ROYAL OAK – The host Royal Oak Ravens scored in the opening minute and rolled to a 3-0 win over the Novi Wildcats Tuesday night.

Kaitlyn Eberhardt got behind everyone to slot a shot into the empty net just 53 seconds into the game and stake the Ravens to an early lead.

After a rough start, the Wildcats settled into the game, and the teams went back and forth without creating many chances. Royal Oak had the better of play, but it wasn’t until the final minute of the opening half that the Ravens scored again as Reagan Mason tapped in a cross from in tight to double the advantage before halftime.

Novi’s best chances came in the second half, but Ravens goalie Kayla Faulkner came up big when needed, particularly with a pair of quick leaping saves midway through the second half. Eventually, the Ravens added another goal, the final one coming by Alexis Zimmy to close things out.

Overall, Royal Oak’s offense looked to be in midseason form despite this being their first game of the season.

“We’ve got tons of speed on this team, and they mesh really well,” Ravens head coach Melissa VanGorden said. “The team itself has really come together. We’ve really build a culture to get everybody to play for ‘we’ before ‘me’ type of mentality. I think everyone is stepping up into roles that they know they can perform well in. So we’re mixing it up and going out there and having fun.”

Novi goalie Riley Boujoulian made six saves for the Wildcats, who are still putting things together due to injuries and availability. The Wildcats were missing a handful of players Tuesday night and had a different lineup from last week’s win over Livonia Stevenson that opened their spring.

“We have a little bit of a younger team and a lot of injuries, and I think things sped up for us,” Wildcats assistant coach Ken Fenchel said. “I think it’s just getting used to everything all at once, early-season stuff, and it’s stuff that now we have a chance to work on it and get better the rest of the year.”

Photo gallery of Novi vs. Royal Oak in girls soccer action

Royal Oak (1-0), who won its playoff opener last season over Ferndale before losing to regional finalist Troy, has a scrimmage on Wednesday before taking quite a bit of time off. The Ravens’ next official game is not until after spring break when they travel to Clarkston to open up OAA White play on April 8.

“I think it was a good game for us to start with and come out strong. We know Novi is talented. They have a lot of good players,” VanGorden said.

Novi (1-1) hosts Swartz Creek on Thursday before going on spring break as well.

“I think we had a little bit better second half. We changed some things around, and it gave us a chance to improve, and we’ll try it again on Thursday,” Fenchel said. “Overall, I was happy that we got going a bit and that we stuck with it,” he added.

EAST LANSING – With stellar defending and a raucous crowd from just two miles down the road from the Breslin Center, East Lansing defeated defending D1 state champion Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 51-44 in Friday afternoon’s semifinal.

The points allowed by the Trojans marked the fewest the Eaglets have scored in a game this season. Previously, they had only failed to hit the 50-point barrier this season twice, both in wins, and even when the two teams played in East Kentwood back on Jan. 11, East Lansing won 69-68. That game was played without Eaglets senior and recently named Mr. Basketball Trey McKenney.

“We knew we could beat this team,” Trojans head coach Ray Mitchell said. “That’s no disrespect to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. We beat them early in the year. Of course, they didn’t have Trey. We felt we matched up really well with these guys.

“If you check our scores, you’ll see we hold most of our opponents to a season low … I truly feel we’re the best defensive team in the state. Our issue was on the offensive end.”

Luckily for the Trojans, their work on the opposite end meant they didn’t need much offense in that fourth quarter, where they held St. Mary’s to 3 of 13 shooting in the fourth quarter, and limited the Eaglets to just 32.7% overall on the day.

Opening the fourth up 37-36, St. Mary’s senior Sharod Barnes scored 34 seconds into the quarter to make it 39-36. But East Lansing junior guard KJ Torbert Jr., the best player before halftime, knocked down two free throws, then sophomore guard Kingston Thomas sparked the Trojans with three consecutive buckets, altogether putting East Lansing up by five with 3:25 left.

“Any one of us can go on a run and get buckets,” said Thomas, who finished with 12 points to go with a team-high seven boards. “I knew it was my time, shots were falling for me, everything was going good.”

All the while, St. Mary’s turned it over once and missed four shots in a row during that span, finally getting it back to within three on McKenney’s layup from an inbounds dish with three minutes remaining.

St. Mary’s, though, went on and missed two shots inside, then a 3-pointer the following possession that could have tied it up with a little under two minutes to go. From there, Jayden Savoury fouled out by picking up two personals within 18 seconds of one another, the second of which was probably required from at least one Eaglet in order to prevent East Lansing from dwindling out time.

Senior JL Branson hit his pair of free throws from the second of those fouls that made it 46-41, but McKenney responded by coming off a screen to knock down a wing 3-pointer with 41 seconds left.

That turned out to be the last of the scoring for the Eaglets (20-7). Senior Cameron Hutson (Saint Louis) hit a pair of free throws with 30 seconds remaining, then McKenney and Barnes were unable to connect from deep in front of the St. Mary’s bench. The latter of those missed 3-pointers led to numbers in transition for East Lansing, and also a technical foul on the Eaglets for preventing an easy bucket.

