Members of the St. Johns girls basketball team celebrate their 37-31 District Championship march 4, 2016, at St. Johns. The Red Wings broke Flushing’s 19 game win-streak

ST. JOHNS – Very few ball clubs rolled into the Class A district finals as hot as the St. Johns girls basketball team, which won 15 of its past 16 games heading into Friday.

However, its date for the night, the Flushing Raiders, were one of the exceptions, as the state’s No. 9-ranked team marched into St. Johns High School having won 19 straight.

All good things eventually come to an end, and the Redwings did everything they could to postpone their finale at least another week.

Behind a game-high 15 points from sophomore Maddie Maloney, St. Johns simmered down red-hot Flushing, 37-31, to pick up its first district championship since 2005.

“It feels really good. This one feels really good,” St. Johns coach Mark Lasceski said. “I thought it was going to be a battle from the get-go – two very good teams.

“From Day 1, we started way back in November, we’ve been working as a team. And slowly as the season went on, we started buying in to one another and playing for one another. We just did a great job and kept on battling. …And (we saw), together, we can accomplish a lot.”

The Redwings (20-3) had their season ended by the Raiders (19-3), who are the champions of the Flint Metro League, in the district title game last season. Senior Jessica Hafner, who missed last year’s game due to an ACL injury, vividly remembers watching from the bench as her team was eliminated from the postseason.

“The whole game, getting the rebounds, getting the rebounds … That’s all I wanted to do,” said Hafner, who scored eight points in the contest. “I practiced so hard over the summer to get back here after my ACL (injury).

“Just knowing that we had to match their physicality, that’s what I was there for.”

All season long, St. Johns has been a team that’s taken pride in its defensive abilities, according to Maloney. And Friday night might have been its most stout performance of the year.

The CAAC Red co-champion Redwings forced Flushing into its second lowest point total of the season, while holding senior forward Clare Glowniak, a Bowling Green signee, to just six points.

“They can score from anywhere and we knew that we’d have to stop them at certain times, and we’d have to go on runs if we wanted to win the game,” Maloney said. “We knew it was going to be a defensive-minded game. Coach put us in really good positions this week at practice to make the defensive stops and be there to help each other out.”

St. Johns, which didn’t trail in the game, denied the Raiders of any offensive consistency, as Flushing failed to put together a scoring run greater than five points on the night. The Flint Metro League champs went on a 5-0 and 4-0 run in the third quarter, but the Redwings immediately countered with quick spurts of their own.

Junior Jamie Carroll pitched in with seven points for St. Johns.

The Redwings, who finished the regular season just outside the Associated Press rankings, will take on tomorrow’s winner of Lapeer and Saginaw Arthur Hill Tuesday at Owosso High School.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII. 

Basketball with dark background on a wood gym floor

HOLT – CJ Pruitt and the Okemos boys basketball team were looking forward to the postseason.

Chaz Richardson ,left, of Okemos gets off a shot despite the defense of Konnor Iott of Jackson Northwest during their Class A district quarterfinal game Monday .

After finishing sixth in the CAAC Blue this year, the Chiefs were ready for a fresh start. And they got one Monday night.

Okemos opened the Class A district tournament with a 44-37 victory over Jackson Northwest at Holt High School.

“We had some tough losses that we need to make up for,” Pruitt said of his team’s regular-season struggles. “Some of them got away, some where we put ourselves out of it – just making mistakes.”

There were mistakes Monday night, but solid performances from a trio of upperclassmen allowed the Chiefs (8-13) to hold off the Mounties (4-16) and advance to play conference foe Jackson in the semifinals Wednesday.

Okemos lost to the Vikings twice this season by a combined nine points.

“I thought we played pretty well both times,” Chiefs coach Jeff Wonch said. “They just made enough plays to win, but maybe it’s our turn.”

Pruitt, who scored 10 points, helped Okemos capture and remain in the driver’s seat against Northwest with a strong first-quarter showing. The senior guard scored seven points within the first eight minutes, which included a 3-pointer to give his team a 10-8 lead.

The Chiefs didn’t trail again after that.

Gerald Sambaer ,right, of Okemos shoots over Greg Frederickson ,2, of Jackson Northwest during their Class A district quarterfinal game Monday.

Senior point guard Chaz Richardson, who led the team in scoring during the regular season, struggled from the field for the first 16 minutes, but scored five of his 10 points in the third quarter. Richardson said he was happy to walk away with the win, but felt his team failed to put together the performance it was looking for to start the postseason.

“We were unsatisfied with our play,” he said. “We came out kind of sluggish, played to the level of the competition. Toward the end of the game, our (game) lifted. But we have to start off good from the start.”

Luke Stagg was a big reason the Chiefs were able to fend off the Mounties late, as the junior forward hit back-to-back buckets in the final minutes. Northwest cut its deficit down to six when Stagg, who also scored 10 points, converted on his first field goal since early in the third quarter. And on the ensuing possession, he hit a jump shot to push the lead back out to eight.

“I thought, in general, we all struggled from the field tonight,” Wonch said. “We really did not shoot the ball well. We’re going to have to be much better if we’re going to beat Jackson.”

Vail Hartman added seven points for Okemos.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at JLEdwardsIII.

Take a look at the top swimming and diving performances in mid-Michigan.

Here are the boys swimming and diving standings and top performances in mid-Michigan so far this season.

CAAC BLUE (overall, league)

