Tom Izzo watches as Orchard Lake St. Mary's beats North Farmington in D-1 final, 63-52

EAST LANSING — Trey McKenney put himself at the forefront of the 2025 Hal Schram Mr. Basketball award conversation by putting on a virtuoso performance in Saturday’s Division 1 championship game.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound do-it-all junior guard was the difference maker, scoring a game-high 32 points to lead the Orchard Lake St. Mary's Eaglets to their first state title since 2000 with a 63-52 victory over North Farmington at Michigan State’s Breslin Center.

Playing before MSU coach Tom Izzo, two of his assistants and several Spartan players, McKenney, considered one of the most coveted junior recruits in the country, did it outside and inside as OLSM (27-1) earned its fourth state crown.

He shot an efficient 8-for-11 from the floor, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers, along with a perfect 14-for-14 from the foul line, to go along with 10 rebounds in the win.

“I’m in the gym every day, so ... so it’s really isn’t different for me,” said McKenney, who is around a 90% foul shooter. “When I went against the zone, I got it in the middle, and if I feel like nobody can guard me, I can score every time or I can play-make when I get the ball in the zone. I feel I can score at every opportunity when I get inside that zone.”

North Farmington (24-3), making only its second state finals appearance in school history (with the other coming in 2016), had no answers for McKenney or the Eaglets’ defense as the Raiders shot an ice-cold 18-for-52 from the floor (34%).

“He’s got an NBA style game right now with floaters, fadeaway. ... he’s very good,” North coach Todd Negoshian said. “I think the thing people don’t realize about him is just how good of a kid he is. Very nice, very cordial to us as a staff and players. I think he does an unbelievable job of representing his family and himself to the best that.”

The Raiders caused 18 St. Mary’s turnovers – many of those coming in the final quarter – but couldn’t capitalize shooting an ice-cold 18 of 52 from the floor (34%).

“I thought we struggled to score at times,” Negoshian said. “But I thought we got what we wanted, made them turn it over where we were able to get within striking distance, but we couldn’t score at times offensively and that was our downfall tonight. I don’t know if the stage got us or we were tired from yesterday.”

With 6:51 left in the third quarter, the game seemed still in doubt as North Farmington's Robert Smith nailed a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 25-22. But McKenney answered with seven straight points, followed by a 3-pointer from Andrew Smith, along with a short baseline jumper by McKenney to cap a 12-0 run and put OLSM up 37-22.

OLSM’s 17-7 third-quarter spurt then ballooned to a 20-point lead in the fourth. North Farmington rallied late cutting it to nine, but couldn’t get any closer.

“What a battle, an emotional day, and boy, it obviously, it hasn’t sunk in yet,” St. Mary’s ninth-year coach Todd Covert said. “I’ve been dreaming about this a long time, this is a dream come true. It means everything. I’m happy for our school and our community, and I’m happy for these kids who have really worked so hard and they deserve everything they get. Hats off to North Farmington. They didn’t stop, they didn’t quit. It got pretty physical out there and I don’t think it was any cheap stuff, it was just a physical game. It was a really, really physical game and we came out with it at the end and real happy to win a state championship and bring it back to Orchard Lake."

Sharod Barnes added 11 points for the Eaglets, who made 28 of 30 free throws as a team (93.3%).

“It’s a testament to these kids,” Covert said. “We talk all the time about the process and routine with their free throws. If you start worrying about if it’s going to go in or not, you’re fighting from behind. Those free throws are the work of a lot of early mornings that these kids put in, the extra time they put in and embrace that. It’s – embrace that pressure. That’s all you can do. You can’t run from it.”

Tyler Spratt scored a team-high 17 for the Raiders before fouling out in the fourth. Landon Williams and Rob Smith chipped in with 16 and 11 points, respectively, as North Farmington struggled from the line going 11-for-19 (57.9%).

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The fourth quarter seemed like an eternity as North Farmington, in desperation, tried to make it a game with its relentless defense.

“That was the longest fourth quarter of my life,” Covert said. “We weathered the storm and that’s what it’s about. We kept our composure, our sportsmanship and we got it done in the end.”

North Farmington’s constant pressing and trapping defense is described as “32 minutes of hell,’’ modeled after Nolan Richardson’s coaching days at the University of Arkansas.

“We knew we had to take care of the ball,” Covert said. “That was the most important thing that we took care of the ball and we rebounded. That’s how we’ve built our program around is defending and rebounding. And that’s what we tried to focus on today.”

McKenney took over the opening quarter hitting four of his first five shots as his 11 points gave the Eaglets a 16-7 lead. Meanwhile, the Raiders went just 3-for-11 from the floor.

The OLSM lead mushroomed to 11 with 7:16 remaining in the half on a jumper by Isaiah Hines before the Raiders cut it to 20-14 on a pair of free throws by Will MacShara.

After Barnes answered with a 3 for the Eaglets to make it a nine-point lead, North Farmington cut it to 25-19 at halftime when Spratt tipped in his own miss at the buzzer.

North Farmington made only seven of 21 first-half shots (33.3%), while the Eaglets were 9-for-20 (45%).

The 2024 title run was extra sweet for McKenney and his teammates after they fell to Muskegon a year ago in the state semifinals at Breslin.

"We’ve been going at it every day, being consistent,” McKenney said. “I don’t think it’s really sunk in winning a state championship. It’s kind of crazy, just being a kid from Flint. It’s just crazy.

Ultimately, it was a matter of playing with the right mindset and executing the game plan against the Raiders, who pressure teams with a trapping defense.

“We knew North Farmington was going to come in and play us tough because we beat them last year in the playoffs,” McKenney said. “We just tried to stay humble, just keep a mindset to win the game.”

It was an all-Oakland County matchup in the finals as the two schools – very familiar with each other – sit just four miles apart.

“Tough way to lose, but congratulations to Covert and St. Mary’s,” Negoshian said. “I couldn’t be prouder for them. Known those guys a long time and the closeness we have between the two schools. I’m happy for them and their kids to celebrate today.”

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Orchard Lake St. Mary's claims D-1 title, beats North Farmington 63-52