Torbert split his pair of free throws resulting from the tech, then Thomas made two more with 10 seconds left to ice the game.

“It wasn’t our best night, but that has a lot to do with East Lansing,” St. Mary’s head coach Todd Covert said. “It was a few bounces here … The ball bounced the wrong way if you’re us, the right way for them. I was telling (assistant coach Brad Crighton), if I’d told you tell we’d hold them to 47, 48 points, or whatever it was at the end, I’d have thought we were in good shape.”

McKenney led all scorers with 21 points, though it came on 7-of-18 field-goal attempts. He attempted nine 3-pointers, accounting for the only three the Eaglets made on 16 total tries from the outside.

“They played somewhat good defense,” said McKenney, who led the Eaglets with seven rebounds, one more than Savoury. “I (usually) hit those types of shots, and I didn’t tonight, and that was the outcome of the game.”

Branson, who plays AAU ball with McKenney on The Family, was tasked with the state’s top senior and did arguably as well as anyone else assigned with him all season.

“(Trey’s) hard to guard,” said Branson, who has been playing with him since before high school. “The offense runs through him. (I thought) if I was able to stop him, we would be able to win the game … I watched film on his moves, studied all that stuff.”

Mitchell called Branson the best defender in the state. “I don’t care who wants to argue that,” Mitchell said. “This man is is incredible. We’re not here without him. We don’t win this game without him.”

They don’t win it without Torbert, either. The son of the former Michigan State standout and 2001 Mr. Basketball (Kelvin Sr.) only cemented his status as a top talent himself with 14 points in the first half. Three of those came as part of back-to-back 3-pointers by he and Hutson that gave East Lansing (27-1) its first lead with 3:52 left in the half, a torrid comeback after St. Mary’s jumped out to a 12-2 advantage to start the day.

“(KJ) does that every game,” Mitchell said of Torbert, who finished with 19 points and six rebounds. “This man is a bucket. All our guys can go, but he’s our leading scorer and we play through him. We expect that from him. When he hit that one, I’m trying to get it to him again, because I know he has the eye of the tiger … You guys better keep an eye on this dude. I truly believe he’s the best junior in the state.”

Those aforementioned threes occurred as part of a 10-0 run in the second quarter during which the Eaglets went just over three minutes without scoring. That drought ended thanks to a pair of makes from free-throw line by Barnes and a 3-pointer by McKenney, but Torbert replied with a triple of his own to give the Trojans a one-point lead going into intermission.

Regarding his familiarity with shooting at the Breslin Center thanks to his proximity and lineage, Torbert said, “I’ve been shooting here since I was a little kid. Getting to play and make shots on this court is like a dream come true.”

Barnes, who ended with 11 points and a game-high four steals, complimented Torbert, saying, “He’s super athletic, super quick, fast. I knew it’d be a challenge (guarding him) coming in. He’s gotten way better over the years.”

Photo gallery of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s vs. East Lansing in a D1 boys hoops semifinal

Savoury ended with eight points, while Luke Crighton and Isaiah Hines both scored two points to round out the scoring by the Eaglets, whose bench didn't attempt any shots. The other son of a Spartan, Mateen Cleaves Jr., logged nine minutes, the only significant time by a St. Mary's reserve.

Hutson had nine points for the Trojans, who will meet Wayne Memorial in Saturday's D1 final after the Zebras defeated Flint Carman-Ainsworth in the game that followed St. Mary's and East Lansing.

Eight players, including Barnes and McKenney, will graduate for St. Mary's. Covert termed their legacy "unbelievable."

"We're an airball away (in the quarterfinals against De La Salle) from being here four years (in a row)," Covert said. "I know it's been done before, but not too many times. Trey's a generational talent. I don't care what happened today, whether we won or lost today or tomorrow. He's a generational kid. Sharod's effort, the culture he brought to the program ... These two young men, along with our other seniors, that's how you set a culture. That's how you get a standard at a school."

Who will carry the banner?

Programs like West Bloomfield, Detroit Country Day and Bishop Foley have ensured Oakland County has been well-represented at the Breslin Center in recent history. Going back the past 10 tournaments (2020 not included), those teams have been among the area programs who have reached the Final Four a collective 20 times.

So which one or two might take the torch and run with it to East Lansing? Well, that’s a bit of a headscratcher.

Normally, there’s at least one frontrunner throughout the divisions, but not this year. On the other hand, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest wasn’t any sort of favorite to get to the state semifinals last season, and yet it happened.

But getting there requires navigating districts, so here’s the field of contenders broken down, along with a swing at who might move on and have a chance at shot-blocking conventional wisdom and rankings to get to the promised land.

 

DIVISION 1

District 13

Host: Hartland

Teams: Brighton (12-10), Hartland (17-5), Milford (13-9), Howell (16-6), Fenton (12-10)

Breakdown: The Mavericks finished the league .500 and proved they could hang with some of the best teams in the LVC this season. Good thing Fenton, their opening round opponent, is a level below that. Sure, it was all the way back on Dec. 10, but Milford beat Fenton by nearly 40 points. Howell and Hartland finished 2-3 in the KLAA-West, but the Highlanders took both encounters, albeit one in overtime.

