lead to seven.  Negaunee went into the half with a nine point lead.

The third quarter stayed at the same pace as Negaunee was able to keep the Bucs at a distance with the lead bouncing back and forth from eight points to 13 points.

As the game went on Negaunee was hanging by a thread trying to handle Beecher’s full court pressure.  The Minors also were only rotating six players while Beecher was shuffling players in at every dead ball.  Midway through the fourth quarter the fast pace of the game finally hit the Minors and Beecher made their run.

An Allen lay-up cut the lead to one points with four minutes to play and then a pair of free throws from Overall gave Beecher their first lead of the game at 46-45.  Katona gave Negaunee the lead back but Beecher again tied the game with a Walker steal and bucket. 

Another jumper from Overall gave Beecher the lead for good with a 1:37 to play.  Overall, Allen, and Boose all hit free throws to build the lead as Beecher advanced with a 57-51 win.      

 

BREAKDOWN

Game Ball- Simuel Overall the senior captain only made 5-of-20 shots but he put his Bucs on his shoulders in the game’s final minutes and came up with some big plays.  He finished with a team high 16 points to go with 5 assist and 4 rebounds.    

Taron Boose, #31 Beecher- Boose came off the bench to get his team going after the slow start.  He is undersized but he just knows how to score on the block.  He added 10 points and 9 boards. 

Travis Swanson, #4 Negaunee- 19 points and 9 rebounds for the senior wing.  He’s a solid ball player but like his teammates he ran out of gas in the end and the pressure rattled him a little bit.

 

CLASS D SEMI-FINALS

GAME 1: Cedarville vs. Musk. West Mi. Christian

51 and 1, 51 and 1; those were the chants from West Michigan Christian’s student body as the final seconds ran off the clock in the Warrior’s 77-65 victory over the defending State Champs.  Going back to last year, Cedarville has rung up 51 straight wins but number 52 was denied.

Five players logged 30 or more minutes for the defending champion, Trojans.  In the fourth quarter you could see the tank was running low.  Cedarville had to play catch up for most of the game after falling behind 15-12 after the first.  West Michigan took a 30-28 lead into the half.  Cedarville’s best play, junior C.J. Paquin, struggled in the first half but twins Jason and Jordan Duncan carried the load.  Cedarville used some full court pressure in the first half which allowed the twins to get their hands on some loose balls. 

A jumper from Nate Bruinsma gave the Warriors their biggest lead at 47-39 with 2:47 left in the third.  Jordan Duncan’s steal and lay up along with a Paquin 3-pointer trimmed the lead to 51-48 heading into the fourth.

6-6 Charlie Van Rees and the 6-4 Bruinsma took over in the fourth quarter for West Michigan.  The inside combo towered over the smaller Cedarville team.  And once the Warriors broke the press they went right inside to the two bigs.

Cedarville did manage to tie the game in the fourth off of a Paquin steal and assist; but West Michigan was not going to be denied.  A Bruinsma jumper along with a Van Rees offensive rebound, put back, and foul gave the Warriors a five point lead to help close out the win.   

 

BREAKDOWN

Game Ball- Nate Bruinsma the wing forward lead the Warriors with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 steals.  For having a thick body at 6-4 he could handle the ball and hit that mid-range jumper.

C.J. Paquin, #30 Cedarville- the junior is flashy and quick.  I can see why he’s considered the Michael Jordan of the U.P.  His shot was off as he only hit 2-of-9 3-pointers and 10-of-20 from the floor but he did a good job of setting up teammates and still playing solid defense.

Kevin Thompson, #12 Cedarville- of all the Cedarville players, the 6-2 center gets the least pub, but he played his tail off on the big stage.  He led the Trojans with 25 points on 12-of-19 shooting.  

 

GAME 2: Detroit City vs. Lawrence

The night cap on day one was the most exciting game.  Both City and Lawrence had guards that flat out put on a show for the Breslin crowd.  City’s 5-10 point guard, Ray Hill, threw down three dunks that would have received high numbers in a dunk contest.  One dunk came off an assist from a pass off the backboard.  Lawrence countered back with point guard and all-state player, Adrian Ledesma.  You want to talk about crafty ball control and using the ball like a yo-yo. Then check out the 6-0 senior.

While the two players went back and forth, everyone had to remember there was still a pretty big basketball game being played. 

Detroit was able to get up six points at the half primarily due to the play of their wings, that were just too much for Lawrence to handle.  Lawrence had size with brothers: 6-9 junior Shayne Whittington and 6-5 senior Spencer Whittington but they just couldn’t get a body on City’s athletic wing forwards of 6-5 William Overton and 6-4 Devin Patton.  City was able to rack up 10 blocks for the game which sent an early message to Lawrence that they were going to challenge everything.     

City didn’t waste any time as the Bears built a double digit lead in the second half.  Detroit had full control of the game and the atmosphere felt like they were up 30 points as City starting throwing down dunks and jumping around in celebration. 

But that’s when Ledesma took over.  First it was back to back steals, then it was an “and 1” where the guard switched hands in mid air for the reverse.  Then a no look assist through traffic to Spencer Whittington.  Then a 3-pointer from Ledesma and the lead was down to two points at 49-47 with 1:12 to go.

The score stayed the same with .23 seconds left when Hill was called for a travel looking like Lawrence was going to get a shot to tie the game.  All of a sudden another official ran over and said he called a foul first giving City two free throws to put the game away.  The call was huge as it allowed City to sneak away with a 53-49 win.   

 

BREAKDOWN

Game Ball- William Overton #42 the 6-5 player uses his long wing span to make plays.  He led City with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks.  He can run the floor and especially finish.

Adrian Ledesma, #22 Lawrence- this is why the state finals are so fun to watch because it gives players like Ledesma a chance to shine on the big stage.  He finished with 12 points, 5 assist, and 5 steals.  But he had countless set ups for teammates and over 10 pass deflections.

Ray Hill, #20 City- the 5-10 point can get off the floor.  I would love to see how he would do in track.  He is a speedster and you don’t find many 5-10 players that are always looking for a dunk.  At times he worries too much about the highlights and takes his focus off of the “team”.  He added 15 points but also had 6 turnovers.

Devin Patton, #32 City- nothing fancy with his play, he just produces results like 9 points and 17 rebounds.  He’s a work horse in the paint and can finish on the block.   

Shayne Whittington, #32 Lawrence- the 6-9 center looks young like he still has some growing to do.  He was fundamental and could finish.  He did have trouble sticking with the smaller and quicker City players but he’s a decent player with some potential.  He finished with 11 points and 14 boards.