Maddy Seeley of Alma has earned Class B all-state honors from the Associated Press’ girls basketball team. Seeley is a four-year varsity basketball and volleyball player. She passed the 1,000-points mark in December. She was a three-year captain. She averaged close to 27 points per game. Seeley will play for Northwood next season.
Payton Birchmeier of Corunna, a 6-1 senior, is on the Associated Press Class B girls basketball all-state team. Also on the team is Ally Haran of Flint Powers Catholic, a 5-9 senior.
Tania Davis of Goodrich led the Class B girls basketball all-state team for Associated Press as the Player of the Year. Davis helped Goodrich get two state titles but they could not do it this year despite an 18-2 regular-season record. She averaged 19.1 points 4.1 assists and 3.2 steals per game. Jason Gray of Goodrich was named coach of the year.
Scott Keyes
Sports Scene
It was a shot that was heard around the world.
Sacred Heart Academy’s Dustin Neyer’s dramatic heave gave the Irish a 50-47 regional title victory over Fulton and was seen by millions all over the world thanks to a video posted online by Morning Sun reporter Nate Schneider. Moments after Schneider posted the video, it went viral. The “Shot” was No. 1 on ESPN’s Top 10 List, was No. 1 on Fox Sports Play of Day, and was also seen on CNN and the popular sports website Deadspin.
Needlesss to say, Neyer was on cloud nine moments after hitting the dramatic shot at Big Rapids High School. “Unbelievable!,” he said. “Everything just fell in place, and I knew there wasn’t a lot of time left on the clock, so I just threw it up and fortunately for us it went in. Amazing. Truly amazing.”
Originally, the play was for senior Kevin Gamble in the post, but senior Brooks Hyble chucked the inbounds pass, causing the ball to deflect hard off the glass. Neyer just happened to be in the right place at the right time and and launched a 3-point prayer beyond the arc.
The ball bounced around the rim every which way before tickling the twine and giving the Irish the miraculous victory.
Three days after hitting the shot, Neyer was still grinning from ear to ear. “I still can’t believe it,” he said after watching the Sacred Heart girls basketball team win the Class D championship. “That shot will be something that I will remember for the rest of my life. It was pretty incredible. I watched the shot over and and over and still can’t believe it went. It was a pretty cool moment.”
Neyer finished the game with 11 points.
Irish coach Pat Theisen was left speechless after witnessing the shot. “I don’t think many people ever have seen a shot like that,” Theisen said. “It was one of those things where nothing went right as we drew it up, but fortunately for us it went in.”
Strange things happen in games, and Fulton coach Todd Walden said that was probably the strangest thing he has ever witnessed during a basketball game. Unfortunately for the Pirates, they were on the losing end of the scoreboard.
“With 0.8 seconds left on the scoreboard, you figure you are probably playing for overtime,” Walden said. “You have to give the guys running the clock credit, as they knew the rules and didn’t start the clock until it hit a player’s hands inbounds. It was an incredible play for sure. I feel for my players. This was definitely a tough loss for sure. These kids won a lot of games this season and showed a lot of character doing it. I am really proud of them.”
However, Sacred Heart’s season would come to an end a week later in the Class D quarterfinal round against Frankfort. This time around, the Irish were on the other end of a last-second shot and lost the game, 47-44. Frankfort’s Brandon Schaub drove the lane, made the basket, and hit the free throw with five seconds left to secure the victory.
Hyble scored 19 points to lead Sacred Heart, while Gamble added 12. Junior point guard Ben Goenner added 10.
The Irish finished the season with a 20-4 record.
Scott Keyes
Sports Scene
Lexi Gussert had to feel like she was carrying the whole state of Michigan on her shoulders.
Well, maybe not the whole state, but at least part of it.
After her 43-point effort gave Forest Park the victory over Posen in the state quarterfinal round on March 11, Gussert traveled with her team and friends to Detroit the next day to accept the 2014 Miss Basketball trophy. A day later she was playing in the Class D semifinal against Athens.
Forest Park defeated Athens to set up a Class D state final matchup against Sacred Heart Academy.
With a perfect season on the line, Forest Park was stunned by a pesky Sacred Heart team, 56-53.
Gussert took to her Facebook page after the loss and gave a heartfelt apology to all of the followers who supported her over the last four years.
“Not how we wanted it to end, and it will kill me for some time,” she wrote. “But this team did everything they could today, and I couldn’t be more happy to share these experiences with them. Huge learning experience for me, but hope to see some of you at State next year. Lastly, it is easy to say I will greatly miss playing at Forest Park with these amazing girls. Crystal falls, and the whole UP, we love you and thank you.”
Sacred Heart clamped down on defense late in the game to secure the victory.
