The MHSAA Boys Basketball playoffs began last week with thrilling district contests. After several upsets and buzzer-beaters, we have advanced to the regionals this week. Our team at MSR will be LIVE covering several regionals. Previews of those regions, as well as others of note, can be found below.
DIVISION 1, REGION 2 at East Kentwood High School: Preview by Nate Dreyer
East Kentwood vs. Forest Hills Central & Zeeland West vs. Northview
This is a loaded region, filled with a group of teams that are also coming out of gauntlet districts that they were able to survive and advance out of – particularly true for Northview and East Kentwood.
East Kentwood vs. FHC
Tuesday night at EK opens with the host Falcons taking to the floor after winning their second-straight district title Friday night over Byron Center. Coach Mike Thomas for the Falcons is a three-time state champion, and he is looking for his team to hit their ceiling of high-level play, as they did Friday in snapping Byron Center’s 12-game win streak.
Jordan George is in his first year as a head coach for FHC, and a 2016 grad of the school. The young coach is the son of long-time Rangers bench boss Ken George and has started his career in impressive fashion. FHC had the moment of the night Friday, as Owen Godley got a put-back two as the 4th quarter clock expired vs. Caledonia to steal a one-point win over the district-hosting Scots and capture the district crown.
There will be a lot of talent on the floor in this game, in the back court the junior duo of Jah Hatchett and Darryl Thompkins Jr for Kentwood are as good as it gets. With Hatchett, in particular, hitting a real stride and averaging nearly 20 points-per-game in his two playoff games. Jonas VanderWoude for FHC is one of the area’s top dead-eye snipers and a 90%+ free throw shooter that has an ability to shoot at multiple levels and make you pay if you foul him off the bounce.
The Achilles heel of the Falcons this year has been when teams have gotten them slowed out of a rhythm by using various zones and tricky defensive setups, that was evident on Wednesday last week – as 3-win Jenison nearly picked up another upset win, only falling by 5 after ‘slopping up’ the game vs, EK. Central has an ability to use some unique zones and half-court offensive and defensive sets to slow things up and keep Kentwood out of a rhythm, it will be very interesting to see what Coach George can draw up in this one to pull the upset and move on to Thursday.
Zeeland West vs. Northview
The night’s second game pits 17-7 Zeeland West up against 18-5 Northview. These teams have a lot of similarities in how they are built and approach the game with size, skill, and a more methodical approach on the whole.
Merritt Alderink is a Mr. Basketball finalist and all-time leading scorer for a Dux team that just captured the school’s first-ever district championship in an emotionally charged win over cross-town rival Zeeland East at West Ottawa Friday. But it was the scoring outside of Merritt that carried the day Friday, as seniors Luke Bakker, Trenten Bolhouse, and Orion Yant all scored in double digits (while all of them (plus Alderink) dealt with some foul trouble).
Northview’s talent is unmistakable, as they were able to hold off Forest Hills Northern and Coopersville last week. E.J. Ryans, senior point guard for the ‘Cats had 32 points in the Wednesday come-from-behind win vs. FHN. The WMU commit Ryans younger brother, Cam, starred on Friday with 20 in the win over the Broncos to seal the district.
Both teams have got size and are willing to slow the pace and grind things down a bit on both ends. After playing things in straight-up man defense for a lot of the playoff run, look out for any tricks that either coach may have up their sleeve in this one.
Depth of scoring will likely also be a big part of this game, and each team has a lot of talent deep in the lineup. Coach Klyn for West finds much of that scoring from seniors and multi-year varsity players, as they typically roll 7-8 deep, and trust all 8 upperclassmen (6 seniors) to be able score and produce. Northview also has a depth of talent, but finds the talent in a wealth of younger, hyper talented players with incredibly bright futures beyond their big roles now – including a pair of freshmen that are a part of the starting 5, or, among the first 2 of the bench for coach Chana.
This region will be a battle from the start, featuring teams that have Breslin Center aspirations and talent across the board. Any match-up Thursday will be just as thrilling as both games we will see on Tuesday. East Kentwood is the only team that was able to win a district of this group last year, and they lost in the regional semis – so all of these teams that feature multi-year starters throughout will be looking to make a statement at EK.
The winner of this region will advance to play next Tuesday at Greenville High School, with a trip to the Breslin on the line there vs. the winner of this week’s regional being played at Gaylord – which very possibly could be Muskegon, as they look to advance back to the Breslin for a second-straight season.
DIVISION 1, REGION 3 at Gaylord High School
The Muskegon Big Reds had little trouble securing a district championship this past week. After disposing of Greenville in the semifinals, they throttled Mona Shores 71-36 in the title game. This championship showdown was unexpected, after Mona Shores upset Reeths Puffer. This week, they will take on Saginaw Heritage, who enters with a 20-3 record. The Hawks have won five straight contests and fourteen of their past fifteen.
In the other semifinal, 22-2 Cadillac will face 19-5 Traverse City West. In two regular season meetings, the Vikings swept West with a pair of victories by double figures. In Cadillac, the hosts won 58-44. When the Titans hosted, it was 55-44 Vikings. Something will have to change in order for the Titans to advance to the regional finals.
It should be noted that the Muskegon and Saginaw Heritage game will be held at Ithaca High School, while the other semifinal and finals will be held at Gaylord.
DIVISION 2, REGION 11 at Allendale High School
The Grand Rapids Catholic Central Cougars are back in the regionals after cruising past their district foes. In the regional semis, they will take on the Ionia Bulldogs. Ionia advanced after a narrow defeat of Portland in Friday’s district title bout, aided by their home crowd.
