Arthur Hill, Powers, Buena Vista and All Saints all fall short of Breslin Center
MT. PLEASANT -- And then, there was one.
Five Mid-Michigan boys basketball teams entered state quarterfinal competition on Tuesday night, but only one of them will arrive at the Breslin Center later this week for the semi-finals. In Class C, the Beecher Bucs continued their remarkable journey from the depths of an 0-5 start, defeating Grandville Calvin Christian at Mt. Pleasant by a final of 64-57. They will battle Melvindale Academy of Business & Tech on Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m., as the Gators disposed of Buena Vista, 78-62.
"I'm very proud of our kids," said Beecher head coach Mike Williams. "It shows the character that our kids have, and I'm glad we pulled it out tonight."
"It means a lot," added senior forward D'Marius Houston. "We went through a lot this year, lost a lot of great players this year. Started out 0-and-5, but to show we can make it to the Breslin once again with a lot of young (players) on this team. Three seniors on the team and to make it to the Breslin shows a lot of heart and (we) feel great about it."
"I tell them when you're taking a test and you prepare, you're not nervous," added Williams. "So we prepared them all year long for this moment, so there is no need for them to be nervous. And we're just proud of the way our kids have performed."
Mid-Michigan's hopes for a boys basketball state title rests squarely on the shoulders of the Bucs, as four other area schools all saw their seasons come to bitter ends.
In Class A, a fourth-quarter collapse by Arthur Hill will make for a very long off-season for the Lumberjacks, who fell to Ann Arbor Huron by a 63-58 final. After trailing by four at the half, the Lumberjacks appeared to have seized total control by the mid-way point of the fourth quarter, having built a 50-40 lead. But the River Rats refused to give in, as they slowly chipped away at the Lumberjacks' lead and gained confidence with each basket. By the time the smoke cleared, Arthur Hill had been outscored 23-8 to close out the game, and saw themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard.
"We left too many points on the board," lamented Arthur Hill head coach Greg McMath. "Missed too many free throws, lay-ups. We should have closed the game out right there but we gotta be proud of our guys. They fought hard and played hard. We should have ended the game...we didn't end the game the way we should have, and the way we are capable of doing."
In what turned out to be the final game of his brilliant high school career, Arthur Hill guard Maurice Jones scored 32 points. His next basketball competition will come as a freshman for the USC Trojans.
Over in Class B, there will be no state title repeat for Flint Powers, who were overwhelmed by Detroit Country Day in Brighton. Despite Powers jumping out to an 11-2 lead, the Yellowjackets stormed back and refused to be denied for a third consecutive year by the Chargers in the state quarterfinals. DCD pulled away in the second half for a 63-47 victory.
In Class D, B.C. All Saints' loss at the hands of Marine City Cardinal Mooney rivaled that of Arthur Hill's for the title of "Most Painful Setback." The Cougars let an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter slip through their fingers, and fell to the Cardinals by a final of 51-47.
