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I know I haven’t updated for awhile, but, hey, its the off-season. Practice starts next month, so this blog will start getting busy soon with some preseason stuff. For now, though, just wanted to inform everyone of my new blog on everything having to do with the TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE. Visit the site at www.blogsmonroe.com/tcc and check back here soon for some prep basketball.
I have a new blog that will be about the Tri-County Conference and cover all sports in the league. Go to http://www.blogsmonroe.com/tcc/ and check it out.
Michigan Basketball Bulletin (link is on the right) had some kind words about Ida’s Nic Jobe recently, saying the senior-to-be “is a good athlete” and called him a “perfect fill-in-the-gaps role player” after a recent camp appearance.
Jobe is playing on the Mustangs AAU team. I’d like to hear from other Monroe County region prep basketball players who are playing AAU basketball this spring/summer. What teams are you playing on? Who’s coaching? Drop me an e-mail to doug@monroenews.com or post in the comments here.
FIRST QUARTER Richard’s first bucket came :26 seconds into the game. Guess who hit the triple? Josh Herbeck, the same Herbeck who made four 3’s vs. Dundee, four 3’s vs. SMCC and eight 3’s vs. Whiteford in the District/Regionals. It’s 5-3 Richard after Akunne scores on a fadeaway.Jeff Lemanski hits three. It’s 8-3 Richard, 5:07 left first quarter.Akunne has six points. It’s 12-11 Richard, minute left in opening stanza.End of first quarter. Kalamazoo Christian leads 13-12.SECOND QUARTER:Akunne hits 3-pointer. Irish lead 22-18. Akunne has 12 points. Three minutes left in half.Comets have a 26-24 lead. Akunne has 14 for Irish, but Comets have regained a lead late in half.Halftime: AA Richard 27, Kalamazoo Christian 26. Akunne has 14 points and six rebounds. Jeff Lemanski has 6 points, Herbeck 5. Another halftime note: K-Christian’s 6-foot-8 Stephen Gould has two points.THIRD QUARTER:About to start.Comets have made 7 three-pointers. Score tied at 29.Comets hit another three-pointer. They lead 32-29. Timeout Richard, just about midway through quarter.34-29 Comets. Ties biggest lead of game.Akunne scores five points. Irish miss layup chance, Comets come back and score. It’s 41-34 with two minutes left in third quarter.End of third: K-Christian leads 41-36. Akunne is only player from either team in double figures with 19. But, eight Comets have scored and they have hit 9 3-pointers.NOTE: Last time the Irish were in the semifinals, they came back from 20 points down to start the fourth quarter to win.FOURTH QUARTER:Around six minutes left, three-point Comet lead.Two-point game. Akunne has 21.Herbeck just picked up fourth foul. Comets lead 42-40Akunne makes pair of free throws, 46-44 game (Comets lead). Akunne has 24. 2:30 left in game.Just over two minutes remaining, Comet ball, they lead. Trying to go to 25-1.Akunne again scores. 48-46, Comets still lead. 1:30 left.Less than a minute remaining. K-Christian at the free throw line. Miss, but grab offensive rebound. Back to the line for K-Christian. They are up 50-46 with :44 left. Irish miss three-pointer, K-Christian grabs rebound and they lead, with ball. Thirty-two seconds left.Akunne scores again — he’s got 29. It’s 50-48 Comets up, :16 seconds left. Timeout.K-Christian makes two free throws. 52-48. 14 seconds left.FINAL SCORE: Kalamazoo Christian 54, Richard 48. Akunne had 29 for the Irish, but no one else reached double figures. Great season for them and, remember, nearly everyone on the team will be back next year.
Most media sources are saying Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard has one state basketball championship to its credit. That’s only partially true. Gabriel Richard was Ann Arbor St. Thomas until the mid-1970s. As St. Thomas, the Irish won state titles in 1933 and 1974. The 1974 team was a member of the Tri-County Conference. The Irish beat Whiteford in the Regional. Sound familiar? The Irish beat the Bobcats in this year’s Regional. … Could be a sign. The 1991 team won the Class D state title. It was known by Gabriel Richard by then.