Fremont advanced to the regionals despite carrying a losing record into the postseason. After wins over Kent City, Sparta and Newaygo, the Packers are 11-14 on the season. They will take on a Spring Lake team who used three wins to push their record to 13-12. After an overtime thriller against Whitehall in the semifinals, they had little trouble against rival Fruitport in the title game.
As has often been the case for the Cougars, they are the overwhelming favorite in this district. With Durral Brooks and Carter Meerman leading the attack, this team has its eyes set on returning to the Breslin Center.
DIVISION 2, REGION 12 at Wayland
The Benton Harbor Tigers enter the regionals at 23-1. They won their first twenty games before a narrow loss to Niles Brandywine at the end of the regular season. In the postseason, they took care of Lakeshore and Niles to secure another trophy. They will now face Paw Paw, who has a 12-13 record. The Red Wolves defeated Allegan, South Haven and Plainwell to punch their ticket to the Regionals. Paw Paw took advantage of some upsets on the opposite side of the bracket that opened up the opportunity to advance.
Grand Rapids Christian enters the regionals with a 22-2 record. Coach Eric Taylor’s bunch defeated rival South Christian in dramatic fashion in Friday’s district final. In front of a sellout crowd, Jalen Owinga and Nate Johnson put together double figure scoring performances to propel the Eagles to victory. With that win, they’ll now take on Holland Christian in the regional semifinals. The Maroons had their own dramatic victory in the district finals, narrowly edging out rival Hamilton, 53-50.
DIVISION 4, REGION 29 at Fowler High School: Preview by Nate Dreyer
Kalamazoo Phoenix vs. Climax-Scotts & Tri-Unity Christian vs. Fowler
Head coach Mark Keeler for Tri-Unity Christian is on the shortest of lists for greatest coaches in the history of the state of Michigan. The last few seasons have been some of the absolute best for the 5-time state champion currently in his 37th season at the helm of the Defenders. Tri-Unity has now been to three-straight state championship games in Division 4, including winning it all in the 2022 season, with now Indiana Tech guard Brady Titus leading the way. Keeler has been to the finals a total of 11 times and coached greats, such as former Defender and long-time NBA stalwart, Chris Kaman.
This season, the Defenders seem poised to make another run back to East Lansing, and Michigan Sports Radio will be live with our GAME NIGHT crew the rest of the way on the Defenders hopeful run back to Breslin. That journey continues in Fowler this week in region 29, which features the Defenders opening with host Fowler along with Climax-Scotts and Kalamazoo Phoenix.
Kalamazoo Phoenix vs. Climax-Scotts
Phoenix and Climax-Scotts will open the night on Tuesday, both played difficult schedules in 2023-24, and hold losing records, but have each now gone on district runs and one will see their season extend to (at least) Thursday. The Phoenix Falcons are 7-14 on the season and defeated Gobles on Friday to win their second consecutive district title.
Climax-Scotts sits at 8-17 on the season and defeated Marshall Academy (8-12) for the district championship on Friday. The Panthers are led by Miles Shannon, a 6 ‘7’’ forward that is a two-way athlete and can handle the basketball to help create his own shot off the drive, or by using his plus size backing down defenders in the post.
Phoenix traditionally is a team for coach Quay Wilson and like to use their athleticism to push opponents into their higher-desired pace and style of game. An athlete like Shannon will provide an interesting match-up, as a big that also can athletically handle the ball and match some of that pressure.
Tri-Unity Christian vs. Fowler
The host school takes on the region’s favorite in the second game of Tuesday night, which will be broadcast live on MSR. Fowler is 17-7 on the year and fresh off taking down Portland St. Patrick in the District Final.
Tri-Unity, like Fowler, was the one seed in their district at 19-5. That record doesn’t even fully tell the story for the Defenders who played up divisions for the bulk of their schedule in (and out) of Alliance League conference play. In fact, they finished the ‘23-24 season as one of the top-10 MPR-rated teams in west Michigan, due in large part to some of their losses coming to championship-caliber teams in divisions 2,3, and even D1 district champ Forest Hills Central (loss by 4 at the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament).
Both teams like to lean on defense and are willing to slow the pace often for a methodical approach to the game, which will make every possession mean that much more. Both teams also are able to go to a depth of capable scorers and prefer to spread the wealth offensively for a balanced approach on that end.
The experience in these moments will be key for Tri-Unity’s attempt to advance, as they have multiple players that have now been to two or even three-straight state title games like senior guards Jordan VanKlompenberg and Owen Rosendall. Along with athletic big man Akais Giplaye, who has been a part of the last couple of trips to East Lansing, including a state championship as a sophomore.
Fowler seemingly has a different leading scorer every night from a wealth of talent on the guard and wing spots, Alex Simon and Asher Koenigsknecht are two of their most dangerous options here. But, it will be the defense that jumps off the page for the Eagles, as they will look to ride the energy from their home crowd to continue their strong play on their own end in this game. Fowler currently is on a 6-game win streak, in which they have allowed less than 45 points in each of the games during the stretch.
The winner of this region will move on to play at the state quarters game at Portage Northern’s ‘Igloo’ next week Tuesday, and will play the winner of region 30, being played at Mendon High.
Our coverage begins at 6:30 Tuesday for the Tri-Unity/Fowler game, and if the Defenders win that one, GAME NIGHT on MSR will be live from Fowler again on Thursday at 6:30 for the final.
