Blog Archives - NEW HAVEN BASKETBALL

NEW HAVEN BASKETBALL

New Haven Boys Moves to Number #2 in the State of Michigan in Class B in the New (AP) Associated Press Poll

1/27/2015

The top 10 teams in the Michigan Associated Press high school basketball poll, with records in parentheses. Totals are based on 15 points for a first-place vote, 14 for second,etc.:

The votes are based on the polling of a select committee of media members from around the state.

Class A
School (First-place votes) (Record) Points
1. Detroit Western International (5) (10-0) 75
2. East Kentwood (9-0) 68
3. Muskegon (9-1) 65
4. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (9-0) 59
T-5. Saginaw Arthur Hill (9-2) 52
T-5. Clarkston (11-0) 52
7. Detroit U-D Jesuit (9-1) 46
8. North Farmington (11-0) 41
9. Kalamazoo Central (11-0) 37
10. Grand Ledge (9-0) 29
Others receiving 13 or more votes: Lansing Everett (9-2) 14.

Class B
School (First-place votes) (Record) Points
1. Milan (3) (8-2) 79
2. New Haven (10-0) 74
3. Yale (2) (11-0) 73
4. Wyoming Godwin Heights (1) (8-1) 71
5. Flint Northwestern (9-0) 62
6. Wayland (7-2) 52
7. Detroit Henry Ford (10-2) 50
8. Goodrich (10-1) 46
9. Otsego (9-2) 36
10. Alma (7-1) 33
Others receiving 12 or more votes: Battle Creek Harper Creek (9-1) 29, Benton Harbor (8-3) 29, Frankenmuth (8-1) 17.

Class C
School (First-place votes) (Record) Points
1. Flint Beecher (3) (8-1) 71
2. Beaverton (2) (10-0) 65
3. Laingsburg (8-0) 64
4. Shelby (9-0) 60
5. Iron Mountain (9-0) 52
6. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (10-0) 48
7. Hillsdale (11-0) 44
8. Millington (9-1) 39
9. Ironwood Luther L Wright (11-0) 31
10. East Jordan (6-1) 30
Others receiving 12 or more votes: Vestaburg (8-0) 20, Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian (8-1) 14, Southfield Christian (7-2) 13, McBain (8-1) 12.

Class D
School (First-place votes) (Record) Points
1. Powers North Central (3) (8-0) 73
2. Cedarville (2) (7-0) 71
3. Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (11-0) 64
4. Munising (8-0) 58
5. Allen Park Inter-City Baptist (6-2) 52
6. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (7-1) 47
T-7. Crystal Falls Forest Park (9-1) 37
T-7. Frankfort (7-1) 37
9. Muskegon Catholic Central (8-0) 34
10. Hillman (10-1) 32
Others receiving 12 or more votes: Onekama (8-0) 14, Peck (6-2) 12, Mio Au Sable (8-1) 12, Fulton-Middleton (8-2) 12.

Dmonta Harris take MLive.com Detroit Player of the Week honors

1/27/2015

Dmonta Harris

www.mlive.com
MLive Detroit Slam Dunk for Jan. 27

By Jared Purcell | japurcell@mlive.com
on January 27, 2015 2:20 PM, updated January 27, 2015 2:34 PM

Each week, we'll honor MLive Detroit area basketball players and a coach for their efforts during the prior week.

Girls Player of the Week: Erika Davenport, Sr., Clarkston

Davenport, as expected, has been dominant throughout the season so far. In a blowout win over Avondale on Tuesday last week, Davenport had 19 points and nine rebounds. She capped the week on Thursday with a 29-point effort in a crucial 63-60 win over North Farmington.

Boys Player of the Week: Dmonta Harris, Sr., New Haven

Harris has been a threat in nearly every aspect of the game this season. He had 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals in a win over Warren Woods Tower to start last week. He then followed that up with arguably his most dominant performance of the season with 26 points and 20 rebounds in a win over Sterling Heights.

Coach of the Week: Dan Fife, Clarkston boys basketball

Fife is getting this honor for the second week in a row. Why? On Tuesday last week when his undefeated Wolves took on Oak Park, he got his 616th win as a head coach. That number puts him all alone at No. 5 on Michigan's all-time wins list.

He passed Ray Lauwers, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (615-303, 1967-09).

"I was lucky to get 616, to be honest with you," Fife said, who has been coaching at Clarkston since 1983. "I was watching Duke a little bit last night and coach Krzyzewski is getting (win) 999. You know, it's a number but I've weathered the storm through issues to last as long as I have."

He then picked up win 617 as Clarkston defeated Southfield on Friday, 55-39. In his career, Fife is 617-164.

