Carson Desrosiers scored 20 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and added nine blocked shots as Central Catholic won its Division I state semifinal 59-50 over Madison Park on Monday night at Boston's TD Bank Garden.

Trey Zeigler lead all scorers with 34 points and added nine rebounds and three steals in Mt. Pleasant's 69-62 Class A district opening win over Midland Dow on Monday.

Meyers Leonard finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and five blocks in Robinson's 81-60 Springfield Super Sectional win over St. Teresa on Tuesday.

Deshaun Thomas scored 34 points on 13-of-29 shooting and added nine rebounds but it wasn't enough as Bishop Luers fell to Southwood 70-68 on Saturday morning in the semifinals of the Tipton regional.

Tyler Lamb added 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists as Mater Dei cruised by Rancho Verde 80-48 on Thursday night in a CIF Division I quarterfinal.

Josh Smith scored 22 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and handed out five assists as Kentwood captured the Class 4A state championship on Saturday with a 67-58 win over Jackson on Saturday. Josh Smith also finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks as Kentwood advanced to the Class 4A finals with a 57-44 win over Wilson on Friday. Josh Smith scored 23 points and added 15 rebounds as Kentwood advanced to the state semifinals with a 78-57 rout of Eastlake on Thursday.

Tony Mitchell scored 25 points and grabbed 20 rebounds as Pinkston stormed back from a 14-point second half deficit to knock off Dallas Lincoln 61-60 in overtime on Monday.

Ray McCallum, a McDonald's All America, had a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as Detroit Country Day thumped Arthur Hill (Saginaw), 84-61 Saturday.

Branden Dawson scored 26 points collected 12 rebounds and grabbed 4 steals as Gary Lew Wallace (IN) rolled past Hammond (IN) on Friday night.

Mike Shaw scored 31 points collected 14 rebounds and blocked 4 shots as De La Salle (IL) defeated Morton (IL) 79-69 in overtime on Wednesday.

When it was over - when Orlando (Fla.) Christian Prep had won the Florida Class 1A title with a 59-54 triumph in Lakeland, Fla.- head coach Reggie Kohn acted as if his team had done this all before.

Maybe it was because they had.

"We did what we wanted to do" he said. "The guys executed our game plan perfectly."


Sunshine Celebration
Orlando Christian Prep knocked off Arlington Country Day to win the state title. Check out the photo gallery from our media partner OrlandoSentinel.comWith it, came the school's third straight state title. This one, however, may have been the most special as it prevented Jacksonville (Fla.) Arlington Country Day from capturing an unprecedented sixth straight state title.
"We had to take care of the ball, rebound at the defensive end, and know who to guard and who to back off of," Kohn explained - again sounding as if they had done this all before.

Maybe it was because they had.

Back on Dec. 12, Orlando Christian Prep, No. 72 in the latest RivalsHigh Top 100, held on for a surprising 49-47 victory over No. 63 Arlington Country Day. Of course, most in attendance Thursday afternoon thought Arlington's size and experience would prove to be too much this time around.

It certainly looked that way in the opening 75 seconds as Arlington raced out to a 7-0 lead. But Orlando Christian Prep, guided by Kohn, did just what it needed and used an 11-2 run to end the quarter up, 13-9.

Orlando Christian increased its lead to 21-15 at halftime and then extended it to 35-22 in the third.

Five-time champions do not go down easily though.

Arlington Country Day cut it to 38-30 through three quarters, then cut it to 39-38. The teams battled until Orlando showed its strength from the line down the stretch. Ahead just 45-44, Orlando scored five straight points to extend the lead to 50-44. Then it was just a matter of hanging on.

You know, acting as if it had done this sort of thing before.

"We stayed poised when they made their run in the final quarter and responded," Kohn said. "I couldn't be more proud of a group of guys."

Jordan Montgomery led the way with 14 points; Adonis Burbage contributed 12 and Isaac Cohen scored 11. Orlando Christian Prep finishes the season 28-4.

John Brown led Arlington Country Day (23-6) with 18 points; Chris Blunt and Shawn Smith each added nine. This time, though, it wasn't quite enough.

"It has been a great run with a great group of kids that have come thru here," Arlington coach Rex Morgan said. "OCP did a good job of keeping us off the offensive glass. We played in foul trouble the whole game and had to stay in zone more than we wanted. Also, of our 20 turnovers, I'd say 15 were unforced."

Morgan praised Orlando, too.

"Give all the credit to OCP; they did a great job," he said. "We just have to start a new run."

Rick Staudt of FlaVarsity.com contributed to this report.

ROMULUS - Michigan's top two teams met Thursday night to close out the regular season in dramatic fashion. In front of a sellout crowd of more than 2,000 fans that included coaches from many of the top programs in the country, No. 2 Romulus (Michigan) High (No. 60 in the most recent RivalsHigh Top 100 boys basketball rankings) edged No. 1 Beverly Hills (Mich.) Country Day (No. 25 in the RivalsHigh 100), 56-54, thanks to a Justin Moss layup with three seconds remaining.
"I think this is one of the most unselfish teams I ever had," Romulus head coach Nate Oats said. "As far as moving the ball and making the extra pass, which we did, we had to make shots at the end and we did."