Okemos…8-4, 7-0

St. Johns…7-1, 6-1

Haslet…6-3, 4-3

East Lansing…5-4, 3-4

Jackson…4-5, 3-4

DeWitt…3-4, 3-4

Holt…3-5, 2-5

Grand Ledge…0-8, 0-7

CAAC RED

Mason…8-0, 6-0

Waverly 6-2, 5-1

Owosso…8-5, 4-2

Williamston…4-4, 3-3

Eaton Rapids…6-8-1, 2-4

Lansing Legacy…2-6, 1-5

Ionia…0-9, 0-6

NON-CAAC

Alma…7-6

Ovid-Elsie…4-6-1

Charlotte…1-7

Corunna…4-1

200 MEDLEY RELAY

1. Okemos (Andrew Himebaugh, Kevin Yan, Thomas Rachman, Ewan Woolcock) – 1:41.02

2. Haslett (Kai Jeffery, Angus Macfarlane, Mckain Williams, Ryan Abbott) – 1:42.15

3. Grand Ledge (Justin Maidlow, Arison Harris, Nathan Buchweitz, Troy Anderson) – 1:43.76

4. Waverly (Joey Lashbrook, Joe Wright, Robbie Estill, Bryson Hill) – 1:44.95

5. DeWitt (Cameron Sackett, Ryan McVicker, Ryan Armbrustmacher, Nick Schieberl) – 1:44.96

6. East Lansing (Michael Kuhl, Charles Schertzing, Zachary Sneathen, Jerry Sweitzer) – 1:46.49

7. Williamston (Seth Costello, Ethan SChrader, Jack Bellinger, Alexander Nicholson) – 1:46.95

8. Owosso (Marty Horger, Jake Lawton, Eric WIllis, Noah Slusher) – 1:46.96

9. St. Johns (William Ely, Justin Woodbury, Jakob Jorda, Ben Rumney) – 1:47.70

10. Alma (Kyle Lovas, Broderick Ross, Aaron Stankewitz, Kolton Kovac) – 1:48.07

200 FREESTYLE

1. Joey Lashbrook (Waverly) – 1:47.45

2. Charles Schertzing (East Lansing) – 1:47.55

3. Ewan Woolcock (Okemos) – 1:48.41

4. Cameron Sackett (DeWitt) – 1:49.44

5. Thomas Rachman (Okemos) – 1:49.46

6. Graham Cornish (Charlotte) – 1:50.06

7. Nick Schieberl (DeWitt) – 1:51.49

8. Ben Rumney (St. Johns) – 1:51.76

9. Andrew Himebaugh (Okemos) – 1:51.82

10. Kevin Yan (Okemos) – 1:51.92

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

1. Andrew Himebaugh (Okemos) – 2:01.24

2. Justin Maidlow (Grand Ledge) – 2:01.86

3. Charles Schertzing (East Lansing) – 2:02.14

4. Joey Lashbrook (Waverly) – 2:03.07

5. Kevin Yan (Okemos) – 2:05.26

6. Arison Harris (Grand Ledge) – 2:05.67

7. Thomas Rachman (Okemos) – 2:05.89

8. Zachary Sneathen (East Lansing) – 2:06.02

9. David Hefty (Holt) – 2:06.17

10. Jakob Jorda (St. Johns) – 2:06.46

50 FREESTYLE

1. Ryan Armbrustmacher (DeWitt) – 22.39

2. Justin Woodbury (St. Johns) – 22.58

3. Charles Schertzing (East Lansing) – 22.60

4. Jared Bishop (Charlotte) – 22.67

5. Marty Horger (Owosso) – 22.76

5. Trever Svarc (Owosso) – 22.76

5. Joey Lashbrook (Waverly) – 22.76

8. Burrell Jones (Holt) – 22.77

9. Michael Kuhl (East Lansing) – 22.79

10. Ewan Woolcock (Okemos) – 22.85

1-METER DIVING (6)

1. Riese Penn (Ionia) – 321.00

2. Cayden Petrak (St. Johns) – 290.50

3. Brock Petrak (St. Johns) – 287.45

4. James Gilroy (St. Johns) – 270.10

5. Luke Lathrop (Eaton Rapids) – 254.75

6. Hunter Whitman (Okemos) – 229.80

7. Andrew Gordon (Okemos) – 223.10

8. Alexis Hereza (Williamston) – 201.95

9. Thomas Sutphen (Owosso) – 197.30

10. Kip Grant (Mason) – 194.85

1-METER DIVING (11)

1. Riese Penn (Ionia) – 443.50

2. Cayden Petrak (St. Johns) – 416.45

3. Brock Petrak (St. Johns) – 424.05

4 James Gilroy (st. Johns) – 408.35

5. Luke Lathrop (Eaton Rapids) – 316.10

6. Hunter Whitman (Okemos) -312.25

7. Andrew Gordon (Okemos) – 317.95

8. Mason Kowalski (DeWitt) – 312.25

9. Thomas Sutphen (Owosso) – 282.50

10. Kyle Hellems (DeWitt) – 284.70

100 BUTTERFLY

1. Charles Schertzing (East Lansing) – 53.92

2. Thomas Rachman (Okemos) – 54.92

3. Arison Harris (Grand Ledge) – 55.07

4. Myles Michalski (DeWitt) – 55.84

5. Ryan Mcvicker (DeWitt) – 55.94

6. Angus Macfarlane (Haslett) – 56.04

7. Joe Wright (Waverly) – 56.07

8. Joey Lashbrook (Waverly) – 56.34

9. Ryan Armbrustmacher (DeWitt) – 56.65

10. Justin Maidlow (Grand Ledge) – 56.81

100 FREESTYLE

1. Charles Schertzing (East Lansing) – 49.21

2. Nick Schieberl (DeWitt) – 49.39

3. Joey Lashbrook (Waverly) – 49.44

4. Ryan Armbrustmacher (DeWitt) – 49.53

5. Will Kirkconnell (Holt) – 49.75

6. Ewan Woolcock (Okemos) – 49.87

7. Marty Horger (Owosso) – 49.96

8. Thomas Rachman (Okemos) – 50.03

9. Michael Kuhl (East Lansing) – 50.13

10. Burrell Jones (Holt) – 50.15

500 FREESTYLE

1. Thomas Rachman (Okemos) – 4:58.58

2. Joey Lashbrook (Waverly) – 4:59.99

3. Alexander Eddy (Okemos) – 5:00.70

4. Ewan Woolcock (Okemos) – 5:02.23

4. Broderick Ross (Alma) – 5:02.23

6. Cameron Sackett (DeWitt) – 5:05.38

7. Ben Rumney (St. Johns) – 5:06.96

8. Niels Lashbrook (Waverly) – 5:07.65

9. Noah Richards (Holt) – 5:08.36

10. Graham Cornish (Charlotte) – 5:09.39

200 FREESTYLE RELAY

1. DeWitt (Nick Schieberl, Jacob Skaar, Ryan Mcvicker, Ryan Armbrustmacher) – 1:30.30

2. Holt (Burrell Jones, David Hefty, Noah Richards, Will Kirkconnell) – 1:31.73

3. St. Johns (William Ely, Brett Post, Ben Rumney, Justin Woodbury) – 1:32.16

4. Okemos (Kevin Yan, Adam Schnepf, Alexander Eddy, Ewan Woolcock) – 1:32.50

5. Owosso (Marty Horger, Eric Willis, Ethan Wilson, Noah Slusher) – 1:33.24

6. East Lansing (Michael Kuhl, Jerry Sweitzer, Zachary Sneathen, Charles Schertzing) – 1:33.71

7. Haslett (Ben Brittain, Ryan Abbott, Mckain Williams, Spencer Rice) – 1:34.28

8. Mason (Logan Cooper, Jacob Bui, Matthew Hofmann, Benjamin Fee) – 1:35.36

9. Waverly (Bryson Hill, Robbie Estill, Joe Wright, Joey Lashbrook) – 1:36.00

10. Williamston (Alexander Nicholson, Nicolaus Edwards, Jack Bellinger, Seth Costello) – 1:36.36

100 BACKSTROKE

1. Andrew Himebaugh (Okemos) – 54.96

2. Joey Lashbrook (Waverly) – 55.40

3. Justin Maidlow (Grand Ledge) – 55.97

4. Kai Jeffery (Haslett) – 57.02

5. Cameron Sackett (DeWitt) – 57.23

6. Ewan Woolcock (Okemos) – 58.39

7. Michael Kuhl (East Lansing) – 58.63

8. Alexander Eddy (Okemos) – 58.64

9. Nick Schieberl (DeWitt) – 59.04

10. Seth Costello (Williamston) – 59.20

100 BREASTSTROKE

1. Bradley Barningham (Eaton Rapids) – 59.07

2. Arison Harris (Grand Ledge) – 1:00.43

3. Charles Schertzing (East Lansing) – 1:01.86

4. Justin Maidlow (Grand Ledge) – 1:02.01

5. Justin Woodbury (St. Johns) – 1:02.21

6. Kevin Yan (Okemos) – 1:02.30

7. Ryan McVicker (DeWitt) – 1:03.80

8. Angus Macfarlane (Haslett) – 1:04.71

9. Kolton Kovac (Alma) – 1:05.04

10. Broderick Ross (Alma) – 1:05.23

400 FREESTYLE RELAY

1. DeWitt (Cameron Sackett, Nick Schieberl, Conor Sands, Ryan Armbrustmacher) – 3:18.98

2. Holt (Burrell Jones, David Hefty, Noah Richards, Will kirkconnell) – 3:21.66

3. Okemos (Thomas Rachman, Alexander Eddy, Adam Schnepf, Andrew Himebaugh) – 3:22.48

4. St. Johns (Zeke Ely, Jakob Jorda, Justin Woodbury, Ben Rumney) – 3:25.47

5. East Lansing (Michael Kuhl, John Ward, Zachary Sneathen, Charles Schertzing) – 3:26.50

6. Waverly (Bryson Hill, Joe Wright, Niels Lashbrook, Joey Lashbrook) – 3:26.81

7. Williamston (Alexander Nicholson, Nicolaus Edwards, Jack Bellinger, Seth Costello) – 3:28.91

8. Grand Ledge (Troy Anderson, Nathan Buchweitz, Justin Maidlow, Arison Harris) – 3:29.24

9. Alma (Rees Wimmer, Kyle Lovas, Broderick Ross, Kolton Kovac) – 3:29.74

10. Haslett (Ben Brittain, Spencer Rice, Kai Jeffery, Angus Macfarlane) – 3:31.55

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Olivia Roe of Portland celebrates as time expires in the Raiders’ overtime defeat of Eaton Rapids in their Class B regional semifinal game Tuesday March 8, 2016 at Wayland Union High in Wayland. KEVIN W. FOWLER PHOTO

WAYLAND – Olivia Roe just wants to keep playing basketball.

