Beecher was tops in Class C, while Romulus in Class A, Detroit County Day in Class B, and Southfield Christian in Class D won state championships in boys’ basketball at the Breslin Center on March 23.
CLASS A
Romulus finished the season at 27-1 after a 61-49 win over Detroit Southeastern in the Class A state final game. Elbert Matthews contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds to add to 13 points and nine boards from Leonardo Edwards.
Romulus was up 19-19 after the first quarter, 28-20 at halftime, and 51-32 after the third quarter.
“It’s been a long time since we won a state championship, 1986,” said Romulus coach Nate Oats. “This was our fifth time being here. We finally got it done. They gave us the effort all year. I’m happy even with our former players. It’s been a long time coming.
“We obviously have a lot of talent, and I felt we played harder than everybody. They’ve spent a lot of hours. They’ve made themselves into some really good players.”
Southeastern, which finished the season ended at 21-6, was led by Jovone Haynes with 16 points and four rebounds. The team shot poorly, 16 of 59 from the floor for 27 percent. Romulus was 20 of 43 for 46.5 percent.
“In the second quarter, we eased our way back into the basketball game,” said Southeastern coach George Ward, Jr. “Even then, we weren’t scoring like we should. They ended up going up by eight. In the second half, we looked bewildered a little bit. I didn’t do a good job preparing us at halftime and it cost us. They get the ball up the court quick, and they can shoot the basketball and they do it with precision. They do what they do better than anyone in the Midwest.
“We didn’t follow our game plan. Our frustrations initiated off the fact we didn’t score the way we wanted to. It’s a state championship game, and we played with a lot of guys who have never been here before. We rushed things a little bit.”
CLASS B
Detroit Country Day built a 31-25 halftime lead and went on to defeat Detroit Community 57-49.
Country Day finished the season at 25-3. It was leading only 44-41 after the third quarter but put the game away in the fourth.
Austin Price scored 15 points and Edmond Sumner added 13 for the winners.
Detroit Community, which had an 11-9 regular-season record, finished the year at 18-10.
CLASS D
Southfield Christian, 23-4, led by Damarco White with 15 points, defeated Tri-Unity Christian for the Class D crown 64-46. Tri-Unity, 25-3, was led by Daniel Cole with 21 points. Southfield Christian was up 34-23 at halftime and 54-32 after the third quarter.