Pick: Howell

 

District 14

Host: Northville

Teams: Novi (1-21), Walled Lake Western (3-20), Northville (14-8), South Lyon (18-2), South Lyon East (12-10)

Breakdown: The co-champions of the LVC, South Lyon’s grouping pales in comparison to District 13, which is notable since the winners of 13 and 14 will meet in regionals. Despite beating the Cougars by just four on Feb. 7, the Lions won the matchup by 30 back in January, which bodes well for the third meeting Wednesday in the semifinals. South Lyon also holds a five-point away win over Northville, who the Lions would almost assuredly meet in the finals.

Pick: South Lyon

District 22

Host: Livonia Stevenson

Teams: Livonia Franklin (5-16), Farmington (9-12), Farmington Hills Mercy (17-4), Livonia Stevenson (15-7), Redford Thurston (12-8)

Breakdown: The OAA Gold league champions, Farmington comes in playing some of its best basketball with just two losses in the month of February. The Falcons will play Franklin in the quarterfinals, and the Patriots have a lesser record, but have played the tougher schedule. Truthfully, the Marlins should be in a class of their own here. The last time they lost to a Michigan team was against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 48-46, on Jan. 14.

Pick: Farmington Hills Mercy

 

District 23

Host: Detroit Renaissance

Teams: Hamtramck (11-10), Oak Park (0-13), Detroit Renaissance (18-2), Detroit Mumford (9-5), Warren Fitzgerald (10-8)

Breakdown: The Knights won’t be a factor here, and neither should anyone but the Phoenix, one of the favorites to win D1.

Pick: Detroit Renaissance

 

District 24

Host: Bloomfield Hills Marian

Teams: Bloomfield Hills (8-11), Birmingham Groves (6-14), Bloomfield Hills Marian (6-15), North Farmington (5-17), Southfield A&T (15-6), Birmingham Seaholm (12-10)

Breakdown: Can the hosts run the OAA gauntlet? That might be ambitious, but the Mustangs — and Groves, for that matter — are probably the best six-win side in D1. Seaholm has dealt with injuries this season, though the Maples have wins over Bloomfield Hills and Groves. Unfortunately for them, Southfield A&T should take care of whoever comes out of that quarterfinal on the opposite side of the bracket, and while they’re not unbeatable, the Warriors will be tough to beat if they bring their A-game twice in a row.

Pick: Southfield A&T

 

District 25

Host: West Bloomfield

Teams: Walled Lake Northern (14-8), Walled Lake Central (1-21), Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (17-4), West Bloomfield (13-8), Lakeland (16-6)

Breakdown: This is one heckuva district. The Eaglets will get the winner of the two Walled Lake Schools in one semifinal, assuming it’s the Knights, they’ve not been an easy out only having lost two games by more than 10 points all year. Lakeland split the LVC title with South Lyon, but while the defending state champs aren’t what they were the past few years, West Bloomfield can still get up and down, has some size and can shoot the rock. Easily one of the best district finals in D1 if it’s the Lakers and Eaglets playing Friday night.

Pick: West Bloomfield

 

District 26

Host: Swartz Creek

Teams: Lapeer (4-15), Swartz Creek (6-16), Grand Blanc (10-10), Davison (9-13), Holly (1-21), Oxford (8-14)

Breakdown: Here’s a pretty open one. The Wildcats, who finished 2-8 in the OAA Red, get the bye and should see Davison in the semifinals. Davison should be plenty tested, however the Cardinals have won just one of their last 11. Grand Blanc’s Saginaw Valley Conference record was 7-4, the inverse of Davison’s.

Pick: Grand Blanc

 

District 27

Host: Clarkston

Teams: Clarkston (15-7), Waterford Kettering (10-12), Auburn Hills Avondale (18-4), Lake Orion (12-10)

Breakdown: Four teams here, but no pushovers. The Wolves won the OAA Red and nearly went unbeaten in the league until West Bloomfield beat them by one on Feb. 25. Barring a surprise, they’ll advance and take on the winner of the other semifinal. Lake Orion is a live dog, but this should go to Avondale. That would set up a rematch of a Clarkston 62-48 victory over the Yellow Jackets on neutral ground back on Jan. 18.

Pick: Clarkston

 

District 28

Host: Stoney Creek

Teams: Rochester Adams (10-10), Romeo (9-13), Stoney Creek (13-7), Utica (2-19), Utica Eisenhower (20-2), Rochester (19-3)

Breakdown: Are the top teams upset proof? Maybe, maybe not. But Adams has had some injury troubles this season, and Stoney Creek isn’t what it was last winter. The Cougars beat Rochester by four, although that was the second week of December. Stoney does have the size to try and neutralize the Falcons’ talented bigs, to its credit. The Eagles won a share of the MAC Red with Utica Ford despite Ford forcing that split with a win on Feb. 21. But if Eisenhower can match up with Ford’s frontcourt, it should be able to hold its own against Rochester.