And for a brief moment during Tuesday’s Class B regional semifinal matchup against Eaton Rapids, the Portland senior thought her high school career was going to come to an end.

Until she came to the rescue.

Trailing by three with less than a minute to play, Roe nailed a 3-pointer to force overtime, which led to the Raiders picking up a 47-45 victory over the Greyhounds at Wayland Union High School.

Junior guard Jorie Rutkowski hit the game-winning layup in OT with second remaining to setup a regional championship date with No. 3-ranked Grand Rapids South Christian Thursday.

“It (losing) was in the back of mind because, obviously, you don’t want this to end,” said Roe, who scored a game-high 25 points. “I knew we had to fight back, and, honestly, the way we’ve played throughout district is the best basketball we’ve played.

“We won on a game-winner our first district game, so we knew we could do it.”

• BOX SCORE

After leading the entire contest, the Raiders (15-9) relinquished their lead for the first time late in the third quarter. Portland took a 32-31 lead into the final eight minutes, but the Greyhounds (8-16) opened the fourth quarter with a quick 5-0 run.

Eaton Rapids senior Loriel Scott helped the Greyhounds stay in front of their CAAC White rival down the stretch by scoring four of her 10 points in the final minutes. Greyhound senior Baylee Bancroft, who netted a team-high 11 points, hit two free throws to give her team a 3-point lead before Roe’s heroics forced extra time.

In overtime, Bancroft opened with a bucket to give Eaton Rapids a quick edge, but Rutkowski and Roe retaliated with a 4-0 run. Bancroft tied the game at 45 before Rutkowski’s layup closed the game.

“About the last quarter, with Jorie (Rutkowski), we decided we were going to go with a straight senior lineup,” said Portland coach Shawn Seal, whose teams ended the regular season on a three-game losing streak, which includes a loss to Eaton Rapids. “I knew calmer heads would prevail when they were in there.

“That’s the leadership we’ve looked for all year. We’ve won a lot of close games, so it plays well for us.”

• TUESDAY’S AREA PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL SCORES

After finishing the regular season with just five wins, the Greyhounds put together a stellar postseason run that ends with a district championship. And despite a rough regular season, Scott believes Eaton Rapids salvaged its season with this playoff push.

“A lot of people didn’t expect us to win the district championship,” she said. “With us going through the season, and not having as good of a record as we had hoped to, we knew that it was in us to make it this far.”

Portland senior Rachel Click scored 12 points and Rutkowski added eight.

The Greyhounds’ Anne-Marie Wright scored eight points, while Paige Boden finished with seven.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Jennifer DeBoer ,left, of Grand Rapids South Christian smiles as an unhappy Halle Wisbiski ,21, of Williamston walks off the court after the Grand Rapids South Christian 6 point win in their Class B regional semifinal game Tuesday March 8, 2016 at Wayland Union High in Wayland.

WAYLAND – It was a matchup probably better suited for the Breslin Center – or at least a game with championship pedigree.

But the MHSAA’s quirky postseason scheduling paired two of Class B’s top teams in a regional semifinal showdown Tuesday night that was nothing short of a championship-like atmosphere.

The game between No. 6-ranked Williamston and No. 3-ranked Grand Rapids South Christian was a shootout, literally, as the two teams combined for 13 3-pointers. However, it was the final bomb from the Sailors late in the fourth quarter that helped them pick up a 59-53 victory over the Hornets.

“This was a lot different,” said Williamston sophomore Maddie Watters, who scored a game-high 25 points. “It was a (big) regional game, and for a lot of us, that’s a new thing.

“It was a really big deal. When we stepped out on the floor, that environment, it was crazy.”

The two top-10 teams didn’t do anything to cease the frenzy at Wayland Union High School, as the Hornets (19-4) and Sailors (22-2) opened the game with six 3-pointers within the first five minutes. South Christian was able to escape the first-quarter shootout with an 18-12 lead, which forced Williamston to play catchup.

The Sailors ended up taking a 12-point lead over the Hornets midway through the second quarter, but Watters, who hit back-to-back triples to start the game, went on a 9-0 scoring run of her own – which included a four-point play – to get her team within five. However, a slow offensive start to the third quarter, mixed with continuous makes from South Christian, quickly put Williamston back into a double-digit hole.

But Watters and senior Renee Sturm, who scored 15 points in her high school finale, paced the Hornets back into the game by igniting a 13-5 run to start the final quarter. The sophomore guard hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 49 before the Sailors’ Jennifer DeBoer hit a 3-pointer to jump start an 8-4 spurt in the closing moments.

Sturm, Watters step up the pace for Williamston girls hoops

“I wasn’t panicking at any point because I knew we had a lot of time,” Sturm said. “We made a comeback, Maddie hit (a bucket), and there was a huge momentum shift. Everyone was like, ‘We can do this.’

“In the first half, it was back and forth, two good teams, (we knew) it was going to be a long game. It was a really fun game. They are a great team.”

Williamston’s season might have ended short of a regional championship, but the Hornets were able to check off some of the top priorities on their season-long to-do list. Williamston ends it season with a CAAC White championship, as it finished conference play unbeaten, and a district championship.

“We accomplished a lot,” said junior Halle Wisbiski, who added five points. “We (reached) our goals. We wanted to continue, obviously, but it didn’t happen.

“It was a good high school (game).”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

FOWLERVILLE – Mitchell Burnett and the Lansing Catholic boys basketball team were seeking revenge on Fowlerville going into the Class B district semifinals.

Lansing Catholic’s Tony Poljan shoots against Fowlerville’s Sam MacDowell (24) and Sean Morris (10) during their district game Wednesday at Fowlerville High School.

Not for anything the Gladiators did this year, as the No. 3-ranked Cougars swept the series between the two CAAC White rivals. But because Fowlerville was the reason Lansing Catholic didn’t even get a crack at a district championship last season.

Burnett and the Cougars got what they were looking for Wednesday night as they picked up a 70-44 victory over the Gladiators and advance to face No. 10-ranked Williamston in Friday’s district championship game.

“We wanted to beat them – really bad,” said Burnett, whose team lost to Fowlerville in its district opener last season. “We (were) really focused.”

For a moment Wednesday, it looked as if a repeat was on the horizon. The Cougars (19-1) held a seven-point lead over the Gladiators (12-9) midway through the second quarter, but a pair of free throws from Fowlerville’s Connor Matlock, who scored a team-high 15 points, ignited a quick 9-0 run. The Gladiators held a 32-30 lead over Catholic with just minutes remaining in the first half, but that’s when the Cougars turned it up.

A Burnett 3-pointer triggered an 8-0 run and allowed Lansing Catholic to take a 38-32 lead into the half. And in the final 16 minutes, the Cougars held their conference foe to just three field goals, while outscoring them 32-12.