Wish there were some Monroe County Region teams in this year’s state semifinals. There’s not. But here’s a look at the pairings. They are about to start.
Semifinals
CLASS A
East Lansing (18-8) vs. Saginaw (25-1), Friday, 1 p.m.
Detroit Pershing (21-4) vs. Romulus (22-3), Friday, 2:50 p.m.
CLASS B
Menominee (21-3) vs. Lansing Catholic (21-4), Friday, 6 p.m.
Flint Powers Catholic (19-7) vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (24-2), Friday, 7:50 p.m.
CLASS C
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard (21-5) vs. Kalamazoo Christian (24-1), Thursday, 1 p.m.
Negaunee (25-0) vs. Flint Beecher (18-7), Thursday, 2:50 p.m.
CLASS D
Muskegon Western Michigan Christian (22-3) vs. Cedarville (25-0), Thursday, 6 p.m.
Lawrence (23-1) vs. Detroit City (20-4), Thursday, 7:50 p.m.
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard beat Melvindale ABT 75-72 in overtime tonight. They advance to the semifinals.
The Class C state tournament is the most wide open of any of the four classes at this point. All four quarterfinal games look like good matchups.Here’s an interesting note: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, which eliminated three Monroe County Region teams during its District (Dundee, SMCC) and Regional (Whiteford) run has played several teams that are still alive in the tournament. They include Orchard Lake St. Mary (19-5 an in Class A quarterfinal); Detroit Community (17-7, in Class B quarterfinal) and Flint Powers Catholic (17-7 and still alive in Class B quarterfinals). Richard lost to all three but playing that level of competition had to help it get where it is tonight. I think they could win a state championship for Coach Pete Schoch.
ADRIAN — Whiteford was hit with two storms Wednesday.
First, snow kept the Bobcats out of school. Then, the shooting storm from Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard knocked Whiteford out of the state tournament.
Whiteford’s season came to an abrupt halt Wednesday as the 21-4 Bobcats fell to a legitimate Class C state title contender, Gabriel Richard, 72-46. The Bobcats fell behind early and never led the 20-5 Fighting Irish. The closest the Bobcats came was 3-2 deficit with 5:49 left in the first quarter. From then on, it was nearly all green for Whiteford.
In fact, seasoned sophomore Josh Herbeck and veteran junior Eso Akunne outscored the Bobcats by themselves. Herbeck made eight three-pointers and scored 30 points while Akunne added 27 markers. Akunne passed the 1,000-point career mark in the first quarter.
Herbeck was great, canning three-pointers like they were layups. The 6-2 guard opened the game’s scoring with a triple, hit another a minute later and had another before the first quarter ended. He opened the second quarter with, you guessed it, another 3-pointer and nailed his fifth first-half trey with 2:05 remaining in the first half as the Irish extended a 22-10 first quarter lead to 44-22 at the half.
Whiteford had no answer for outside shooting of Herbeck or the inside game of Akunne.
Akunne — First Team All-State according to Michigan High School Bulletin — scored a dozen points in the second half before exiting the game midway through the final period. Richard his 11 3-pointers as a team.
Whiteford, which won 20 games for just the third time in school history, was attempting to win its first ever Regional championship. Richard advances to the Class C quarterfinal at Whitmore Lake Tuesday.
During its tournament run this year, the Irish have eliminated three Monroe County region schools: Dundee, St. Mary Catholic Central and Whiteford.
Josh DuPree scored 11 points to share game-high honors for the Bobcats with senior Joel Bunge, who played a steady game with six rebounds and three assists. Dave Gust, the Bobcats’ second-leading scorer, was held below double figures for just the second time this season. He did lead Whiteford with 14 rebounds.
The Bobcats started five seniors in DuPree, Bunge, Gust, Kevin Fischer and Cody McCartney. Jake DuPree was the only underclassman with significant playing time until late in Wednesday’s game. Senior Greg Keeling also played his final game for the Bobcats.
Whiteford’s game is a little more than two hours away. I’m headed to Adrian soon to watch. Check back later for a score and some info. It might be on the radio — 1600 AM (WAAM). Ann Arbor Richard’s semifinal game against Hanover Horton was broadcast on that station.
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