MHSAA D-2 boys basketball semis: Jack Karasinski paces defending champ GRCC over Ferndale
EAST LANSING — Oh no, not again.
That’s how Ferndale followers likely reacted when Grand Rapids Catholic Central asserted itself in the second half of Friday night’s Michigan high school boys basketball Division 2 semifinal.
When the two teams met in last year’s semis, Catholic Central broke open a close game by going on a 28-0 run.
Friday, it was a 15-0 third-quarter stretch that ultimately yielded the same result. It took the Cougars less than four minutes to hike a five-point edge into a 50-30 lead, riding that momentum toward an 82-71 victory and prompting its student section to chant, “Just like last year.”
With the win, Catholic Central (25-1) earned a chance to defend its Division 2 state championship Saturday evening.
“It would mean the world to me,” said senior forward Jack Karasinski, who scored 34 points. “Not a lot of teams have gone back-to-back, especially teams from West Michigan, so we’re coming over here to prove something. The chemistry with this team is bittersweet, with it coming to an end, and I kind of want it more than ever right now. I know the team does, too.”
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Durral Brooks (22 points) ignited the pivotal run with baskets on the Cougars’ first two possessions of the second half, and Karasinski closed it with five points (three free throws) over two straight trips up the floor.
"I think everything stems from our defense,” coach T.J. Meerman said. “When we get stops, with our starting five and even our first two or three off the bench, we have a lot of guard skills on the floor. When we rebound, there’s multiple opportunities for us to get out and run, all there are shooters all over.”
“We didn’t do some little things,” Ferndale coach Juan Rickman said. “When the game was still really close, we didn’t come up with some rebounds. Grand Rapids scored a lot off of turnovers and offensive rebounding, transitions and defense. We talked about those things coming out — not taking bad shots and having a strong transition defense, rebounding and not throwing the ball to the other team, essentially, and it became more challenging to do.”
The sudden 20-point margin forced Ferndale to jack up 3-pointers in an attempt to come back, and while the Eagles showed they had some life by hitting two right away by Treyvon Lewis and Cameron Reed — and six the rest of the way — Catholic Central was able to hold them at bay by draining four throughout the fourth quarter.
“If we’re knocking down 3s, it’s because of their unselfish play,” Meerman said. “Jack was really hot today, and his teammates were finding him. There’s been times where Kay-Kay (Brown) had a nine 3-point game this year, Jordan Brooks had a 10 3-point game, Carter Meerman had a nine 3-point game. All of these guys celebrate their teammates and play the game the right way.”
The game was far from polished. Both squads found it difficult to establish a rhythm over long periods of time. Ferndale turned the ball over 17 times while GRCC gave it up on 12 occasions, and each team was whistled for two technical fouls.
Ferndale (21-4) scored first, but it took the Eagles five minutes to come up with their second bucket, and they were down 8-2 by the time Lewis swished a 3.
Ferndale erased a six-point deficit in the first half, taking a short-lived 19-17 lead after Lewis’ floater in the paint. But the Cougars used a 9-0 run over the next three possessions on 3s by Jorden Brooks and Kaden Brown, and a conventional three-point play by Karasinski. That gave Catholic Central the lead for good.
GRCC finished with 20 assists.
Lewis racked up 32 for Ferndale and Jason Drake scored 12, although he only played 16 minutes before fouling out.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MHSAA boys basketball: Jack Karasinski lifts GRCC to D-2 final