Gussert’s free throw with 2:42 to play put Forest Park up 50-42, but the Trojans didn’t score again until Gussert’s long three pointer with 3.7 seconds remaining. By then, Sacred Heart had closed out the game on a 16-4 run, and Gussert put the blame on herself.
“The shots didn’t fall, mine definitely,” she said. “My team did everything they could possible. I just feel really bad because I didn’t finish well. The pressure was tough, but personally, I still think I had really good looks, and I just couldn’t finish today.”
Gussert, a two-time Class C Player of the Year, will leave Crystal Falls as one of the best players to ever have played in the Upper Peninsula.
She averaged about 30 points per game this season, surpassed the 2,000-point plateau in her fourth game, and became the all-time leading scorer — boy or girl — in the history of the Upper Peninsula.
With more than 2,500 career points, Gussert will finish her prep career among the top five scorers in state history.
Gussert, who also plays volleyball and golf, had seven triple-doubles this season and averaged 12 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 3.9 steals per game.
Sports Scene’s 2013-14 Boys’ Basketball Capsules
Eric Davis, Arthur Hill High School, Player of The Year
Eric Davis is one of the top basketball players in the country. He is listed as the country’s No. 8 shooting guard for the Class of 2015, according to Scout.com, and is 28th on ESPN’s Top 60 for national recruiting. He already holds a dozen or more offers from major Division I programs, including Michigan, Michigan State, and Iowa State, and he has another year of high school eligibility left. He averaged 27 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals this season.
Keyon Addison, Saginaw High School
One of the top players to wear a Trojans uniform. Guided Saginaw to a pair of victories over Arthur Hill, including an opening round district win. Headed to Ferris State University to play football.
Jaleel Hogan, Mt. Pleasant High School
Led the Oilers to the Class A semifinal before losing to Muskegon 63-47. In the defeat, led the Oilers with 14 points and 10 rebounds and went 4 of 13 from the floor and 6 of 9 from the free throw line. For the season, averaged 17 points and close to 10 rebounds a game for the Oilers, who finished the season 22-5. Headed to University of Detroit Mercy in the fall.
Nick Spitzley, Pewamo-Westphalia High School
Guided the Pirates to the Class C title game against Detroit Consortium. Came up big when it counted in victories over defending Class C Champion Beecher in the quarterfinal and over Muskegon Heights in the semifinal. Hit the game-winning shot against Beecher. AP Class C all-state selection. Will play basketball at Grand Valley State University.
Kevin Gamble, Sacred Heart Academy
Led Sacred Heart with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Helped lead his team into the Class D quarterfinal before losing to Frankfort.
Sports Scene 2013-14 Boys’ Basketball Dream Team
Eric Davis, Saginaw Arthur Hill, 6’4″, junior
Keyon Addison, Saginaw, 6’0″, senior
Jaleel Hogan, Mt. Pleasant, 6’7″, senior
Nick Spitzley, Pewamo-Westphalia, 6’2″, senior
Kevin Gamble, Sacred Heart, 6’6″, senior
Sixth Man
Don’ Quall Jackson, Holt, 5’10”, senior
Coach
Dan Schell, Mt. Pleasant
Second Team
Cameron Morse, Carman-Ainsworth, 6’1″, senior
Algevon Eichelberger, Saginaw, 6’7″, sophomore
Evan Marquardt, Midland Dow, 6’6″, senior
Malik Taylor, Montrose, 6’2″, senior
Tony Poljan, Lansing Catholic, 6’7″, sophomore
Third Team
Brian Bowen, Arthur Hill, 6’6″, freshman
Jaire Grayer, Flint Southwestern, 6’5″, junior
Amariontez Ivory, Beecher, 6’2″, senior
Austin Levan, Millington, 6’2″, junior
DeQuandre Dentmond, Lansing Eastern, 6’7″, senior
Honorable Mention
Justice Green, Carman-Ainsworth; Evan Marquardt, Midland Dow; Will Williams, Midland; Chauncey Bryant, Clio; Jake Daniels, Holly; Marquavian Stephens, Swartz Creek; Marcus Moore, Waverly; Michael Fomby, Waverly; Doug Bradfield, Mason; Cassell Jones, Grand Ledge; Connor Bluhm, John Glenn; Derrek Clyde, John Glenn; Dylan Carl, Alma; Henry Speight, Carrollton; Deonte Hopkins, Flint Northwestern; Austin Gregory, Ionia; Zac Gustafson, Portland; Spencer Johnston, Beaverton; Erik Maxwell, Beaverton; Jake Ham, Meridian; Kevin Sheibert, Meridian; Cody Peyok, Reese; DeWayne McKinney, Vestaburg; Keegan Giles, Breckenridge; Grant Gage, Carson City-Crystal; Ryan Tilmann, Beal City; Jarid Walton, Coleman; Ethan Apsey, Hemlock; Brad Fleishmann, Hemlock; Josh Appold, Valley Lutheran; Ryan Appold, Valley Lutheran; Jamil Demps, Hamady; Simeun McGee, International Academy of Flint; Lane Simon, Pewamo-Westphalia; Ryan Wade, Laingsburg; Tyler Brown, Faith; Jordan Terry, Lansing Christian; Dalton Trefil, Fulton; Brooks Hyble, Sacred Heart; Griffin Lewis, Morrice
Scott Keyes
Sports Scene
For the second year in a row, the Bullock Creek girls basketball team made it all the way to the Class B semifinal round at the Breslin Center.