“In the second half, we just started to miss some shots that we typically make,” Matlock said. “Them not having (Tony) Poljan in there at the end of the first half, we were able to get some runs going.

“We just couldn’t put the ball in the basket. That was the main thing. “

Burnett and Poljan each scored 13 points for Lansing Catholic. Poljan, who is committed to play football at Central Michigan next year, broke the school’s 60-year scoring record and became the all-time leading scorer with 1,310 career points.

The victory is the Cougars’ 10th straight, and first-year varsity coach Eric Trojanowicz credits his team’s camaraderie for its success this season.

“They’ve played together for so long,” he said. “I’ve had these seniors (for) freshman and junior varsity, and we lost four games in two years.

“Having me as a coach, I think they understand my expectations. It’s been an easy transition for them. They don’t think because they make a mistake that they’re going to come out of the game. …I have everyone out there playing hard, and it pays off.”

Lansing Catholic senior Owen Rush added 10 points. Fowlerville senior Sam McDowell scored eight.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Lansing Eastern’s boys bowling team ended the school’s 35-year state championship drought at last weekend’s Division 2 state bowling tournament.

Michelle Morris didn’t want her son’s talent to go to waste.

So when Kyle Lewis entered Eastern High as a freshman last year, she approached the school about resurrecting its bowling program, which had dissolved after the 2012-13 season.

“I was kind of with it and kind of not,” said Lewis, a sophomore. “It’s cool to do it, but the thing is, with school, you get teased a lot because it’s not a popular sport.”

These days, the six members of the team are the big men on campus. The Quakers dethroned two-time defending state champs Flint Kearsley to become the school’s first state title holder since the softball team in 1981.

Eastern opened the Division 2 state bowling tournament with a victory over Sturgis, which won the state title in 2013, and followed up with a victory over conference champions, Owosso.

“Those were three powerhouse teams,” said second-year coach Billy Salazar, who was approached by Morris, a family friend, to coach the team. “I’m a 1988 alumni, and to win a state title for the school …”

Finding out it had been 35 years since Eastern’s last state championship made it “even more special,” he said. “I’m a bowler, so I’m at the (alley) two or three times a week, and I’ve seen these guys in the youth ranks since they were nine, 10, 11 years old.

“I knew there was talent (at Eastern)…” he added. “It would have been a shame for these kids not to bowl.”

One of the Salazar’s main contributors, Victor Rojas, is fairly new to the sport. The senior, who also plays on the varsity basketball team, started hitting the lanes competitively only three years ago.

Rojas recorded a perfect game in late January, which Salazar said was “unreal” for someone who recently picked up the game.

“Bowling is what I’m truly talented at, but I’ve always played basketball,” said Rojas, who averaged 218 this year and was third team all-state in 2015. “In basketball, we’ve never really (won) anything since I’ve been here. Us just becoming a bowling team and winning a state championship is almost unreal.”

Lewis wasn’t totally blindsided by his team’s quick success. He saw the potential last year when the Quakers won the CAAC Blue in their first season back and, at regionals, fell just 30 pins short of qualifying for the state tournament.

Salazar made his team stay to watch the ceremony for three teams who did qualify for the state tournament. It was meant as motivation.

But Lewis, who was first team all-state last season, said Eastern didn’t start this year the way it had anticipated, and it wasn’t until the postseason that he saw everything come together.

“This year, when we got to regionals, you could see a whole change in attitude,” he said. “Everyone was into it more, we were playing as a team, and, after regionals I knew that we had a good chance at states.”

Eastern will lose only one starter next season, Rojas. It’s hoping to continue the success it’s had since the program’s resurrection. Lewis believes the Quakers won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

“I’m not worried,” Lewis said. “I’m feeling really good about next year.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

WILLIAMSTON – Williamston High School varsity boys basketball coach Jason Bauer will be out indefinitely after physicians earlier this week discovered two brain tumors, according to assistant coach Tom Lewis.

Williamston boys basketball head coach Jason Bauer is shown in 2014 with player Riley Lewis (22). Bauer is undergoing treatment for brain tumors and his team will be coached Friday in a district championship game by assistant Tom Lewis, Riley’s father.

Bauer did not coach in the Hornets’ district semifinal victory over Sexton Wednesday night.

He underwent surgery Thursday to have the tumors removed and was recovering Thursday evening.

Bauer, 36, led Williamston to its fourth consecutive CAAC White championship earlier this season. The Class B No. 10-ranked Hornets will face No. 3-ranked Lansing Catholic Friday at Fowlerville High School in the district championship game. Lewis coached the team Wednesday and is expected to do so until Bauer returns.

Bauer played for the Hornets in the late 1990s before going on to play at Grand Valley State University.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Erika Ballinger ,right, and Brooke Mazzolini of St. Johns hug after their Class A regional final win over Saginaw Heritage Thursday March 10, 2016 at Midland High in Midland. KEVIN W. FOWLER PHOTO

MIDLAND – There’s many ways to describe the play of Jessica Hafner on the basketball court. And 3-point shooter isn’t one of them.

St. Johns Girls Basketball Head Coach Mark Lasceski ,center, raises the Class A regional trophy as he celebrates with his team after their win over Saginaw Heritage Thursday March 10, 2016 at Midland High in Midland. KEVIN W. FOWLER PHOTO

Well, it wasn’t.

The St. Johns senior guard entered Thursday’s Class A regional title game without a 3-point bucket to her name this season. She left a perfect 4-for-4, and a regional champion.

Hafner scored a team-high 13 points as the Redwings outlasted No. 2-ranked Saginaw Heritage, 46-43, to capture their first regional championship since 2005.

• BOX SCORE

“I know they were scouting us, and (Erika) Ballinger has been hitting a lot and (Maddie) Maloney has been hitting a lot, so other people had to step up. And I knew it was my turn,” said Hafner, who watched from the sidelines last year with an ACL injury as her team was eliminated from the postseason. “This (winning a regional title) hasn’t happened in a while. And look where we are.”

The Redwings (22-3) now know they’re just one game away from playing in the Breslin Center and will face Port Huron Northern at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a state quarterfinal at Fenton. And it took a valiant effort from a handful of players to take down the state’s second best team.

The contest was a matchup of styles, as St. Johns’ aerial attack went toe-to-toe with the bully ball of the Hawks (22-2). The CAAC Red co-champions hit a combined six 3-pointers, while Saginaw Heritage was left with just one on the night.

Hafner and Maloney, who scored eight points, opened the game firing from downtown, helping St. Johns get out to an early 6-2 lead. But the Hawks made it known quickly that they were going to force feed the ball inside. Heritage upperclassmen Courtney McInerney and Jenna Falkenberg, who are a combined 12-foot-5, set the tone by combining to score five points during their team’s 7-2 run to end the quarter.

The two teams went back and forth for the final eight minutes of the first half, but the Redwings escaped with an 18-17 lead heading into the locker room.

Bully ball returned in a big way to start the third quarter when Heritage opened with a 6-0 run, but a jumper from Ballinger allowed St. Johns to counter with an immediate 10-4 spurt.

“We watched film on them, and we knew that they played a zone and we had to get post touches inside … to get it back outside,” said Ballinger, who scored all 10 of her points in the second half.

The Redwings took a 36-33 lead into the final quarter when senior Brooke Mazzolini, who added 12 points, hit a jumper as time expired. Her team maintained its lead throughout the fourth quarter with a friendly game of keep away and big free throws down the stretch.

