Scott Keyes
Sports Scene
Every year the Saginaw High School boys basketball team is in contention to make a run for a Class A state championship.
This year was no different.
After winning the state championship a year ago, coach Julian Taylor and the Trojans were one game away from getting back to the state title game this season, but a pesky Detroit Southeastern squad ended Saginaw’s state playoff run by a score of 51-45 in the Class A semifinal played at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University.
Southeastern went on to lose to Romulus in the final.
“This one hurts,” Taylor said. “They caught us sleeping in the final two minutes of the game, and we couldn’t recover. These kids have nothing to hang their heads about. They had a tremendous season. We were so close, but you take the good from a game like this and move on. We will bounce back. That is just the type of team we are.”
The Trojans entered the game with 14 consecutive playoff wins, but the end of the fourth quarter was too much for them to overcome.
Saginaw had defeated Southeastern earlier in the season during a holiday tournament game played in West Bloomfield.
“We lost to a very good basketball team,” Taylor said. “My hat goes off to those guys over there. They played a great game.”
Saginaw held a 45-44 lead after a Markel Bradshaw 3-pointer with 3:20 remaining. After a Saginaw steal, Saginaw freshman Algevon Eichelberger missed two free throws with 1:31 remaining.
Southeastern’s Jovone Haynes made a free throw with 1:25 remaining to tie the game at 45-45.
After a Saginaw timeout at 1:21, the Trojans began working the clock for the final shot.
With control of the game, Southeastern put away the Trojans when Kwesi Williams hit four free throws for the final scores.
Daryl Bigham led Southeastern with 14 points, followed by Haynes with 13. Haynes did not play in the December matchup between the two teams, which was a one-point win for Saginaw.
“We knew it was going to be a war on the basketball floor,” Southeastern coach George Ward, Jr. said. “We persevered.”
Keyon Addison led Saginaw in scoring with 10 points, followed by Jerry Smith and Julian Henderson with nine points each. Smith also had seven rebounds to pace the Trojans.
Eichelberger, a 6’6″ freshman, grabbed six rebounds and blocked nine shots in the loss.
Saginaw finished the season 23-4.