Battle Creek Academy energized as it prepares for first-ever MHSAA hoop districts
The Battle Creek Academy basketball program has been waiting for a few years to be invited to the party. Now that the time has come to dance in the postseason, BCA is excited for the opportunity.
Battle Creek Academy, a charter school affiliated with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, is in its first season as part of the Michigan High School Athletic Association — which means the boys and girls basketball programs are getting ready for their first MHSAA postseason.
And they are thrilled about it.
"We got a taste of it in the fall, when we had our first-ever district game in soccer," BCA Athletic Director Shadrach Grentz said. "The energy and excitement for that game was not like anything I have ever seen in my life. I expect to see that same energy and probably more with the start of basketball districts, because our basketball program has been around longer."
Battle Creek Academy was in action at home against small-school city rival Calhoun Christian on Tuesday in boys and girls basketball action.
The girls game opened the evening with Battle Creek Academy holding on for a 34-31 victory. BCA standout Sofia Keller led the way with 17 points as Calhoun Christian countered with 12 points from Jenna Follett.
In the nightcap boys game, Calhoun Christian defeated Battle Creek Academy, 60-32. BCA is 7-12 on the year as Nathan Thomson had 19 points for the Tigers. Josh Andren had 20 points and five assists and Micah Reed added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Calhoun Christian.
Prior to this season, BCA had developed a schedule that included MHSAA schools, but also played small non-MHSAA programs. BCA petitioned to be a part of the MHSAA and recently completed its two-year probation process.
For a school with just over 40 students, it was a daunting goal to compete at the MHSAA level, but it was one the program wanted to chase.
"It has been a challenge," BCA boys basketball coach Michael Howard said. "The biggest challenge is developmental. We don't have enough bodies to have junior high and JV teams. We have one team and that's varsity. And we are still so small. People come look at us and they think we are a junior high team.
"But we are doing this to challenge ourselves. You aren't going to get better unless you play better competition and that's what we wanted."
Howard has been through this process before as he was the head coach for a Family Altar basketball program, that would later become Calhoun Christian. He led that program in its first season of MHSAA play as well more than a decade ago.
"We are learning and growing as we go," Howard said. "We are now playing bigger and better schools, doing our best ... and the kids are excited about that. They are excited about playing in districts. And that excitement will build and we will get more kids coming out."
"And to be honest, sometimes it's hard. We just were smoked by St. Philip," Howard added, talking of a 55-7 loss earlier this month. "But part of that was who we were playing. St. Philip, although also a small school, has been here forever. There is a mystique there, at least for us. There were banners everywhere. And we lost. But that's why we are doing what we are doing, to learn from those experiences and to get better."
The program was also hungry to be a part of the MHSAA world to give itself a chance to prove it belongs. BCA competes in a small gym, where the baseline is six inches from the wall, and with benches almost on the court. On Tuesday, there were six players dressed for the girls varsity game and little more than that for the boys. The girls game was even delayed just a few minutes, because several of the players were in the band, playing the National Anthem, and had to put their instruments away before joining the bench.
Still, BCA sees itself as ready for the next level in high school basketball and wants to leave behind the atmosphere that comes with playing non-MHSAA affiliated schools that are running club programs.
And with a pep band — that filled the small gym Tuesday — and an eager fan following, there are all the earmarks of the classic high school experience.
And that's mostly off the court. The girls team has made some in-roads on the court this season with wins over traditional Class D public schools such as Tekonsha and Bellevue as well as a victory over Class C Maple Valley. It has been an ongoing fight for BCA to show it can be relevant in small-school area basketball. With the win over Calhoun Christian on Tuesday, BCA finished the regular season at 10-12, which is the first 10-win season for the girls program.
"We have been playing these schools the last few years, so there is nothing really new here. But this year, being MHSAA, people are looking at us as more legitimate," said Grentz, who also coaches the girls team. "Scheduling was a bit of an issue before. But this year, we have been able to schedule basically whoever we wanted to play, because we are MHSAA."
Proving they can compete isn't the main goal for the program, as the school abides by the thinking of "wanting to play hard and have fun, first and foremost," according to Grentz.
But now being officially part of the MHSAA, anything that the team or its players do, comes with a little more weight.
Which is why there is a lot of excitement surrounding the numbers being put up by freshman Sofia Keller. Because BCA is so small and Keller is talented beyond her years, she's played on the varsity team since seventh grade.
Keller already has 968 points at the varsity level. She recently surpassed the previous career scoring record for boys or girls basketball in the short history of BCA of 892 points by Treshaun Boykins. She's on pace to have 1,000 career points before her freshman season is over.
"It's been fun to be able to score so many points," Keller said. "To think I might get 1,000 as a freshman, you start thinking about how many I could have by the time I am a senior. It's fun to think about.
"But right now, we are thinking about playing in the districts for the first time. It will be big because more people pay attention when it's districts and it will be fun to show people how I play, how our team plays."
Grentz adds that playing in districts will also give Battle Creek Academy a chance to show people something about their school and a belief system that means a lot to them.
Being a Seventh-Day Adventist school, BCA does not play games on Friday nights or during the day on Saturdays, as its religion dictates. Because of that, for the upcoming Division 4 girls basketball district tournament they are involved in at Climax-Scotts, there are plans for the championship round to be been changed to Thursday. There are also discussions as to how the boys district BCA is playing at St. Philip could be affected.
"We don't play from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday," Grentz said. "This is also a part of why doing this, playing in the MHSAA, is important to us. It is important to share something that is important to us, how we honor God. And this gives us an opportunity to witness in our community in a bigger way."
On the girls side, Battle Creek Academy will open district play against Calhoun Christian, playing the Cougars for the second time in a matter of days. Also involved in that district, will be Bellevue, St. Philip and host Climax-Scotts. The boys will be in a grouping with those same teams, along with another charter school in Kalamazoo Phoenix.
By the time the district tournament is over, Grentz is hoping little Battle Creek Academy will have a larger profile as it looks to continue to grow as a program.
"We are excited about what is happening. For one of our players like Sophia to maybe get 1,000 points before her freshman year is over, that is pretty amazing. I don't think that has happened before in the city and it shows what is possible at a school like ours," Grentz said. "And we are just excited to be heading to districts to see what we can do, to see how we do. We know it is going to be fun and we think we have a team that can compete and belongs with anyone we see in districts."
Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @billbroderick.
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: BC Academy energized as it prepares for first-ever MHSAA hoop districts