• THURSDAY’S AREA PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL SCORES

The Hawks had an opportunity to tie the ball game with about four seconds remaining. However, freshman forward Shine Strickland-Gills missed a layup, which allowed Hafner to step to the charity stripe and hand St. Johns a three-point lead. Heritage’s half-court heave as time expired fell well short.

“We definitely had to keep playing. They were a very strong team, very strong,” Mazzolini said. “They could come back with just one shot, the moment could change, so we knew we had to keep going strong the whole time.

“It’s crazy to even think we’ve made it this far. But we’re going to keep going.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Williamston’s Riley Lewis, center, raises the district championship trophy with teammates, including Frankie Toomey, left, and Kurtis Kodet, right, after defeating Lansing Catholic 70-60 Friday, March 11, 2016, at Fowlerville High School.

FOWLERVILLE – It’s always an event when CAAC White rivals Lansing Catholic and Williamston get together.

But Friday night was different.

There was a district basketball championship on the line. And, more importantly, there was a sea of supporters packed into the gym of Fowlerville High School who had life in perspective, as hundreds of people wore grey to honor Hornet head coach Jason Bauer, who underwent successful surgery Thursday to remove two brain tumors.

Still, in the midst of all the emotion, there was a game played. And a championship won for a coach who wasn’t able to be in attendance.

Class B No. 10-ranked Williamston downed the No. 3-ranked Cougars, 70-60, to grab its first district championship since 2011.

“(Bauer) told me he wanted a district title really bad,” said senior Riley Lewis, who scored a game-high 27 points, of past conversations with his head coach. “Last night he tried to text me, but it didn’t make much sense – it was a lot of scrabble. But I got the message, and I promised him we’d win it and I promised him I’d take him the trophy.”

• BOX SCORE

The Hornets (18-3), who shared the CAAC White title with Lansing Catholic this season, handed the Cougars (19-2) their only losses this season. And they’ll advance to play Wyoming Godwin Heights Monday at Eaton Rapids in the regional semifinals.

The rubber match lived up to the expectations, as there were eight lead changes in the first 16 minutes. However, it was Williamston, which wore black t-shirts that read “Bauer Strong” during warmups, who went into the half with the advantage.

The Hornets held an eight-point lead with about two minutes remaining in the second quarter, but Lansing Catholic senior Tony Poljan bullied his way to a solo 6-0 run to make the score 38-36. Williamston senior Kurtis Kodet, who scored 13 points, ended the half with a bucket to give his team a four-point lead.

Hornet sophomore guard Cole Kleiver scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half.

“I had lots of things to play for,” Kleiver said. “I had my teammates to play for, and to bring the trophy back to coach Bauer.

“I just love playing in these environments.”

Poljan, who scored a team-high 23 points while adding nine rebounds, picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter and was forced to sit. That’s when Williamston took over. The Hornets went on to outscore their rival in the quarter, 19-10, which involved a 10-0 run by Lewis.

“At halftime, we knew they were going to want to come and punch us in the mouth, so we punched them first,” Kleiver said. “That’s how we had motivation to get that big lead.”

• FRIDAY’S AREA PREP BOYS BASKETBALL GAMES

The Cougars were able to make it a game when Poljan returned in the fourth, however. With his team down, 63-48, senior guard Owen Rush nailed a 3-pointer that was followed by back-to-back buckets by the 6-foot-7 Poljan. Mitchell Burnett, who scored 14 points, connected from downtown before Poljan hit another basket to make it a six-point game with nearly two minutes left. But the Cougars failed to score again after that.

“The ball movement was still there (when Poljan picked up his fourth foul), but we definitely weren’t getting it in the middle as much,” said Rush, who scored 11 points. “He’s a force down there, so we kind of relied on the 3-ball a little bit, and we really weren’t hitting. And then they went on some big runs.

“(Coach) knew they were going to come with emotion, so we tried to go out and match their energy. That was one of our main goals tonight. …It just didn’t happen for us.”

Williamston freshman Sean Cobb added 10 points.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Vote for the LSJ prep video of the week.

Three videos made the cut for this week’s LSJ prep video of the week voting. The poll is open until 4 p.m. Thursday (Poll best viewed in Firefox, Google Chrome), and we’ll announce the winner at LSJ.com shortly after.

Videos can be best submitted weekly until 5 p.m. Sunday using the Twitter hashtag #LSJVOW or emailed to James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Each week we’ll select the best videos and post them online for public voting.

Videos can be of any high school event: A great play from any sport, a pep rally, a matching band performance, someone being honored or a team choreographed dance at practice. If you find it interesting, we want to see it.

Kirk Cousins to headline LSJ’s sports awards dinner

Next summer, we’ll chose 10 of the best videos from the entire school year and ask you to vote on the video of the year. The winner will be recognized at the Lansing State Journal Greater Lansing Sports Awards banquet.

(Note: The poll to vote is at the bottom.)

PORTLAND’S OLIVIA ROE HITS 3-POINTER TO FORCE OT

Olivia Roe ties the game at 41-all with this 3-ball https://t.co/U9asSm2TzE

—
James Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) March 09, 2016

LANSING CATHOLIC’S OWEN RUSH FOES FULL COURT FOR LAYUP

Owen Rush goes full court for layup

ST. JOHNS’ BROOKE MAZZOLINI BEATS BUZZER 

Here's Mazzolini's bucket as the third quarter expired... https://t.co/kFD629eGmG

—
James Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) March 11, 2016

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

EATON RAPIDS – They say a team adopts the personality of its coach.

Riley Lewis ,22, of Williamston celebrates with teammates after laying the ball in to put Williamston up 54-53 with 25 seconds remaining in overtime of their Class B district regional game with Godwin Heights Monday March 14, 2016 at Raton Rapids High in Eaton Rapids.

The Williamston Hornets boys basketball team is case in point.

Less than a week after finding out their head coach, Jason Bauer, underwent successful brain surgery, the Hornets battled back to upset reigning Class B state champs Wyoming Godwin Heights, 57-55, in overtime of Monday’s regional semifinal contest at Eaton Rapids High School.

“‘Win your battle’ has been our theme ever since coach had his surgery,” said Williamston assistant coach Tom Lewis, who has filled in for Bauer. “He’s winning his battle, he’s home, and he’s doing an amazing job.

“We’re just trying to give it back to him.”

The Hornets (19-3) downed the state’s second-ranked team, and advance to play Stockbridge Wednesday for the regional title, on the back of senior guard Riley Lewis.

Riley Lewis, who scored a game-high 37 points, gave Williamston its first lead of the night with just minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. With his team trailing 46-44, the Hope College commit got a layup, plus the harm, to give the Hornets a 47-46 lead. The Wolverines quickly snatched the lead back, but a bucket by freshman Sean Cobb tied the game at 49-all.

Neither team scored again in regulation.

“We knew (that was) our big chance,” said Cobb, who scored 16 points and hauled in 11 rebounds. “They were tired and we were feeling the energy, especially with the crowd getting us hyped up.”

Godwin Heights scored first in extra time, taking a 51-49 lead, but two free throws by Lewis quickly tied the game up. The Wolverines struggled all night from the free throw line, which caused Tom Lewis to foul despite the game being tight the entire overtime period.

Godwin Heights held a 53-51 lead over the Hornets when Lewis connected on one of two free throws. Williamston immediately fouled, and it led to the Wolverines coming up empty at the charity stripe. Riley Lewis hit a layup with 25 seconds left to give his team a 54-53 advantage, but Godwin Heights was able to connect on two free throws on its next possession.

However, the Wolverines fouled Riley Lewis on the inbound pass and it led to him knocking down yet another free throw. The senior closed the game with two more free throws before Godwin Heights’ half-court heave at the buzzer fell short.