Pick: Utica Eisenhower

 

District 29

Host: Royal Oak

District 29 Teams: Troy Athens (7-14), Troy (7-14), Berkley (14-7), Warren Mott (13-8), Royal Oak (11-11)

Breakdown: The battle of Troy teams will decide who faces Berkley, who gets a bye into the semifinals. Royal Oak should get past Mott and into the final, and the Ravens beat Berkley 37-25 at the beginning of February. This is probably bound to be a similarly low-scoring rematch if those teams face each other once again. It could really go either way.

Pick: Berkley

 

DIVISION 2

District 50

Host: Lake Fenton

Teams: Lake Fenton (6-14), Flint Kearsley (9-13), Goodrich (19-3), Flint Powers Catholic (16-5), Linden (14-6), Ortonville Brandon (2-19)

Breakdown: The Blackhawks got their second win of the year on Feb. 20 by beating Holly. They probably won’t get a third as Linden is pretty solid. This district will come down to Powers vs. Goodrich.

Pick: Flint Powers Catholic

 

District 51

Host: Williamson

Teams: Haslett (19-3), Fowlerville (12-10), Wixom St. Catherine (19-3), Williamston (12-10)

Breakdown: One of these two three-loss teams will have to go home before regionals (it’s not quite as daunting as last year when St. Catherine had to face state finalist Gabriel Richard in districts, to be fair). Haslett, who went unbeaten in the CAAC-Red, has three losses this year, and those teams have a combined four losses. The Vikings have arguably the best win among themselves and the Stars with a result over Country Day.

Pick: Haslett

 

District 60

Host: Hazel Park

Teams: Ferndale (7-15), Center Line (2-16), Madison Heights Lamphere (8-13), Ferndale University (10-6)

Breakdown: Center Line won just one game in the MAC Silver and finished below Lamphere. Ferndale University has finished the season relatively strong, but didn’t play the toughest schedule. Center Line aside, anyone could win this.

Pick: Lamphere

District 62

Host: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep

Teams: Detroit Country Day (15-5), Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood (5-17), Pontiac (9-7), Macomb Lutheran North (8-9), Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (13-7)

Breakdown: The Cranes should get past Pontiac and onto DCD for the semifinals. Lutheran North has played a really tough slate, so don’t pay too much mind to the record. In the end, it shouldn’t matter. The Yellowjackets, as they have been several other times in the past decade, are one of the county’s best Final Four bets. Whether they get past teams like Regina or Yale in regionals, we’ll see, Country Day is the cream of this crop.

 

DIVISION 3

District 91

Host: Warren Michigan Collegiate

Teams: Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest (15-6), Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac (5-8), Warren Michigan Collegiate (11-7), Mount Clemens (8-10)

Breakdown: The Crusaders may lack an S-tier victory this season, but did they have it when they knocked off Sandusky last year? What they have is a bunch of real good wins, and they’ve been tested against teams like Everest Collegiate, Avondale, Eisenhower and Armada.

Pick: Lutheran Northwest

 

District 89

Host: Detroit Central

Teams: Madison Heights Madison (1-11), Detroit Central (1-12), Detroit Pershing (14-1), Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (10-7), Detroit Northwestern (4-10)

Breakdown: This is a two-horse race. Will it go Catholic League or PSL?

Pick: Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett

 

District 90

Host: Royal Oak Shrine

Teams: Madison Heights Bishop Foley (1-17), Detroit Community (3-12), Clawson (17-2), Detroit CMA (8-13), Westland Universal Learning Academy (0-10), Royal Oak Shrine (10-9)

Breakdown: Barring the unforeseen, Clawson and Shrine will meet in this district championship game in Royal Oak. The Trojans had a fantastic turnaround and shared the MAC Silver title. The Knights, though, have played a tougher schedule and will have the home crowd to root them on.

Pick: Royal Oak Shrine

 

DIVISION 4

District 122

Host: Whitmore Lake

Teams: Novi Christian Academy (4-16), Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner (6-4), Whitmore Lake (16-4), Brighton Livingston Christian (12-9), Ann Arbor Central Academy (1-11)

Breakdown: The hosts went 9-2 in the MIAC Red, and while they may not go deep into the playoffs, they should be able to get out of their own district.

Pick: Whitmore Lake

 

District 124

Host: Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart

Teams: Bloomfield Hills Roeper (5-15), Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart (3-11), Southfield Christian (10-8), Sterling Heights Parkway Christian (9-11), West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy (10-5)

Breakdown: Parkway Christian and Frankel could be a close semifinal on one side of the bracket. On the other, the Eagles, who finished behind Lutheran Westland and Whitmore Lake in the MIAC Red, should advance. Southfield Christian split its two regular season games with Parkway Christian.

