A popular notion this season was that boys basketball was “down” in Macomb County.
Nonetheless, New Haven and De La Salle helped make it a historically significant campaign.
The Rockets, who won a county-record fourth consecutive regional championship, lost to Grand Rapids Catholic Central in a state Class B semifinal game at the Breslin Center in East Lansing on Friday night.
Earlier in the day, De La Salle was defeated by Clarkston in a Class A semifinal.
It was the first time since 2007, and only the second time ever, that two county teams made semifinal appearances in the same year.
Parkway Christian (Class D) and De La Salle were semifinalists in 2007.
New Haven has had a historical impact on county basketball regardless of how weekend games play out.
The Rockets became the first county team since Lake Shore in 1993 and 1994 to play in consecutive semifinals. The Shorians, who won the Class B crown in 1994, were the first team from the county to play in back-to-back semifinals.
New Haven took a 52-game winning streak into its contest against Grand Rapids CC. That’s a county record.
The Rockets improved to 26-0 this season with a quarterfinal victory over Bridgeport on Tuesday.
They won their final 26 games of 2016-17, culminating with winning the second state championship in county history.
Four county schools have played in state championship games: New Haven, Lake Shore, Eastland (1949) and South Lake (1931).