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EAST LANSING — Saturday's high school boys basketball finals are set after Friday's Division 1 and 2 semifinals.
East Lansing knocked off defending champion Orchard Lake St. Mary's, 51-44, in the first Division 1 semifinal. Wayne Memorial beat Flint Carman-Ainsworth 66-49 to set up the D1 final at 12:15 on Saturday.
Romulus Summit Academy North beat Kingsford 52-40 in first Division 2 semifinal. Warren Lincoln outlasted Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 43-39, to set up the final at 6:45 on Saturday.
THURSDAY'S PERFORMERS: Michigan high school boys basketball: Top performers from Division 3, 4 semifinal games
Here were the standouts from Friday's semifinals.
The junior guard helped East Lansing snap out of an early scoring rut with 10 first-half points. Torbert finished with 19, six rebounds and two steals.
"This man is a bucket, and I know that's an old one, but he is," East Lansing coach Ray Mitchell said. "He gets us going, scoring from the perimeter."
A sophomore, Thomas went on a personal 6-0 run to put East Lansing ahead 45-39 in the fourth quarter and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
"Any one of us can go on a run and get buckets so I just knew it was my time,” Thomas said. “Shots were falling for me."
The Mr. Basketball winner, who signed to play at Michigan, finished with 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting and seven rebounds.
"They played somewhat good defense, but I hit those types of shots and I didn’t hit my shots tonight so that was the outcome of the game," McKenney said.
Medlock scored 13 straight points in the third quarter and Wayne built a double-digit lead. The junior standout had 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
"I just got to keep my head up and see what the defense is really doing," Medlock said. "And once I figured it out, just calmed myself down and took my opportunity."
Tory drew a comparison to Anthony Davis from his coach Steve Brooks because of a late growth spurt and moving to center. Tory had 14 points, including four big dunks, and six rebounds.
"I'm just really focused on being an aggressive finisher," said Tory, who finished with three alley-oops.
Hamlin set the tone inside for Carman-Ainsworth to build an early lead and then stay within five points at halftime. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds with nine made free throws.
"I'm usually more of a facilitator," Hamlin said. "So, once I can get my team going, I think it opens up everything for myself.
The junior forward got going with six early points and helped to build a 16-6 first-quarter lead. Houser finished with 21 points and seven rebounds.
"Rebounding, defending, just doing what he's preaching," Houser said while pointing to coach Derek Brooks. "Come out on top, come out with energy. Just kill their vibe."
Perryman led the Summit Academy defense as the primary defender on Kingsford sharpshooter Gavin Grondin. He had 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
"They moved a lot on offense, so we had to talk a lot at the midline," Perryman said. "We weren't as strong on defense in the beginning and when we got used to it, we executed what coach wanted us to do."
He was the backbone of Kingsford's defense at center and had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and five rebounds.
"We said we weren't going to stop until that horn blew," coach Ben Olsen said. "And we did. We didn't lie down. We didn't die. We kept fighting."
Hutchins, one of the few new members who wasn't on last year's title team for the Abes, buried two key 3-pointers in a low-scoring fourth quarter and gave Lincoln the late lead. He finished with a game-high 15 points and seven rebounds.
"My expectation was to go back to the Breslin," Hutchins said. "They won last year and I'm just trying to make history — go back-to-back."
Bozeman got the offense rolling for Lincoln with five early points and a block. He finished with 10 points and six rebounds while taking the toughest assignment on defense.
"I've just been trying to pick up my game a lot this year because last year I didn't do as much as I wanted to," Bozeman said. "I couldn't perform how I wanted to.
"So, this year, coach has really been on me. ... I'm just trying my hardest. Even if I'm not scoring, I got to make sure I'm doing something to contribute."
Bowen, one of two seniors, had eight points and eight rebounds, including two late baskets in the fourth quarter that kept the game close.
"I'm super proud of this team," Bowen said. "They are going to do great things next year with only two seniors leaving. But I can even admit I didn't expect to make it this far."
Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Follow Jared on X or Bluesky, and email him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan high school boys basketball: Top players in D1, D2 semifinals
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East Lansing knocked off defending champion Orchard Lake St. Mary's, 51-44, in the first Division 1 semifinal. Wayne Memorial beat Flint Carman-Ainsworth 66-49 to set up the D1 final at 12:15 on Saturday.