Pick: Sterling Heights Parkway Christian

 

District 126

Host: Dryden

Teams: Clarkston Everest Collegiate (14-2), Burton St. Thomas More Academy (9-7), Genesee Christian (17-2), Dryden (11-9)

Breakdown: Everest (No. 10) might be the only ranked team here, but Genesee Christian could pose a challenge in this final. Among the Soldiers’ best wins this year are Ovid-Elsie, Auburn Hills Oakland Christian and Plymouth Christian Academy. The CHSL St. Anne Tournament winners beat Genesee twice last year, and were slated to place the Soldiers in early February, but that game with the Mountaineers was canceled.

Pick: Clarkston Everest Collegiate

TROY – As it has for the past decade, the battle for Troy went to the Colts Thursday night.

The Red Hawks battled back from a double-digit deficit to lead early in the second half, but Troy steadily re-established that advantage and scored a 69-65 win on the other side of town.

“Anytime you play your crosstown rivals, it doesn’t matter who they are, both teams will battle and it’s going to be one of those really tough games,” said Troy head coach Gary Fralick, who has been part of the rivalry for 31 years.

Following a 7-2 start from Athens, Troy looked on the verge of controlling the outcome by scoring 16 of the next 18 points, and a turnaround trey from Colts senior Mason Parker gave the away side its first double-digit lead just over midway through the second quarter.

Athens was far from done, however, finishing the second on a 10-2 run capped off by Cainan Hanbury’s layup at the buzzer, and Nate Appledorn stroked one of his four 3-pointers on the first possession of the second half to briefly put the Red Hawks ahead.

Still, the Colts, lesser in stature compared to most teams and outrebounded more so in the opening half, got buckets a bit more efficiently to outscore Athens 19-12 in the third quarter, amounting to a nine-point lead heading into the final period.

The Red Hawks (6-14, 5-8 OAA White) had chances to cut into the lead, which got to as large as 13 on a Leo Penoza shot from downtown, before Troy went into stall mode and could have been more efficient around the hoop and at the stripe, but left it too late.

On the opposite end, Penoza (20 points) knocked down another triple, then Andrew Lake converted a conventional three-point play that boosted the lead back to 11 with three minutes remaining. Athens didn’t get it back to two possessions until Brennan Tucker’s free throws with 40 ticks left, then a Tucker 3-pointer that got it to within five with 22 seconds left.

Troy escaped pressure to make layups in the final 30 seconds before Appledorn connected from deep at the final horn.

“Give them credit, they hung with us and went up ahead in the early part of the third quarter, then we had a run and kind of felt pretty good about ourselves before they made it pretty hairy in the last couple minutes,” Fralick said. “(Athens head coach Mitchell Vercellino) does a really nice job for them. They’re well-prepared and play hard, smart, and anytime you have a team like that, they’re a tough team to beat.”

Along with Penoza’s 20 and a dozen from sophomore teammate Blake Kuiper, Colts senior Mason Parker led all scorers with 25 points.

“We just needed to stay locked in and play consistent, play together,” Parker said of the message from Fralick and the team’s mindset. “We can’t have spurts where we look like a great team then a bad team. That’s what coach says to us every game, to play hard and play smart … At the beginning of the season it was kind of playing 1-on-1, trying to get our own shots. We’ve really bought in and we’re moving the ball more and trying to get the best shot for everyone as a team.”

That’s been reflected in the results. After dropping seven of eight in the early chunk of the season, Thursday’s win got the Colts back up to .500 (11-11) on the year and improved their record to 8-6 in the league.

Photo gallery of Troy vs. Athens in OAA White boys hoops action

It also gave the Colts their 14th win in a row in the rivalry. The last time the Red Hawks got the better of Troy was a 70-61 victory back on March 5, 2015.

"It always feels good to beat your hometown rival, but to me, it's really just another game," Parker said. "They compete, we compete. It's fun playing in front of all the students, but at the end of the day we're all trying to get the high seed in the playoffs and it's just another game we need to win."

Tucker accounted for the Red Hawks' other pair of 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 19 points, and Appledorn ended with 16 in the defeat for Athens, who lost 54-40 when the teams last competed on Jan. 10.

Asked whether these rivalry wins have traditionally provided extra momentum for his teams over the years, Fralick replied, "Not necessarily. A win's a win, and it's a special win because it's against Athens. Do they propel us? I think that depends upon the team. Will they continue to play that well every game? This team is a bunch of great guys who play hard, but we're a little up and down. We'll go on a four-game winning streak, then a three-game losing streak.

"It's a bit of a rollercoaster, but tonight, they were ready to play, and hopefully against Seaholm on Tuesday, we'll be ready to play again."

Troy extended its winning streak in the rivalry with Athens by defeating the Red Hawks 69-65 on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025.

Royal Oak senior Nick Hofmann became the program’s all-time leader in assists in Monday night’s 71-66 home win over St. Clair Shores Lake Shore.

Hofmann finished with 16 points, while junior Sam Zeller scored 24 and sophomore CJ Hairston added 11 for the Ravens. They’re now 12-7 overall (7-5 OAA Blue) after the victory, which was their seventh straight.

