In what could have been a State Title game for the ages, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and East Lansing met in the State Semi-Finals. While Orchard Lake was looking to make it back-to-back titles, East Lansing made it to the Semis for the first time since 2008. Would home cooking help the Trojans of East Lansing, or would the star power of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Eaglets help them get back to the finals?
It would be the home cooking for the Trojans that would help them overtake the overwhelming favorites Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 51-44
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
Out Played
The Eaglets of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s were outplayed in every phase of the game in the semi-finals. While the Eaglets are normally the ones out playing the other teams, they got a taste of their own medicine. The Trojans out-rebounded them by seven, and the Eaglets got outshot by eight percent. One player who wasn’t outplayed was Trey McKenney. McKenney, the top player in the state, put his team on his back in the loss as he wouldn’t go down without a fight, scoring 21 points and pulling in seven of his team’s 25 rebounds.
East Lansing
Home Cooking
East Lansing High School and the Breslin Center are separated by 2 miles, and the hometown feel for the Trojans was on point in the game. Kelvin Torbert would help his team make it to the state finals after dropping 19 points, six rebounds, and two rebounds in what could be considered one of the biggest upsets of the last few years in high school basketball. The last time East Lansing was this close to a state championship was in 1958 when they beat River Rouge 62-51 to win the Class B state title.