Romulus Summit Academy North beat Kingsford 52-40 in first Division 2 semifinal. Warren Lincoln outlasted Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 43-39, to set up the final at 6:45 on Saturday.
THURSDAY'S PERFORMERS: Michigan high school boys basketball: Top performers from Division 3, 4 semifinal games
Here were the standouts from Friday's semifinals.
Division 1 semifinals top performers
Kelvin Torbert Jr., East Lansing
The junior guard helped East Lansing snap out of an early scoring rut with 10 first-half points. Torbert finished with 19, six rebounds and two steals.
"This man is a bucket, and I know that's an old one, but he is," East Lansing coach Ray Mitchell said. "He gets us going, scoring from the perimeter."
Kingston Thomas, East Lansing
A sophomore, Thomas went on a personal 6-0 run to put East Lansing ahead 45-39 in the fourth quarter and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
"Any one of us can go on a run and get buckets so I just knew it was my time,” Thomas said. “Shots were falling for me."
Trey McKenney, Orchard Lake St. Mary's
The Mr. Basketball winner, who signed to play at Michigan, finished with 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting and seven rebounds.
"They played somewhat good defense, but I hit those types of shots and I didn’t hit my shots tonight so that was the outcome of the game," McKenney said.
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Carlos Medlock Jr., Wayne Memorial
Medlock scored 13 straight points in the third quarter and Wayne built a double-digit lead. The junior standout had 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
"I just got to keep my head up and see what the defense is really doing," Medlock said. "And once I figured it out, just calmed myself down and took my opportunity."
Austin Tory, Wayne Memorial
Tory drew a comparison to Anthony Davis from his coach Steve Brooks because of a late growth spurt and moving to center. Tory had 14 points, including four big dunks, and six rebounds.
"I'm just really focused on being an aggressive finisher," said Tory, who finished with three alley-oops.
Donovan Hamlin, Flint Carman-Ainsworth
Hamlin set the tone inside for Carman-Ainsworth to build an early lead and then stay within five points at halftime. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds with nine made free throws.
"I'm usually more of a facilitator," Hamlin said. "So, once I can get my team going, I think it opens up everything for myself.
Division 2 semifinals top performers
Chance Houser, Romulus Summit Academy North
The junior forward got going with six early points and helped to build a 16-6 first-quarter lead. Houser finished with 21 points and seven rebounds.
"Rebounding, defending, just doing what he's preaching," Houser said while pointing to coach Derek Brooks. "Come out on top, come out with energy. Just kill their vibe."
Amir Perryman, Romulus Summit Academy North
Perryman led the Summit Academy defense as the primary defender on Kingsford sharpshooter Gavin Grondin. He had 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
"They moved a lot on offense, so we had to talk a lot at the midline," Perryman said. "We weren't as strong on defense in the beginning and when we got used to it, we executed what coach wanted us to do."
Morgan Sleik, Kingsford
He was the backbone of Kingsford's defense at center and had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and five rebounds.
"We said we weren't going to stop until that horn blew," coach Ben Olsen said. "And we did. We didn't lie down. We didn't die. We kept fighting."
Geon Hutchins, Warren Lincoln
Hutchins, one of the few new members who wasn't on last year's title team for the Abes, buried two key 3-pointers in a low-scoring fourth quarter and gave Lincoln the late lead. He finished with a game-high 15 points and seven rebounds.
"My expectation was to go back to the Breslin," Hutchins said. "They won last year and I'm just trying to make history — go back-to-back."
De'Marion Bozeman, Warren Lincoln
Bozeman got the offense rolling for Lincoln with five early points and a block. He finished with 10 points and six rebounds while taking the toughest assignment on defense.
"I've just been trying to pick up my game a lot this year because last year I didn't do as much as I wanted to," Bozeman said. "I couldn't perform how I wanted to.
"So, this year, coach has really been on me. ... I'm just trying my hardest. Even if I'm not scoring, I got to make sure I'm doing something to contribute."
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Jack Bowen, Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Bowen, one of two seniors, had eight points and eight rebounds, including two late baskets in the fourth quarter that kept the game close.
"I'm super proud of this team," Bowen said. "They are going to do great things next year with only two seniors leaving. But I can even admit I didn't expect to make it this far."
Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Follow Jared on X or Bluesky, and email him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan high school boys basketball: Top players in D1, D2 semifinals
Continue reading...
