Bates, Lincoln Land in 1st Hoops Final

March 15, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

EAST LANSING – Emoni Bates was here to help, he told his teammates before beginning his freshman year at Ypsilanti Lincoln in the fall.

That’s one very understated way to put what the nationally-renowned freshman has meant to the Railsplitters during their most successful season.

Bates, and Lincoln, played in their first MHSAA Semifinal on Friday, and the 6-foot-10 phenom showed as expected – he flashed skill and poise and brought roars with a pair of dunks, including one from a pass off the backboard.

And Lincoln continued to perform as he expected when he joined an otherwise veteran lineup, making an incredible 57 percent of its shots from the floor in a 72-56 win over Howell to earn a berth in Saturday’s Division 1 championship game.

“My teammates … when I told them I was coming (to Lincoln), I told them I was just helping them, and I told them if we just keep working hard every day we’d be here,” Bates said. “I just knew I trusted them. I trust them, and they trust me, and that’s how we got here.”

Lincoln (22-4) will play for its first championship against Detroit U-D Jesuit at 12:15 p.m. Saturday.   

Playing on the Breslin Center floor for the first time, in front of a mostly full lower bowl, has derailed many an MHSAA championship hopeful.

But there might not be a player, and team, in recent memory that has been more prepared for a trip to East Lansing than Bates and Lincoln.

Buzz around the nationally-renowned freshman started high this winter and has only continued to grow as he’s keyed the Railsplitters’ run to its first Regional title, then Semifinals and now championship game.

He had 31 points – on 55 percent shooting – and 14 rebounds against Howell, and his teammates followed suit showing no effects from the big-arena atmosphere by sinking 59 percent of their shots.

“It was just fun. We battled all game, he’s taller than me and was shooting over my head, and I couldn’t really do anything about it,” said Howell senior Josh Palo, an all-state honorable mention last season and one of those charged with defending Bates on Friday. “I was definitely looking forward to guarding him. Our game plan was making him take tough shots. He was knocking them down. We couldn’t do anything about it.”

Bates’ first basket was a 3-pointer with 3:52 left in the first quarter that made the score 10-4. The Railsplitters never led by fewer than six points the rest of the way.

Senior forward Amari Frye added 12 points while making half his shots from the floor, and senior guard Tahj Chatman made all four of his shots from the floor for 10 points to go with four assists.   

“I’ve been on varsity four years, and the added pressure, I tell him all the time to put the pressure he gets and put it on me,” Chatman said. “I feel we’re here for him. We all embrace him. There’s no jealousy or none of that. We embrace him all the way.”

Lincoln starts four seniors with Bates, and after going 10-11 in coach Jesse Davis’ first season three seasons ago posted back-to-back winning records before breaking through this winter.

“I envisioned everything that we’re doing right now,” Davis said. “We just worked toward it. Of course I need these guys learning it, (buying in) to what I’m saying and what I’m doing and what I’m teaching them. But yes, I envisioned this for the program.”

Howell (20-7) took a similar step with its program this winter, with Friday’s Semifinal the team’s first since 1927. The Highlanders first won their third straight District title and finished with their highest win total of Howell coach Nick Simon’s seven seasons leading the program.

Palo, one of four seniors in the starting lineup, had 16 points in his final high school game. Junior guard Tony Honkala had 12 points off the bench, and senior forward Jake Sargeant had 11 points and six rebounds for the Highlanders.

“Our guys believed in this for a long time,” Simon said. “It’s not just something that’s happened at the end of the year.

“I knew we could do it, and they knew we could do it all year. We went through tough battles, went against tough opponents in the playoffs, and we were used to that tough competition. We respected them, but we were not fearful at all.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) Ypsilanti Lincoln’s Emoni Bates throws down one of his two dunks during Friday’s Division 1 Semifinal. (Middle) Howell players work to break up a pass.

Warren Lincoln Closes Boys Basketball Season with All-Time Accomplishment

By Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com

March 16, 2024

EAST LANSING – You can't say Warren Lincoln is wary of rematches. Not even when the opponent is ranked No. 1 in the state for most of the season.

The Abes proved winning a midseason meeting was no fluke by outlasting top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian 53-39 in Saturday's Division 2 Final at the Breslin Center.

Lincoln had defeated the Eagles 49-47 in Grand Rapids on Jan. 20, but Abes players say that win had limited influence on the outcome of the championship game two months later – and that they had no problem facing Grand Rapids Christian a second time.

"Honestly, I thought it would be different," junior guard Da'Marion Bozeman said. "We beat them the first time, so we knew they'd be ready. But we wanted to win so bad, so there was that motivation."

Ouwinga gets a hand up as Lincoln’s Markus Blackwell looks for an opening. The Abes used a 10-1 run in the fourth quarter to pull away for their first Finals title.

The Eagles (26-3) were within 34-33 during the waning seconds of the third quarter, but Lincoln junior guard Markus Blackwell went to work. He hit a pair of 3-pointers, a layup and two free throws over a four-minute stretch to up his team’s lead to 47-39 with three minutes to go.

Blackwell has his own theory on playing Grand Rapids Christian a second time. If the teams' first meeting showed anything, it's that Warren Lincoln (24-4) – which then won 13 of 15 games after downing the Eagles the first time – had to play well inside.

"We knew what they can do and that was stopping their big man, but what we do best is play defense," he said.

"I was locked in offensively because you have to score to win. My teammates put me in a position to score, I just had to make the shots."

Blackwell finished with 24 points, including hitting 4-of-5 3-point attempts. Moses Blackwell added 12 points.

Jaylan Ouwinga had 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks and three steals for Grand Rapids Christian. Malachi Hooser had 14 points for the Eagles.

Grand Rapids Christian shot just 34.9 percent (15 of 43) from the floor this time, missing 13 of 15 3-point tries. Warren Lincoln also held a 53-39 rebounding edge.

Abes players raise their championship trophy."We knew they had the one-two punch with the (Blackwell) brothers, and they have others who can shoot," Eagles coach Eric Taylor said. "We cut the lead and had to weather the storm. I thought at the end of the third quarter and going into the fourth we were in good position. They went to a zone, and we went a little stagnant."

Lincoln coach Wydell Henry said going to a zone was risky but paid off.

"We don't typically go to zone, we want to press teams,” he said. “We want to turn you over and speed up the game."

The championship game appareance was Lincoln's first. The Eagles were playing in their first Final since 2017.

"They're a big team. We knew that," Henry said. "We beat them in Grand Rapids, which was big. We weren't scared. We just told the kids to stick it out."

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Warren Lincoln’s Moses Blackwell (0) soars into the lane as Grand Rapids Christian’s Jaylan Ouwinga (32) attempts to block his path Saturday night at Breslin Center. (Middle) Ouwinga gets a hand up as Lincoln’s Markus Blackwell looks for an opening. (Below) Abes players raise their championship trophy. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)