The Eagles seemed to start the game with a little more energy than Country Day as they jumped out to an 18-12 lead after the first quarter. As would be the story of the game, Romulus was able to get in the middle of the Country Day man-to-man defense via the dribble weave and kick it to open shooters who were spotting up on the arc. Romulus connected three times in the opening quarter from distance including back-to-back 3-pointers from Marcus Trent and another from Derrick Stewart.

"When we played them in the past they played a lot of zone against us. I thought we would see more zone than we did tonight," Oats said. "When they did go zone, we hit threes, which tends to make you not want to go zone."

Country Day (18-2) responded in the second quarter to take a 29-28 lead into the break. Romulus started to cool down from the outside, leading to empty possessions and Country Day transitions. The Yellow Jackets would tie the game at 22-22 at the 4:30 mark thanks to a Carter Elliot basket off an assist from Ray McCallum. Two free throws from Lee Bailey a minute later gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the game at 26-24. McCallum finished the first half with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.

The intensity of the game was heightened in the second half as both teams knew it would be a battle to the end. It was a see-saw contest through the third as Romulus would reclaim a slim 41-40 advantage heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter belonged to Stewart and Moss as they brought the inside-outside attack that eventually helped Romulus down the stretch. Despite shooting 2-of-6 from behind the arc in the first half, Stewart found his stroke in the second half, hitting 4-of-5 from distance. Meanwhile, Moss would seal the Eagle win by scoring the final six points of the game including the game-winning layup with just three seconds to play.

"We just dug too many holes for ourselves," Country Day head coach Kurt Keener said. "We missed too many free throws early on and we allowed them to get some real good wide-open looks at the threes in the second half."

Country Day finished the game 8-of-15 from the free throw line. McCallum and Williams combined to shoot just 2-of-9.

Stewart finished 6-of-11 from the arc and led Romulus with 20 points. Moss, who missed the last two games due to a bruised knee, posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. DeAndray Buckley played a solid all-around game and contributed 11 points.

With the win, Romulus (19-1) broke the school record for most wins in a season. That record was previously held by the 1986 team (18-2) led by Terry Mills.



Amir Williams was not at his best against Romulus
Moss, who was giving up three to four inches in height to Amir Williams, played a physical game which seemed to make Williams uncomfortable in the paint.

"What Romulus lacks in size, they've got a big body in Justin Moss," Keener said. "He kept that body on Amir all night long and they did a great job with their back-side rotation. There were very few times where Amir was able to catch the ball with just one man on him."

McCallum, who didn't have his best game, shot 2-for-5 from the charity stripe and finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, but also had five turnovers including two crucial offensive fouls late in the fourth that kept Romulus in the ball game. Williams was pretty much non-existent on the night and finished with eight points, seven rebounds, three blocks and shot 0-for-4 from the line.

"This is a good test for us," McCallum said. "We haven't played in a hostile environment like this in a while. The last time we did we lost to Kalamazoo Central, and it just shows us that we need more work and executing when the gym gets loud."

Despite the loss, Country Day will still be the favorites in the Class-B tournament as it looks to capture its first title since 2007. The Yellow Jackets will be in the Clawson District and open with Madison Heights Lamphere at 5 p.m. Monday.

Romulus, meanwhile, will head into the Class-A tournament as the top-ranked team in the state. It will be in the Wayne Memorial District and will play Westland John Glenn at 8 p.m. Monday.

Bryan Everson contributed to this report.Rivals

(Player Of The Week) Brandon Knight exploded for 47 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and six steals as Pine Crest cruised by Belle Glade 99-69 in a Region 4-3A semifinal on Tuesday.

Deshaun Thomas exploded for 38 points and 17 rebounds in Bishop Luers' 116-64 rout of North Side on Friday in the SportsCenter Hoops Classic.

Bryce Jones scored 27 points and added nine rebounds, three steals and two assists in Taft's 81-60 win over Crenshaw in a City Section Division I semifinal Friday. Bryce Jones poured in 26 and grabbed 11 rebounds on Wednesday.

Gerard Coleman finished with 31 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as Tilton rolled by Proctor 90-65.

Travis McKie finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds in John Marshall's 93-68 rout of Monacan Tuesday in a Central Region tournament matchup.

Another big win, another scoring record for the Houston (Texas) Yates boys basketball team.


No. 1 Yates recorded its 11th consecutive 100-point game on Friday night.
The team, No. 1 in the RivalsHigh boys basketball Top 100 rankings, set a Texas state record with its 11th straight game over 100 points in its 104-48 victory over Friendswood (Texas) High Friday night.