“Those final minutes everyone was on their feet, and it was really my first taste of a (big) tournament atmosphere. That was amazing,” Riley Lewis said. “My teammates played great … and we made our free throws at the end.

“Today, I even talked to my mom, my dad, everyone, and we just felt like we were going to win. We felt like we had good energy and that we were going to win. We’re kind of riding a wave right now.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Port Huron Northern junior Jenna Koppinger goes for a shot and is blocked by St. Johns junior Erika Ballinger during a state quarterfinal basketball game Tuesday at Fenton High School.

FENTON – March Madness is nearing its conclusion for high school girls hoops.

St. Johns’ Jamie Carroll, center, and Port Huron Northern’s Kathleen O’Connor, left, and Bree Bauer, right, battle for a rebound Tuesday at Fenton High School. St. Johns won 48-35.

And the St. Johns basketball team still finds itself in the midst of all the craziness.

Less than a week after topping Class A No. 2-ranked Saginaw Heritage for their first regional title in 11 years, the Redwings will now kick in the doors of Michigan State’s Breslin Center after defeating Port Huron Northern, 48-35, in the state quarterfinals at Fenton High School.

St. Johns, which will take on No. 4-ranked Detroit Martin Luther King in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Friday, missed out on a trip to Breslin in 2005 after losing in quadruple overtime to Frankenmuth in the quarterfinals. It’s the program’s first visit back since 1997.

“It is real amazing,” Redwing coach Mark Lasceski said. “If you would have asked me back in November if we were going to be going to Breslin in March, I would have said ‘probably not.’

“But I knew we had the potential, and these kids are just growing up and playing hard. And they’re just getting better every day.”

Last week it was the play of senior Jessica Hafner, who went a perfect 4-for-4 from downtown after not hitting a 3-pointer all season, that helped St. Johns creep into the state tournament. Tuesday night it was junior Jamie Carroll who helped the Redwings (23-3) throw the first punch.

Hafner helps St. Johns girls grab first Class A regional title in 11 years

The 5-foot-11 forward put home the first five points for St. Johns and went on to score 10 of her 12 points in the first 16 minutes.

“When teams scout us, they don’t know what’s coming because everybody passes the ball, everyone can shoot,” said Carroll, who hit a pair of triples in the first half. “We have 3-point shooters, we can get it in the block …. It’s a team effort – every time.”

However, like they’ve done all season, the Redwings put together a spirited defensive performance in the first two quarters and were able to take a 26-21 lead into halftime. St. Johns racked up seven steals on the Huskies (20-5) in the first half – and forced them into several more turnovers. But Northern was able to stay afloat with a couple of daggers from beyond the arc.

St. Johns High School to dismiss classes early Friday

The Redwings never trailed in the contest until the final seconds of the third quarter, after a 10-0 run by the Huskies handed them a 31-30 lead. It didn’t last long.

Sophomore point guard Maddie Maloney, who has been the orchestrator during St. Johns’ championship-like season, gave her team the lead with a nifty layup with two seconds remaining in the quarter. Maloney, who scored a game-high 18 points, went a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe in the fourth while scoring 11 points.

Sophomore guard leading charge for surging St. Johns

And after Northern’s game-changing spurt in the third quarter, the Redwings held the Huskies to just one field goal in the final eight minutes.

“We knew going into the fourth that we were going to have to get big stops,” said Maloney, who erupted with a fist-clinching, pogo-stick reaction midway through the fourth after her and-1 bucket gave St. Johns a seven-point lead. “We were going to have to get big stops in big situations, and coach put pressure on us to be there as a team and work together.”

Senior forward Brooke Mazzolini and junior guard Erika Ballinger each scored seven points for St. Johns.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

EATON RAPIDS – Jason Bauer groomed the Williamston Hornets for this moment.

Kurtis Kodet, left, of Williamston congratulates Williamston head coach Jason Bauer late in the 4th quarter of their Class B regional final win over Stockbridge Wednesday at Eaton Rapids High. Bauer was sidelined by brain tumors.

And when it looked like he wouldn’t be able to see the end result, as he underwent successful brain surgery last week to remove two tumors, the Hornets’ head coach sat directly behind his team’s bench and watched them do something that hadn’t been done in 14 years.

Led by 27 points from senior guard Riley Lewis, Williamston downed Stockbridge, 64-51, Wednesday night to pick up its first regional championship since 2002.

“With them coming along, and them keep coming – and even Monday’s game, being down 10-2 and all that kind of stuff – I’m happy I’m back,” said Bauer, who, along with his sons, presented the team with the Class B trophy. “To see them, it’s just one thing after another. I can’t say enough about it.”

Fresh off an overtime victory over defending state champs and second-ranked Wyoming Godwin Heights in the semifinals, the eighth-ranked Hornets (20-3) showed no signs of slowing down. A quick bucket by sophomore guard Cole Kleiver, who finished with 15 points, ignited an 11-2 run for Williamston out the gate, which allowed them to take a 22-12 lead into the second quarter.

Riley Lewis scored 12 points in the first eight minutes.

Riley’s father, Tom, who is filling in for Bauer, said he wanted to be aggressive from the jump, which led to his team opening the contest with a full-court press.

“I’m not really a press coach,” Tom Lewis said. “We wanted to throw some punches early, and they average about 53 points per game, (so) we figured if we could get a double-digit lead that it would be hard for them to make a significant run back.

“We were as locked in as we could be after that huge win on Monday. And we knew Stockbridge was going to come in (and fight) – their football team had a lot of success and we have a lot of respect for those guys. They play hard.”

The Panthers (18-6) were able to put a dent in their double-digit deficit to start the second quarter when senior Charlie Young, who scored 12 points, connected on three triples by the midway point of the quarter to make it 28-21. But Williamston finished the half on a 6-3 run.

The two teams went back and forth in third, but the Hornets put the game away with a 10-4 run to start the final quarter.

“Our coach (Randy Swoverland) told us at halftime that he wanted us to cut (the deficit) to at least six, so we didn’t have such a big margin to fill by the end of the game,” said Stockbridge senior Tyler Jacobs, who scored a team-high 18 points. “But, defensively, we weren’t moving our feet fast enough and they were matching all the buckets that we were scoring.”

Stockbridge, which has just nine kids on its roster, finishes its season with a district championship – a game in which it knocked out rival and ninth-ranked Leslie on its home floor. Wednesday night marked the first time the Panthers reached a regional championship game since 1978.

“If you would have told us at the beginning of the season that we were going to be 18-6, I’m sure we all would have been ecstatic,” Jacobs added. “It’s the farthest our coach has ever made it with a team, and for all of us seniors, this is what we wanted.”

Freshman Sean Cobb pitched in with 14 points for the Hornets, who integrated three new players into the starting lineup at the beginning of the season. Riley Lewis said the growth of Cobb and Kleiver, both underclassmen, over the past couple weeks has been pivotal during this run.

“Definitely a lot more confidence with both of them,” Riley said. “It’s amazing to see guys that young … I’ve never played in a tournament like this, so I can’t imagine them. It’s awesome to see them get more confidence.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

St. Johns’ Brooke Mazzolini, left, drives against Port Huron Northern’s Bree Bauer during the Class A state quarterfinals Tuesday. St. Johns won 48-35.

It was a play made out of duress. And it helped the St. Johns girls basketball team do something it hadn’t done since 2005.

With 2.3 seconds remaining in the third quarter of the Redwings’ Class A regional championship game against No. 2-ranked Saginaw Heritage last week, Brooke Mazzolini received an inbounds pass and connected on a floater from the free throw line as time expired to giver her team a 36-33 lead.

Kirk Cousins to headline LSJ’s sports awards dinner

St. Johns went on to win the game, 46-43, and pick up its first regional title in 11 years.