More boys basketball

PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP 72, OXFORD 67 >> The Irish (9-9) put together their first three-game winning streak of the year by handing the Wildcats their first loss of the year in Pontiac on Monday.

BERKLEY 75, WATERFORD OAKSIDE PREP 50 >> Seniors Evan Haenick, Jacob Friedman and Evan Young all popped for 13 points in Wednesday’s win by the Bears (4-14).

GPW UNIVERSITY LIGGETT 62, ROYAL OAK SHRINE 55 >> The Knights (9-10) led by two at halftime but couldn’t hold on in Wednesday night’s CHSL St. Anne Tournament semifinal.

ROCHESTER ADAMS 59, CLARKSTON 58 >> Trent LaGarde hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the horn to win it for the Highlanders (6-13, 3-7 OAA Red) at home on Monday. Luke Marcial and Cannon Flynn both scored 17 for Adams in the victory.

AUBURN HILLS AVONDALE 70, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 59 >> The Black Hawks (10-9) got 21 points from Carter Canfield, as well as 18 each by Daron Mason and Carter Hartfield, but fell short to the Yellow Jackets (13-7) on Tuesday.

PLYMOUTH CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 68, SOUTHFIELD CHRISTIAN 66 >> Justin Bryant Scored 17 points and Jaden McCalister added 16, but the Eagles (14-6, 5-4 MIAC Blue) fell short on the road Tuesday.

LAKELAND 73, SOUTH LYON 56 >> The Eagles (11-9, 8-7 LVC) got the road win Tuesday behind 28 points from Ethan Row. Usen Nsikan, Grant Thompson and Austin Porcasi all chipped in a dozen points for Lakeland i nthe win, too.

MILFORD 61, WATERFORD KETTERING 29 >> Carson Lutz finished with 24 points to lead 10 Mavericks (13-5, 10-4 LVC) who got into the scoring column in Tuesday’s win.

Girls basketball

ROYAL OAK SHRINE 47, PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP 42 >> Tess Tillman poured in 24 points, while Abby Adams and Summer Smith each added six for the Knights (9-8) in Wednesday’s home victory. Kaylyn Sowers dropped a game-high 30 points for the Irish (12-5)

BIRMINGHAM GROVES 43, ROYAL OAK 36 >> Harlem Simpson filled up the stat sheet with 15 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals and blocks for Groves (4-11, 2-5 OAA White) on Tuesday. Genevieve Meihn also added 10 points in the win for the Falcons. Maddie Lawrence finished with 11 points and six rebounds and Lydia Dickens contributed nine points for the Ravens (8-8, 3-3).

FARMINGTON HILLS MERCY 57, ANN ARBOR PREP 26 >> Aizlyn Albanese finished with 15 points and Emily Walker added a dozen for the Marlins (13-4) on Monday.

AVONDALE 49, BERKLEY 46 >> In a battle of top OAA Blue teams, the Yellow Jackets (14-3, 10-0) squeezed out the road win Monday to lock up at least a share of the league title.

LUTHERAN HIGH WESTLAND 44, SOUTHFIELD CHRISTIAN 27 >> Gabby Reis and Caramia DeGiulio each scored nine points in Tuesday’s loss for the Eagles (8-8, 4-6 MIAC Red).

WEST BLOOMFIELD 73, FERNDALE 42 >> The Lakers improved to 10-7 and 5-2 in the OAA Red thanks to Monday’s home win.

TROY 35, BIRMINGHAM SEAHOLM 33 >> The Colts (6-10, 3-3 OAA White) got the road win Tuesday night on a buzzer-beater. Addison Flynn had 10 points and Mary Gumbis contributed eight in the loss for the Maples (11-7, 3-4).

MILFORD 27, WATERFORD UNITED 23 >> Ashlyn Lutz ended with a game-high 13 points and Molly Jenkins had six points on two 3-pointers to improve the Lady Mavs to 11-5 overall and 5-5 in the LVC on Tuesday.

LAKE ORION – Detroit Catholic Central head coach Jessica Stoddard had a Facebook memory pop up Saturday morning of her team last winning the Oakland County Boys Swim Championships five years ago to the day.

Stoddard can expect another such memory in five years after the Shamrocks captured their first county swim title since that win in 2020 by finishing with 270 points to lead the pack.

“The biggest thing we’ve been working on this year is getting to the point where we can win something,” Stoddard said. “We fell short a couple times last year at championship meets. That’s what we’ve focused on this year, closing the gap.”

She talked about how the two teams that finished ahead of the Shamrocks at the D1 state meet last season didn’t win any events, where as Catholic Central did, and stressed this year the importance of accumulating points if the

opportunity isn’t there to win events.

Catholic Central did plenty of both on Saturday.

Roshi Turner repeated as winner of the 200 IM and also won the 100 breaststroke event. In addition, Camren Turowski, last year’s second-place finisher in the 50 freestyle at the state finals, not only won that event Saturday, but also took first in the 100 free.

“I just like to take it out fast, hang on and see where it ends up,” Turowski said. Asked whether he expected to excel so much in the 100 this season, he added, “No, I thought I was going to be more successful in the 50, but the work, it’s just the 100 is better for me right now.”