And for the second year in a row, the Lancers’ ultimate goal of winning a state championship came up just short.
“Maybe the third time is a charm,” said junior Halee Nieman after the Lancers 52-47 loss to Grand Rapids South Christian. “As a player, you dream about getting here once, and we have been here two years in a row. We need to get back to work and hopefully be able to make it back here again next season.”
Nieman was huge for Bullock Creek. She started the game scoring 12 of the Lancers’ first 13 points, and the Lancers pulled out to a 13-8 lead early in the second quarter. However, Nieman picked up her third foul before halftime and South Christian took advantage. Markayla Vander came off the bench and scored 11 second-quarter points and pulled down four rebounds in the quarter to give the Sailors a three-point halftime lead.
A year ago, Bullock Creek lost in overtime to a taller Powers Catholic team, 48-45. This year, Bullock Creek lost to a taller Grand Rapids South Christian team that outrebounded the Lancers, 44-25.
Once Nieman went out of the game, the momentum swung over to the Sailors.
South Christian, which went on to lose to Eaton Rapids in the Class B final, made 15 of 18 from the free-throw line in the second half and outrebounded the Lancers 23-11 in the second half. Still, Bullock Creek stayed close with 21 steals and 33 forced turnovers.
“This game felt a lot like last year’s game,” said Bullock Creek coach Justin Freeland. “We caused 33 turnovers, like we wanted to. We got out-rebounded, like we didn’t want to. And they hit key free throws down the stretch, which didn’t allow us to make a final push. In a game like that, anything can happen.”
Nieman led the Lancers with 18 points, while Hannah Heldt followed with 16. Nieman also had seven steals and six rebounds. Heldt and Ellie Juengel fouled out, while Nieman finished with four fouls. Neiman, a 5-foot-11-inch junior, was forced to the bench in the first half with three fouls.
Juengel said that as a player you leave everything out on the court in a game like this, and pride allows a team to pull through the difficult losses. “We were so close again,” she said. “I couldn’t be prouder of my team. We played a great team, but unfortunately for us we lost the game. This is only going to make us hungrier heading into next season.”
Juengel added seven points, six rebounds, and three steals for Bullock Creek, which finished the season 24-2.
Scott Keyes
Sports Scene
Keyon Addison walked out of the locker room disappointed.
Disappointed that the Saginaw High boys basketball team had just gotten beat 80-51 in a regional semifinal game to Carman-Ainsworth.
Disappointed that the game was his last as a Trojan.
“We didn’t play our game,” Addison said. “You have to give those guys credit; they played a great game, but we didn’t play Saginaw High basketball and we got beat.”
Addison left his mark during his four years as a Trojan. He played on the varsity three of those years, during which he helped lead Saginaw to a Class A title in 2012, to the semifinal round a year ago, and to another district championship this season.
Addison finished with 19 points in his final game. He will play football for Ferris State University next fall.
“Now my focus is on getting myself ready to play football at Ferris State,” he said after the loss to the Cavaliers. “It has been a fun ride, now it’s time to focus on getting myself ready to head to Big Rapids and hopefully start as a freshman. The ride has been bittersweet.”
Saginaw coach Julian Taylor said he hopes the younger players on the team will learn from the loss heading into next year.
“It’s still hard to see a player like Keyon Addison finish his career with a game like this,” Taylor said. “We basically got beat at our own game.”
The Cavaliers came into the game wanting to press and run, but their other goal was to frustrate Trojans’ sophomore center Algevon Eichelberger, who had had 42 rebounds in his last two district games. Eichelberger finished with six points and five rebounds.
He was whistled for his second foul early in the second quarter and sat the rest of the quarter.
“We knew their big guy could give us a lot of trouble,” Carman-Ainsworth coach Jay Witham said. “We wanted to go at him, get him in foul trouble. It worked.”
Carman-Ainsworth senior Justice Green was in charge of most of the destruction, finishing with 22 points and setting up teammate Cameron Morse for most of his 23 points.
Taylor was extremely impressed by the play of Green and Morse.
Green “would leak out on shots and get downcourt for easy layups, and that’s something we didn’t see on film,” Taylor said. “That surprised us.”
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