Mazzolini’s play was voted the LSJ prep video of the week.

“That wasn’t our initial play, but we definitely needed to get the ball (inbounds),” said the senior forward, who scored 12 points in the game. “One of us had to come get the ball, and they seemed to be guarding Maddie (Maloney) pretty well.

“I thought I had a little less time, but I’m glad it worked out. We definitely needed to get to the basket soon.”

Here's Mazzolini's bucket as the third quarter expired... https://t.co/kFD629eGmG

—
James Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) March 11, 2016

Things have gotten better for St. Johns since Mazzolini’s buzzer beater. After trumping Saginaw Heritage, the Redwings (23-3) topped Port Huron Northern, 48-35, in the state quarterfinal Wednesday night.

St. Johns will face No. 4-ranked Detroit Martin Luther King in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Friday at Michigan State’s Breslin Center.

Hafner helps St. Johns girls grab first Class A regional title in 11 years
St. Johns girls Breslin bound after state quarterfinals win

Mazzolini said she started realizing the Redwings had an opportunity to do something special in the postseason after they defeated the Haslett Vikings, who, along with DeWitt, were the co-champions of the CAAC Red, in the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season.

And she said she was reassured after they won the regional title.

“That was a big one for us,” Mazzolini said. “(I knew) if we stuck together and kept playing like a team that we could make it far.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

St. Johns players, including Erika Ballinger (22) and Maddie Maloney (20), walk off the court following their loss to Detroit King in their MHSAA Class A semifinal game Friday, March 18, 2016, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. St. Johns fell 56-48.

EAST LANSING – It was an unexpected postseason run for the St. Johns girls basketball team.

A run that consisted of two wins over top-10 teams. A run that needed an unforeseen 3-point shooting performance from a senior, who, despite not hitting one all year, went 4-for-4 in the Redwings’ first regional title victory in 11 years. And, most importantly, it was a run that rallied a tight-knit farming community around a group of girls who reached heights untouched in nearly 19 years.

That run came to an end Friday afternoon, as St. Johns fell short at the hands of Class A No. 4-ranked Detroit Martin Luther King, 56-48, in the Class A state semifinals at Michigan State’s Breslin Center.

“This is an outstanding season,” Redwing coach Mark Lasceski said at the postgame press conference. “These kids up here with me, the kids in the locker room, they made this an outstanding season for the St. Johns community, for the basketball program and for them.

“They battled through everything. Through Christmas when we had our first loss and we’re feeling kind of down, we picked (it) up and figured out what we needed to do better and just kept improving from there. We stuck together and, through this run, they (became) a family.”

Friday’s showdown between two of Class A’s hottest teams was a matchup of styles. The high-scoring Crusaders (23-1) entered the semifinals averaging 66 points per game through the postseason. The defensive Redwings (23-4) — who were riding an 11-game winning streak — only gave up an average 30 ppg during their playoff push.

However, in a rare occurrence for St. Johns this season, offense won out, and Detroit King opened the contest with four 3-pointers by the time the three-minute mark rolled around.

The Crusaders shot 50 percent from the 3-point line in the game, going 9-for-18, and never trailed.

“I wanted to (get out) to a good start because I’ve never seen this team play,” said MLK’s Micaela Kelly, a DePaul signee, who scored six of her game-high 18 points within the first five minutes. “I didn’t want them to jump on us first.”

The Redwings went bucket for bucket with the Crusaders in the first eight minutes, as they only trailed by two points going into the second quarter. MLK’s outside shooting slowed down before halftime, but St. Johns was only able to hit one field goal in the second quarter.

The Redwings, who have also thrived on outside shooting this postseason, went just 5-for-19 in the game and came up empty on clean looks that had been falling regularly over the past month.

“At times we were frustrated,” said St. Johns sophomore Maddie Maloney, who had a team-high 12 points and six assists. “Obviously, we’ve been shooting well throughout the season. But tonight just wasn’t our night.”

St. Johns was able to keep the game within striking distance for most of the third quarter. A 4-0 run ignited by senior Brooke Mazzolini, who scored seven points, dished out six assists and grabbed six rebounds, to start the quarter got her team within four. But MLK came right back down with a triple on the other end.

Trailing 52-40 with 2:31 left to play, the Redwings went on an 8-2 spurt to cut their deficit to six. However, as time began to vanish, the Crusaders were able to put the game away at the free throw line.

“It’s definitely hard, especially when we’re used to making those shots and they’re not falling,” said Mazzolini, whose team held MLK to its third lowest scoring night of the year. “Everything seemed to be going against us, but we battled back hard and kept coming (back). We battled hard.”

The CAAC Red co-champs will return a lot of its team next season, but lose starters Jessica Hafner and Mazzolini to graduation. Maloney believes the expectations coming into her junior year will be much different than this past season after her team’s deep postseason run.

“We’ve seen what it takes to get here,” Maloney said. “Brooke and Jess have been such an important part of our team. It will be hard to replace them because they were (involved) a lot.”

Juniors Jamie Carroll and Erika Ballinger each scored eight points for St. Johns. Sophomore Nina Bozzo scored six.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Former Oakland University basketball center Sebastien Bellin apparently was injured by the terrorist bombing at the Brussels airport this morning.

Riley Lewis ,right, of Williamson hugs his father temporary Williamston Head Coach Tom Lewis after their Class B state quarterfinal win over River Rouge Tuesday at Charlotte High School.

CHARLOTTE – This month has been one big blur for Riley Lewis.

From helping his team upset its conference rival for a district championship to losing his coach early in the playoffs to scoring 37 points in a victory over the defending state champions, the Williamston guard is still in shock by what his team has been able to accomplish.

And, still, the best is yet to come.

Behind a game-high 27 points from Lewis, No. 8-ranked Williamston downed River Rouge, 53-46, in Tuesday night’s Class B state quarterfinals at Charlotte High School.

• BOX SCORE

The Hornets (21-3) will advance to play Detroit Henry Ford Friday at Michigan State’s Breslin Center in the state semifinals.

“We just wanted to try and make it out of districts,” Lewis said. “I went to games at Breslin with my dad since I was in first grade – watching guys like Keith Appling and those guys.

“When we got a sniff of that, we knew that’s what we wanted. …It’s been a great time.”

Assistant coach Tom Lewis, Riley’s father, who is filling in for Jason Bauer, said he too didn’t expect Williamston to be one of the final teams standing at the beginning of the season, as the Hornets implemented three new players into their starting lineup.

But he also added that each game this postseason has prepared his side for what will await them this weekend.

“At the start of the year, we were young. We knew we had talent, but we weren’t sure how quickly the young kids would come along,” Tom Lewis said. “It started to happen later in the year when everyone was (tightly guarding) Riley on defense.

“I go back to the (Lansing) Catholic game, they taught us how to play hard. And then Godwin (Heights) taught us how to play tougher – go through, not getting any calls, just playing through anything. And tonight we said we needed to be the more physical team. We needed to get a lead and build on it.”

It took the Hornets all but three minutes to get a lead against the Panthers (22-4), and they never trailed again in the contest. Lewis hit a triple early in the first quarter, with his team down 4-3, to give Williamston a two-point advantage.

River Rouge was trailing by just one to start the second quarter after guard Darian White-Owens, who had a team-high 19 points, converted on a bucket. But a pair of free throws by Lewis ignited a 5-0 run.

The Panthers tied the game at 29-all midway through the third quarter with an 8-0 run, but the two teams ended up trading baskets for the rest of the quarter.

