John Raffel
Sports Scene
Flint Beecher won its second straight Class C state title and its fourth in the last five seasons with a 63-61 victory over Grandville Calvin Christian Saturday at the Breslin Center. Malik Ellison scored 21 points for Beecher.
Grandville Calvin Christian’s season ends at 21-5. Blake Verbeek scored 22 points for Calvin Christian.
“We knew it would be a battle from the beginning,” Coach Mike Williams said. “We prepared all year long for a game like this. I always preach to our kids that championship basketball is played on a half-court. Last year, when we got down here, we were able to press and speed the tempo up and win with a different style. This year, every game we had to win with a different style. I’m proud we were able to install different styles of play. Our kids were able to execute.”
Lavane Blake had a key block at the end and admitted he was afraid he might have gotten called for a foul, sending Calvin Christian to the line for the tying free throws.
“I went for it. It was all ball,” he said.
“We talked about giving ourselves a chance to win at the end,” Williams said. “We knew we wouldn’t blow by this team. Watching them on field, we knew we had to play a championship style of basketball, a college style of basketball. It prepares our kids for any level playing. We practice for these situations. I’ve been in a lot of games like this.
“From day one, we prepare to go to the state championship. We talk about playing 5-on-5 and help and recovery. Our man should look like our zone and our zone should look like a man.”
“Our team’s main focus is defense. We practice all the drills,” junior guard Jordan Roland said. “We go hard. In the game, we have to play defense. That’s our main defense.”
“As time wound down, we got the stop,” Ellison said of the final minutes of the game. “The one thing we talked about was that if they’d score (to tie the game at the end), let’s push it up the court and go right back at them,” Williams said. “My attitude was after on Thursday, we had nothing to do. I felt we were ready.”
Burks had 22 points in Thursday’s 60-59 semifinal win over Detroit Loyola.
“To come here on Saturday to finish it off, it says the world about our kids,” Williams said. “We’re fighters. We want to represent our area and do things you need to do to be successful.”