Amazingly, it was the 17th time in 18 games the school has hit the century mark - and the one miss (it only had 94) created a controversy as some felt it was fouling at the end of the game to reach it.

Yates coach Greg Wise has said all year that titles - not point totals - are the team's only goal. It wants to be recognized as the best.

Friendswood coach Darren Chandler thinks they are - and he's just not talking this season.

"That may be the best team ever, in any classification, bar none," he told The Houston Chronicle.

Friendswood actually gave Yates a game. For a bit. It was within 13-12 late in the first quarter before Yates closed the period with a 13-0 run to take a 26-12 lead. The run went nine more unanswered points in the second as Yates put the game out of reach at 35-12.

Senior guard Joseph Young, headed to Providence, did a lot of the damage, scoring 38 points in the game.

Yates still has hopes for an unbeaten season and a No. 1 national ranking. The chance for two undefeated state champions at the school ended Friday night though.

The Yates girls team suffered its first loss, falling to Del Valle (Texas) High, 53-37. Rivals

The Henderson International School, a small private institution located out on the outskirts of Las Vegas serving more than 100 kids from preschool to 12th grade, announced Friday it will close the doors on its high school next season due to financial difficulties.

What happens to its nationally-ranked and controversial boys basketball team - Findlay Prep - remains to be seen.


FindlayPrep.com
Tristan Thompson, headed to Texas, is the No. 17 overall prospect in the Class of 2010.

"I'm very confident with the strong interest that key people have in keeping it going," head coach Mike Peck said Sunday night. "I'm very confident that it will continue."

The Findlay Prep basketball team is the brainchild of local car dealer Cliff Findlay, a former University of Nevada Las Vegas basketball player who has provided the financial backing for the team since it was created four years ago.

The team, made up of players from across the country, does not belong to any high school association and follows its own rules, traveling the country to play games.

The school has lost just a handful of games in its history and was the undisputed and undefeated national champion last season.

This year's team features two of the Top 20 players nationally according to the Rivals rankings for the Class of 2010. The team is 27-2; the first defeat snapped a 45-game winning streak. It is ranked No. 12 in the latest RivalsHigh Top 100 boys basketball rankings.

The team has seemingly been a lightning rod for controversy since its inception - and certainly since a Sports Illustrated profile titled "March Madness Comes to High School Sports" brought it into the national spotlight. The program's creation and success was selected as one of the ten biggest boys high school stories of 2009 by RivalsHigh.

Critics say the team is merely a group of amateur basketball players, one that lives together and does a lot of their academic work through correspondence because of their heavy travel schedule (the school has played teams from 13 states and one foreign country this season). It has been called the ultimate basketball factory.

Proponents say it is providing a service that traditional high school can not: An intensive learning environment for top high school athletes. They see it is no different than schools created to serve those outstanding in the arts.

They also say the players - each of which is given a laptop - have excelled in the classroom.

A story in The Sun earlier last week - before the announcement of the closing was made - noted that 17 graduating seniors have been academically qualified to compete in college, based on grades in 16 core classes and standardized tests - something many traditional high schools are unable to accomplish.


FindlayPrep.com
Cory Joseph is the No. 7 overall player in the Class of 2010.

"I'm the first one to say the credit has to go to the guys," Peck told the paper. "I'm not the one taking the tests."

Peck told The Sun that kids who don't their schoolwork don't last.

"The kids have to be self-motivated," Peck said. "If you don't do the work and if you don't study, guess what, you aren't going to qualify."

Tuition at the school ranges from $15,000-$18,000, but Megan Hakes - a spokesperson for the Meritas Schools, an organization Henderson joined in 2005 - told the Las Vegas Journal-Review that many students do not, and can not, pay that rate.

"We have an increasing number of parents who either can't afford to pay full tuition or any tuition at all," Hakes told the paper.

Dropping the high school part of the school, she said, was a last resort.

"It was something the company studied for quite some time," Hakes told the paper. "When it became perfectly clear the high school would not be sustainable, we made the decision and informed our students, our families and our faculty."

The word came from school head Brian Siegel, who told the faculty, students and their parents late in the day on Friday.

"Despite years of intense efforts to raise enrollment and improve operations, the serious economic challenges facing our community have taken their toll," Siegel said in a letter.

"This decision came after much thoughtful consideration," he wrote. "The extreme economic challenges facing Las Vegas - including record number of foreclosures, high unemployment, and relocation of many families out of the area - have taken their toll on many Henderson families and also resulted in lower demand for our high school."

Findlay Prep's regular season has concluded. It will spend the next month preparing for the ESPN National High School Invitational in Washington in early April. The team won the inaugural tournament last spring.

From there, it's unclear what will happen.

Peck said the Findlay Education Foundation could support another existing school or opt to start a new school.

"I know there are and continue to be more options for us," he said. "It's just what's going to be the best economic model. That's what's going to have to be determined by us." Rivals