The Panthers once again evened the contest early in the fourth quarter, 36-36, but a bucket, plus the harm, from sophomore Cole Kleiver put the Hornets up by three and sparked a 6-0 run. River Rouge brought its deficit to with four in the final minute, but Lewis sealed the deal from the free throw line.

“Coach told me in the first half that I was going to hit a big shot at the end,” said Kleiver, who scored all four of his points in the final five minutes. “Nobody ever thought that we would come this far, but we proved everybody wrong. We’re just loving the ride.”

Williamston freshman Sean Cobb added 10 points.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Corunna athletic director Nicole Norris

CORUNNA – Nicole Norris’ journey through athletics is an extensive one.

After graduating from Ithaca High School in 1987, where she was a multi-sport athlete, Norris went on to run track at Alma College before coaching her alma mater’s volleyball team the year after. Since then, Norris has coached volleyball at both Carson City-Crystal and Corunna, where she is now the athletic director.

Today, Norris is recognized as one of mid-Michigan’s top athletic directors as she was named the Region 7 athletic director of the year at Sunday’s Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA) annual mid-winter conference.

“The reason it’s so significant, so meaningful, is because I was nominated by my peers,” said Norris, who holds a master’s degree in biology from Michigan State University. “The fact your peers recognize your effort and your hard work means a lot.”

Norris, who has been Corunna’s athletic director for the past six years, has been an MHSAA volleyball official as well as an AAU volleyball coach during her career.

The Ithaca native is also an authorized provider for the Red Cross, which allows her to work with coaches in both CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) training. She’s the co-chair for the MIAAA’s publication committee and is currently working on her Certified Master Athletic Administrator (CMAA) certification.

“I’m not sure anything can (fully) prepare you to be an athletic director,” said Norris, who has taught at Corunna the last two years in addition to her athletic director duties. “I’ve been involved in athletics since I was very young, as an athlete and as a coach. When I got the opportunity to lead the athletic department, I feel like that helped prepared me a little bit.

“What I enjoy most about the job is working with our athletes and coaches. My teaching career, and the different positions I’ve held, as helped me prepare for this.”

Norris’ father was once a high school principal and because of his long hours she said she “had kind of sworn off administration for a while.” But when the athletic director position at Corunna became available, Norris said she became interested due to her investment in the community.

Corunna junior making a claim for one of state’s best

“I felt that I had more of an opportunity to serve more student-athletes as opposed to my teams,” said Norris, whose daughter, Meredith, verbally committed to play volleyball at MSU. “I thought this way I could help them all.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

The Fulton bench looks on as Powers North Central takes a 22-4 lead during the 2nd quarter of their Class D state semifinal game Thursday March 24, 2016 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. KEVIN W. FOWLER PHOTO

EAST LANSING – This time around, there was no mystery opponent for the Fulton boys basketball team in the state tournament.

The Pirates were very familiar with Powers North Central, the Upper Peninsula powerhouse that eliminated them in the Class D semifinals last season.

This year, it was the same two teams, in the same setting, with the same result, as the unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Jets handled Fulton, 64-23, in Thursday’s state semifinals at Michigan State’s Breslin Center.

“We were not us all night long, and a lot of that is due to the things they did,” Pirate coach Todd Walden said. “I thought we pressed a little bit and got away from our game plan in the first two, three possessions on both ends.”

Powers North Central got going behind junior forward and Associated Press Player of the Year Jason Whitens, who scored 11 of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter.

The Jets (27-0), who are the defending state champs, jumped out to a 9-0 lead before senior guard Colton Antes, who was named second-team all-state earlier this week, scored the Pirates’ (19-7) first field goal of the game with 3:55 remaining in the first quarter.

Powers North Central, which hasn’t lost since the 2013-14 season, went into halftime with a 41-9 lead.

“We don’t try to do anything different,” said Jets coach Adam Mercier, who had three players in double-digit scoring. “They have expectations for themselves. We don’t follow anyone else’s expectations.

“There’s no pressure on these kids – it’s the game of basketball. It’s meant to be played with a lot of passion, a lot of fun and a lot of energy. There shouldn’t be pressure, they’re 17-, 18-year-old kids just playing the game of basketball.”

Despite the loss, Walden felt his team exceeded outside expectations. Fulton captured its second consecutive regional title last week, which is a program first.

And after getting a taste of the big stage last year, the 19-year coach said not getting over the hump is “what hurt the most.”

“A performance like this is obviously going to leave a bad taste for a couple of days,” Walden added. “But we were picked to finish fourth in our league and we finished second.

“It was a goal of theirs to get back and get another shot.”

Antes, who hit around 300 career 3-pointers and will finish as one of the best long-distance shooters in state history, scored a team-high six points. Junior Jacob Brunner added five points.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Sophomore Frankie Toomey ,4, of Williamston consoles senior Connor Porrell ,11, after their Class B state semifinal loss to Detroit Henry Ford Friday March 25, 2016 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. KEVIN W. FOWLER PHOTO

EAST LANSING – It was the perfect storm for the Williamston boys basketball team.

For the past two weeks, a fearless all-state senior guard, who is averaging 31 points per game through the playoffs, fused with a group who, on the biggest of stages, was trying to prove the Hornets were more than just a one-man band. All of which were playing for something that extended beyond the lines.

And for the first time this month, that storm was weathered – by a Detroit Henry Ford team that has breezed its way through the postseason by defeating all but one of its opponents by a double-digit margin.

The Trojans thumped Williamston, 70-48, Friday night in the Class B state semifinals at Michigan State’s Breslin Center.

“It’s definitely been magical for everyone involved,” said Hornet all-state senior Riley Lewis, who scored a game-high 32 points and scored 30-plus for the third time this postseason. “To put it in perspective, yeah, we lost, but our coach (Jason Bauer) has still got to fight his battles, and those don’t stop here. At the end of the day, it’s just the game of basketball, but I love these guys and we’ll be a family forever.”

It was Williamston’s first trip to the semis since 1992, and it was greeted by a Henry Ford team that clearly had unfinished business after losing in the state championship by 17 points last season.

The Trojans (19-6) put together a complete game from start to finish and ignited their tournament victory with a lights-out shooting performance. Henry Ford opened the game with three 3-pointers in the first four minutes and jumped out to an early 15-5 lead.

Trojan guard James Towns, also an all-state selection, scored eight of his 17 points in the first quarter. His team shot 63 percent from the field in the first half – 58 percent for the game – while holding the Hornets (21-4) to just 23 first-half points, 21 of which were scored by Lewis.

“We wanted certain guys with the ball in their hands but to not let them make set shots,” said Williamston assistant coach Tom Lewis, who has been the interim head coach since Bauer underwent brain surgery earlier this postseason. “We knew Towns was tough, but he’s lefty dominant – we knew where we wanted to attack the floor.

“It was a big stage tonight. …There was some starry eyes.”

The eighth-ranked Hornets trailed the Trojans, 18-11, after the second quarter and a quick 7-0 run pushed the lead out to 14. Henry Ford, which went 7-for-11 from 3-point land, put the game out of reach with a 13-5 run to end the first half. Senior Kavon Bey went 10-for-12 in the game for 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Williamston, the CAAC White co-champs, put together an unexpected run to the Breslin by knocking off conference rival and No. 3-ranked Lansing Catholic and defending state champs and second-ranked Wyoming Godwin Heights.

And for senior forward Kurtis Kodet, who scored five points, the improbable run made the defeat a little easier to swallow.

“It’s crazy,” Kodet said. “This team worked so hard every day. Every game we just (put forth) 100 percent effort.

“As disappointing as it is to lose this game, I wouldn’t want any other team. I’m not happy the way it turned out, but I’m really proud of this team.”

Freshman Sean Cobb scored four points and hauled in seven rebounds.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.