BOYS BASKETBALL: Burrick, Rochester Hills Christian stand tall during improbable week capped with MACS state title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
CLARKSTON — Standing only 5-foot-7, Deven Burrick is often one of the smallest players on the basketball court.
He’s quite used to it.
On Saturday, he was the one standing on top of the world.
The senior guard from Rochester Hills Christian scored a game-high 21 points with four steals in leading the fourth-seeded Eagles to a 45-36 victory over second-ranked Davison Faith Baptist in the Association of Christian Schools Division I state finals at Clarkston Springfield Christian.
“Honestly we have great coaches and a great team and guys that want to win,” offered Burrick. “We had a rough patch this season with some tough losses and we were down (in the last three tournament games), but we fought back to win.
“We had the same mentality as we had (two years ago) with that never give up attitude,” said Burrick. “It’s just the mentality coming into a game that we have to win and do whatever it takes.”
The state title was the second in three years for Rochester Hills Christian and fifth overall. It capped a week that saw the Eagles rally back from a 34-9 first-half deficit to Saline Washtenaw Christian and earn a 70-66 victory in the state quarterfinals, and fought back for a 46-45 road upset Friday night of top-ranked Temperance Stateline Christian when junior forward Ethan Suciu swished a rare three-pointer with 8.5 seconds left to give the Eagles the win.
“We have smart leaders, great character guys on the team, and players the never, ever stop fighting,” said veteran Rochester Hills Christian coach Jon Bronsing. “Doesn’t matter how down we get, we always believe we can come back and win. This is one of the best Cinderella runs I can remember at our school.
“Our guys never, ever gave up and we were able to come back and win that state quarterfinal game after being down 25, and to come back and beat No. 1 Stateline at their place — and that is a tough place to win and they are a great team — and still have enough left to win it all today against Davison, who beat us twice in the regular season,” continued Bronsing. “We’ve won four state titles since I’ve been here, we’ve lost in the finals (four times) and won 11 league championships since I’ve been coach, but we’ve never had an improbable week like this one. Even though we are very young with only one senior able to play, these guys have really grown up this season and we never gave up. They refused to lose. Even with all of the injuries we’ve had, and all of those close losses, they stepped up when it matter most.”
Burrick, who came off the bench as a freshman and is a
three-year starter, scored 13 points in the first half, where the Eagles overcame an eight-point deficit to take a 20-19 lead at the half. He sat for a period of 3 minutes and 18 seconds of the fourth quarter due to a deep cut on the chin just below the bottom lip that forced medial attention and a jersey change.
“I love coaching (Burrick). What I love about him is that even though a game might not be going right way, we can talk and he listens, and he immediately corrects it,” said Bronsing. “He’s a smart player and leader who gave a great performance (in his final high school game).”
During his absence from the 6:02 mark of the fourth quarter until the clock stood with 2:44 left in the contest, his teammates picked up the slack with both teams scoring only four points while forcing four turnovers during that stretch.
Not bad for a team with only two seniors, including one who was in street clothes with an ankle injury, and a starting lineup that boats three sophomores, one junior and one senior and no players over 6-foot-2.
“This is one of the younger teams we’ve had here,” added Bronsing. “They accomplished something that most teams didn’t think we could accomplish.”
Davison Faith Baptist defeated Rochester Hills Christian twice in the regular season — posting a 38-36 victory on Jan. 4 that included a late game-winning three-pointer and also recorded a 55-54 overtime win on Jan. 28. Faith Baptist also captured the Wolverine Christian Conference Red Division league title with a perfect 8-0 record during the regular season.
The third time was the charm for unheralded Rochester Hills Christian (11-7), which endured a rebuilding campaign with multiple injuries and a five-game losing streak in the middle of the season before going on an improbable streak in the final week of the postseason.
Rochester Hills blanketed Davison Faith’s backcourt throughout, forcing the favored Eagles into a season-high 25 turnovers and a torrid 34.9 shooting night (15-for-43) from the floor. Faith Baptist also connected on just 1-of-10 three-point attempts and sank only 5-of-11 free throws in the contest.
“Our two best players were in four trouble in the first half and second half and that obviously hurt us,” offered Davison Faith coach Derek Wood, whose team lost in the MACS Division I finals last season in overtime to Midland Calvary Baptist. “I thought their defense was a huge difference. We had two very close games with them this season. This time they caused us to turn the ball over way too much and we had a trouble making shots. It’s rough because we lost here (in the finals) in overtime last year and came up short again this year.”
Rochester Hills Christian captured MACS Division I state crowns in 2011, 2012, 2019 and 2021 under Bronsing. The school also won a MACS Division II title back in 1993.
It marked Rochester Hills Christian’s eighth appearance in the MACS state finals in 10 years. The Eagles lost to eventual champion Midland Calvary Baptist last season in the state semifinals.
Junior forward Tyler Reid added seven points, sophomore guard Evan Patton had four points and five assists and junior forward Cameron Coury followed with five points and four rebounds for Rochester Hills Christian. The visiting Eagles finished 20-for-45 from the floor (44.5 percent), 3-for-7 from the foul line and only 2-for-9 from three-point range in the defensive battle.
Despite foul trouble, junior guard Carter Burton netted a team-high 16 points with six rebounds and three steals for Faith Baptist. Senior forward Stephen Fike (6-foot-2) chipped in with five points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks before fouling out, while freshman guard Zechariah Gartrelle recorded four points, five assists and four rebounds for Davison Fatih Baptist.
After tailing 9-8 in the first quarter, Faith Baptist went on 11-2 run to take 19-11 advantage when Gartrelle converted a lay-up with 3:31 to go in the second quarter. The last time Davison led in the game came with 7:22 to go in the third quarter following a short-range jumper from Fike.
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