Flint Beecher back in MHSAA Division 3 state finals after 64-54 win over Ecorse
EAST LANSING — Flint Beecher is approaching rarified air when it comes to boys basketball state finals appearances.
Senior forward Robert Lee Jr. scored 12 of his team-high 17 points as the Buccaneers now rank tied for second all-time among MHSAA schools with 14 championship games following a 64-54 Division 3 semifinal victory over Ecorse at Breslin Center.
Lee also grabbed 12 rebounds in the win, while senior forward Kevin Tiggs Jr. (17), Damarcus Burke (12) and Keyonta Menefield (10) also scored in double figures for the Buccaneers (23-4).
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“I just want to win a game man, I’ll do anything, we’ll do anything to win a game, and make sure we get over that hump and don’t get that outcome we had last year,” said Lee, referring to last year’s 55-39 semifinal loss to eventual state champ Schoolcraft. “That’s all we’ve been thinking about that game last year and we wanted to be different this time.”
Beecher, the 2021 Division 3 champion, will be seeking their ninth state title in school history.
A big 3-pointer from the top of the key by Menefield, a junior guard, with 4:21 remaining gave the Buccaneers a 49-39 advantage and they pulled away in the final six minutes after leading by only one.
“We worked on our man offense, we worked on our zone, and so that’s all we can do,” said Beecher second-year coach Marquise Gray, a former Michigan State center. “I’m a firm believer if you put in the work, sooner or later you have to reap the rewards. That’s just the way it works. Tonight, we were able to find gaps and hit some shots. We had to keep going even though they (Ecorse) did a great job playing zone.”
Beecher, which shot 25 of 50 from the field, had issues with the Ecorse zone, but was able to pull the Raiders out of their defense after going up 10.
“I moved the ball around and got my teammates involved,” said Holliday, who had a team-high five assists. “We just had to move the ball, find the middle. And if the middle wasn’t open just keep moving it around and eventually it would open up. Just keep playing, run our plays and it would open up.”
River Rouge still leads with all-time finals appearances with 20 followed by Muskegon Heights, Muskegon Christian/Western Michigan Christian and now Beecher (all with 14).
“They believe,” Gray said. “Robert Lee and the rest of the seniors have done an excellent job of making the other guys buy in. They honestly feel in their heart of hearts we should be here and that we should be able to take care of business. We’re not finished yet. The rewards you get for winning is to play another game. And we’re fortunate and blessed to be able to be there the last game of the season. But we’re not finished or satisfied. We’ll not pat ourselves on the back. We’ll pat our back on the shoulder.”
Ecorse (20-5), a semifinalist a year ago, got a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds from senior guard Malik Olafioye. Sophomore guard Darrien Reddick and junior guard added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
The Raiders, who dressed only eight players, were missing one of Kenneth Morrast Jr., a starter who was lost two games ago with a hand injury.
“I just knew it was going to be a big task the way they play,” Ecorse fourth-year coach Gerrod Abram said. “We were short-handed, six or seven at the most. We gave everything we had. We just ran out of gas at the end. Once KJ went out two games ago we’ve had to play a zone defense and we didn’t play zone all year. So, it was an adjustment and we were doing it on the fly. I really didn’t want to play zone, but I was forced to play zone.”
To end the third quarter, Beecher’s Jaylen Townsend caught an air-ball baseline miss from Jacob Holliday and scored on the rebound while getting fouled with 3.8 seconds left. He converted the free throw for the 3-point play as the Buccaneers led 40-34 heading into the fourth.
Down four at the half, Ecorse took the lead on three different occasions but Beecher went into the locker room up 30-26 thanks to a 3-ball from Demarcus Burke Jr. with just under four seconds left.
Beecher, which had problems solving Ecorse’s zone, got 10 first-half points from Burke Jr. Olafioye paced the Raiders and all scorers with 11.
Abram had to burn an early timeout as the Buccaneers opened the game with a 6-0 run. But the Raiders regrouped behind six points from Olafioye to trail only 15-11 after one quarter. Tiggs scored six for Beecher, which shot 7-for-12.
The Ecorse coach was emotional in the postgame press conference when talking about Olafioye, who scored over 2,000 points during his career.
“Great leadership, him trying to play against two or three people at a time ... him staying composed and trying to do everything he can for this team and win,” Abram said. “I asked him to do a lot. I asked him to get 20 rebounds today. Actually wanted him to get 40 points today. It’s tough.”
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Flint Beecher back in MHSAA D3 state finals after win over Ecorse
