Prep Basketball Report - State Finals Edition
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Hello and welcome to the season ending edition of the Prep Sports Report here on Spartan Nation! It was an exciting season with lots of information to sift through, but once again we were able to enjoy one of the purest forms of basketball…Michigan high school hoops. The finals had plenty of close games and lots of great action. There were even multiple Michigan State basketball recruits playing on what will be their future home arena. Let’s get into the action for the final time in the 2010-11 season.
Class A
Kalamazoo Central 46 Detroit Southeastern 42
The one thing that jumped out at me right away was the poor shooting from Southeastern. Brandon Kearney, future MSU player, went six of 17 (13 points) and had seven rebounds. Percy Gibson, who had a big role in the win over Bay City Western (and another future Spartan in Matt Costello) only scored seven points. On the flipside of that, Kalamazoo Central was led by T.J. Buchanan’s 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. He probably would have scored more if he hadn’t gotten into foul trouble and forced to sit the end of the third quarter and most of the fourth. Darius Norman scored 12 as well. It will be interesting to see what happens at K-Central if Coach Mike Thomas heads back to his alma mater Saginaw High to take over for Lou Dawkins, who according to reports has taken a job at Northern Illinois.
Class B
Lansing Sexton 75 Muskegon Heights 60
It took 50 years, but Lansing Sexton is once again state champs. Leading the charge for the Big Reds was Tyrin Wade with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Future Spartan Denzel Valentine dropped 17 points, three assists, six rebounds, a block, and a steal on Muskegon Heights. He also provided a lot of excitement when he capped a 17-0 run that ended the first half with a two handed dunk as the final seconds were ticking away. On the other side, Muskegon Heights was plagued by similar issues that Detroit Southeastern faced; poor shooting from the floor (21 of 50). They were led by Juwon Martin and Deontae Hudson with 16 points each.
Class C
Schoolcraft 73 McBain 59
In the first half, McBain could do no wrong. All five of their players were working like a well oiled machine and they were hitting the shots. Foul trouble for Jared Larr in the third quarter seemed to slow the team down. After shooting 59% in the first half, they could only manage 32% in the second. Leading the charge in the losing effort was Cody King with 15 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Larr was close behind him with 14 points, one rebound, and three assists. Luke Ryskamp led all scorers with 19 points, seven assists, 11 rebounds, three blocks and a steal in the win. Not a bad day for the sophomore. Blake Krum and Tyler Dow each scored 16. Schoolcraft finished the season a perfect 27-0.
Class D
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 67 Fulton 50
Tri-unity was happy to bring that Michigan shaped trophy back to their small school. It wasn’t easy though; they only held a two point lead headed into the fourth quarter. The Defenders used a 23-8 run in the fourth to finish strong and bring back the title for the first time since 2006. They used 19 Fulton turnovers to score 23 points in the game. Durant Vega scored 21 points, pulled down two rebounds, tossed two assists and stole two balls in the winning effort. Joey Blauwkamp scored 16. In the losing effort, Tyler Walden scored 20 points including making all nine of his free throws. He also grabbed two rebounds and stole a ball. Cody Johnson scored 12.
A Note From The Desk Of Jeffrey C. Cottrell
It’s been fun writing for everyone again this year. Even though Hondo pays us HUGE salaries to write for him (hahaha, maybe next year I can get Hondo to use my salary to pay off the national debt), its tough work and time consuming. This labor of love is for you readers though. I hope you liked what I wrote this year in basketball and football. Sorry for the lack of coverage at the state finals though. A few circumstances beyond both Hondo and my control derailed those plans. Hopefully next year we will be back at the finals. So until August (or if Hondo can convince me to take on a project or two) I bid you adieu!