His time of 45.25 beat the meet record previously held by former Catholic Central standout Mario McDonald, currently a fifth-year swimmer at Ohio State, by a tenth of a second. McDonald’s record was set on that same day five years ago.

“It’s great, you know, keeping the record in the CC (family),” Turowski said. “All the work I’ve put in, it means a lot when you get the results. It’s a great feeling.”

In addition to the individual victories, Catholic Central finished second in both the 200 medley relay and the 200 free relay to get the necessary points to win.

Behind the Shamrocks, Farmington finished second overall with 221 points, while Cranbrook-Kingswood, who beat out Catholic Central for last year’s county title, took third with 205.5 points.

Stoney Creek and Rochester Adams rounded out the top-five, with Troy, Milford, Seaholm, South Lyon and Novi completing the top-10.

For Stoney Creek, Will Cicco, who won last year’s 200 freestyle as a junior — he won it as a sophomore as well — not only repeated as the winner, but broke the previous meet record set by Jack Hamilton (Berkley, University of Kentucky) in 2021 by over a half-second with a time of 1:39.21.

Photo gallery from the 2025 Oakland County Boys Swim Championships at Lake Orion

"To win that three years in a row, it's pretty special," said Cicco, who also won the 500 free for the second consecutive year.

While he didn't break the record, Seaholm junior and Indiana commit Elliot Rijnovean, last year's D2 state winner in the 100 backstroke, posted one of the better times in county meet history by winning this year's event with a mark of 49.86.

 

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TEAM SCORES: 1. Detroit Catholic Central, 270. 2. Farmington, 221. 3. Cranbrook-Kingswood, 205.5. 4. Stoney Creek, 173. 5. Rochester Adams, 168. 6. Troy, 165. 7. Milford, 151 8. Birmingham Seaholm, 149. 9. South Lyon, 132. 10. Novi, 125. 11. Rochester, 117.5. 12. Lake Orion, 105. 13. Birmingham Groves, 93.5. 14. Birmingham Brother Rice, 72. 15. Bloomfield Hills, 69. 16. Detroit Country Day, 33. 17. West Bloomfield, 20. 18. Oxford, 18.5. 19. Clarkston, 13. 20. (tie) Royal Oak, 11. 20. (tie) Walled Lake Central, 11. 22. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 2.

200 MEDLEY RELAY: 1. Birmingham Seaholm (Elliot Rijnovean, Finn Murray, Emmett Knudsen, Quinn O'Neill), 1:34.97. 2. Farmington, 1:35.57. 3. Detroit Catholic Central, 1:35.61. 4. Stoney Creek, 1:37.23. 5. Cranbrook-Kingswood, 1:37.69. 6. South Lyon, 1:38.41. 7. Troy, 1:38.67. 8. Rochester, 1:39.94. 9. Rochester Adams, 1:40.12. 10. Birmingham Groves, 1:40.35.

200 FREESTYLE: 1. Will Cicco, Stoney Creek, 1:39.21. 2. Sam Campbell, Milford, 1:40.64. 3. Ben Bricker, Troy, 1:41.62. 4. Brendan Marshall, Milford, 1:42.83. 5. Joey Vicari, Stoney Creek, 1:46.94. 6. AJ Farner, Cranbrook-Kingswood, 1:47.16. 7. Aiden Boruta, Rochester, 1:47.39. 8. Bobby Gusumano, Detroit Catholic Central, 1:47.91. 9. Ryan VanDyke, Cranbrook-Kingswood, 1:48.25. 10. Anirudh Kundurthy, Novi, 1:48.40.

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY: 1. Roshi Turner, Detroit Catholic Central, 1:54.95. 2. Kelvin Teng, Rochester Adams, 1:56.00. 3. Paul DeMartini, Farmington, 1:57.78. 4. Nathan Stebbins, Birmingham Groves, 1:57.93. 5. Sean Lu, Cranbrook-Kingswood, 1:58.32. 6. Bobby Reif, Rochester, 1:58.42. 7. Zach Kipf, Farmington, 1:58.98. 8. Joshua Luo, Farmington, 1:59.16. 9. Jaxson Woods, Detroit Catholic Central, 2:01.65. 10. Aidan Arthurs, Rochester Adams, 2:01.69.

50 FREESTYLE: 1. Camren Turowski, Detroit Catholic Central, 20.79. 2. Jack Szuba, Detroit Catholic Central, 21.23. 3. Gorka Morales, Stoney Creek, 21.66. 4. Luke Morden, Farmington, 21.71. 5. Eshan Patel, South Lyon, 21.80. 6. Miles Marx, Bloomfield Hills, 21.85. 7. Jack Higgins, Detroit Country Day, 21.96. 8. Turner Worth, Birmingham Brother Rice, 22.28. 9. Ian Whan, Birmingham Groves, 22.30. 10. Matthew Li, Troy, 22.31.

1-METER DIVING: 1. Chase Smith, West Bloomfield, 460.40. 2. Gabe Catalogna, Rochester Adams, 408.15. 3. Drew Reed, Novi, 405.75. 4. Colin Bauer, Rochester Adams, 402.95. 5. Ian Smith, Rochester Adams, 362.30. 6. Cooper Wasson, Novi, 358.95. 7. Matthew Schwarzenberger, Lake Orion, 355.35. 8. Tyler Mollan, Lake Orion, 309.80. 9. Conner Liedke, Lake Orion, 288.45. 10. Ethan Oal, Cranbrook-Kingswood, 281.90.

100 BUTTERFLY: 1. Ethan Xu, Cranbrook-Kingswood, 49.64. 2. Paul DeMartini, Farmington, 50.69. 3. Elliot Rijnovean, Birmingham Seaholm, 50.73. 4. Calvin Meeker, Cranbrook-Kingswood, 51.44. 5. Kelvin Teng, Rochester Adams, 51.47. 6. Gorka Morales, Stoney Creek, 52.13. 7. Turner Worth, Birmingham Brother Rice, 53.01. 8. Emmett Knudsen, Birmingham Seaholm, 53.83. 9. Ryan Brown, Detroit Catholic Central, 53.96. 10. Tommy Shaw, Milford, 54.25.

100 FREESTYLE: 1. Camren Turowski, Detroit Catholic Central, 45.25. 2. Brendan Marshall, Milford, 46.46. 3. Jack Szuba, Detroit Catholic Central, 47.99. 4. Ian Whan, Birmingham Groves, 48.12. 5. Tyler Cameron, South Lyon, 48.18. 6. Jack Higgins, Detroit Country Day, 48.21. 7. Miles Marx, Bloomfield Hills, 48.48. 8. Matthew Li, Troy, 49.44. 9. Adyn Stoddard, Detroit Catholic Central, 49.47. 10. Maddox LaMothe, Lake Orion, 49.58.

500 FREESTYLE: 1. Will Cicco, Stoney Creek, 4:31.02. 2. Nathan Stebbins, Birmingham Groves, 4:39.15. 3. Mason Fecteau, Farmington, 4:52.15. 4. Aidan Arthurs, Rochester Adams, 4:52.52. 5. Aiden Boruta, Rochester, 4:54.56. 6. Bobby Gusumano, Detroit Catholic Central, 4:55.29. 7. Victor Malinski, Bloomfield Hills, 4:55.76. 8. Carter Bowers, Rochester Adams, 4:56.77. 9. Larson Custer, Troy, 4:56.84. 10. Zarif Syed, 4:58.28.

200 FREESTYLE RELAY: 1. Farmington (Luke Morden, Jack Tomlinson, Paul DeMartini, Joshua Luo), 1:26.03. 2. Detroit Catholic Central, 1:26.70. 3. Milford, 1:26.84. 4. South Lyon, 1:29.76. 5. Troy, 1:30.18. 6. Lake Orion, 1:30.37. 7. Birmingham Seaholm, 1:30.52. 8. Birmingham Brother Rice, 1:31.01. 9. Cranbrook-Kingswood, 1:31.26. 10. Novi, 1:31.50.

100 BACKSTROKE: 1. Elliot Rijnovean, Birmingham Seaholm, 49.86. 2. Sam Campbell, Milford, 50.06. 3. Ben Bricker, Troy, 51.66. 4. Tyler Cameron, South Lyon, 52.09. 5. Luke Morden, Farmington, 52.22. 6. Calvin Meeker, Cranbrook-Kingswood, 52.95. 7. Joshua Luo, Farmington, 53.59. 8. Emmett Knudsen, Birmingham Seaholm, 54.32. 9. Finn Rivard, Birmingham Brother Rice, 54.39. 10. Diego Baca, Walled Lake Central, 54.57.

100 BREASTSTROKE: 1. Roshi Turner, Detroit Catholic Central, 57.93. 2. Eshan Patel, South Lyon, 58.18. 3. Bobby Reif, Rochester, 59.29. 4. Sean Lu, Cranbrook-Kingswood, 59.32. 5. Zach Kipf, Farmington, 1:01.01. 6. Joseph Wiater, Cranbrook-Kingswood, 1:01.22. 7. Nick Herrera-Garcia, Novi, 1:01.45. 8. Finn Murray, Birmingham Seaholm, 1:01.72. 9. Austin Pursley, Stoney Creek, 1:01.88. 10. Maddox LaMothe, Lake Orion, 1:02.36.

400 FREESTYLE RELAY: 1. Milford (Tommy Shaw, Brendan Marshall, Nick Marinescu, Sam Campbell), 3:13.77. 2. Troy, 3:14.55. 3. Stoney Creek, 3:15.61. 4. Cranbrook-Kingswood, 3:15.72. 5. Detroit Catholic Central, 3:17.72. 6. Rochester, 3:18.41. 7. Rochester Adams, 3:18.78. 8. Novi, 3:21.43. 9. Birmingham Groves, 3:21.56. 10. Farmington, 3:22.17.