Mick McCabe: New Haven Boys move up to #3 in the Class B Rankings Detroit Free Press

1/26/2015

By Mick McCabe, Detroit Free Press
www.freep.com
@Freep

Class A

RK/SCHOOL REC LW

1. Detroit Western   10-0 1

2. Muskegon 9-1 3

3. GR Forest Hills Central 9-0 4

4. East Kentwood 9-0 2

5. Saginaw Arthur Hill 9-2 5

6. Clarkston 11-0   6

7. U-D Jesuit 9-1 8

8. North Farmington   11-0 10

9. Kalamazoo Central 11-0 --

10. Grand Ledge   9-0 --

Class B

RK/SCHOOL REC LW

1. Milan   8-2 1

2. Wayland 7-2 3

3. New Haven 10-0 6

4. Detroit Henry Ford 11-2 4

5. Wyoming Godwin Heights 8-1 2

6. Otsego 9-2 5

7. Yale 11-0 7

8. Goodrich 11-1 8

9. Flint Northwestern 9-0 10

10. Benton Harbor 8-3 --

Class C

RK/SCHOOL REC LW

1. Flint Beecher 8-1   1

2. Jackson Lumen Christi 8-1   2

3. Monroe St. Mary CC 9-0   3

4. Detroit Loyola 8-2   4

5. GR NorthPointe Christian 8-1   6

6. Shelby 9-0   7

7. Beaverton   10-0   8

8. Laingsburg   8-0 9

9. Hillsdale   11-0   10

10. Southfield Christian 7-2 --

Class D

RK/SCHOOL REC   LW

1. Cedarville 7-0   1

2. Powers North Central 8-0   2

3. Waterford Our Lady 11-0   3

4. Onekama 8-0   4

5. Munising 8-0   7

6. Muskegon Catholic Central   8-0 8

7. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart   7-1   10

8. Hillman   10-1 --

9. Crystal Falls Forest Park   9-1 --

10. Allen Park Inter-City Baptist   6-2 --

Tall New Haven team looks good coming out of the locker room and on the court, too

1/25/2015

Coach Tedaro France II

Tom Markowski
State Champs Sports Network
www.statechampsnetwork.com
@statechampsnet

New Haven – There’s no question that this is the tallest team New Haven has had. What is still to be determined is if this is the best it’s had to offer.

Tedaro France II, a New Haven alum, is in his seventh season as head coach at New Haven and there are times when he’ll start no player under 6-foot-4. That 6-4 player is D’Monta Harris, a senior who averages 23.3 points and 14 rebounds. Harris, a transfer from Waterford Mott, is being recruited by a handful of Division II schools.

“He wants to learn,” France said. “He wants to get better. He’s starting to excel. Teams focus on our bigs so he’s able to get to the glass.”

New Haven’s tallest player is 6-11 junior Innocent Nwoko. Nwoko was born in Nigeria and his first sport was soccer. Nwoko scored 37 goals this past fall but his main sport now is basketball. Nwoko committed to Central Michigan. He’s averaging 8.8 points and five blocks.

Next there’s 6-9 junior Jerry Ben. He averages 10.3 points.

New Haven’s most versatile player is 6-6 senior Austin Sherrell. He averages 15 points and six assists, and is an exceptional ball handler.

Rounding out this group is 6-6 senior Josh Harris (no relation), New Haven’s most athletic player. Harris is the defending Division 3 110-meter high hurdle (14.96) champion and Grand Valley State is recruiting him for both track and basketball.

France said Ben is more “skilled” than Nwoko whom France said is still “raw”.

Naturally teams in the Macomb Area Conference have difficulty matching up with the Rockets. New Haven is 10-0, 5-0 in the MAC Gold Division, and ranked No. 8 in Class B.

The Rockets are averaging 69 points but France said what makes this team so good is their play on the defensive end. New Haven is giving up just 45.1 points.

“We play 10 kids,” France said. “And each has taken at least one charge. With our bigs, you’d think we’d sit back in a zone. But we pressure teams. We wear down teams with our speed and athleticism.”

The book is still out on whether this will be New Haven’s best. In 2012 New Haven reached the Class C quarterfinals before losing to Shelby.

New Haven Rockets soar over Sterling Heights

1/22/2015

Josh Harris

By Kevin Lozon
@MIPrepZoneMD

In terms of height, Sterling Heights and New Haven had their own version of David vs. Goliath when the two teams faced each other in a MAC Gold Division game on Thursday night.

Unfortunately for the smaller Stallions, they couldn't copy David's feat, getting overmatched by the bigger and more athletic Rockets, who easily handled Sterling Heights 83-44.

"We have size and the kids played hard," New Haven coach Tedaro France II said. "We stress playing great team defense and the kids are getting better at it, but we still have a long way to go. I'm proud of the kids because they still want to learn."

Sterling Heights coach Ryan Kay said he knew his team had a monumental task in front of them when they stepped onto the court.

"When you're going against guys who are 6-11 and 6-8, it's tough," Kay said. "Their wings are the problem. If you're boxing out their big guys, their wings are 6-4 and 6-6 and they're crashing the boards. Even when my guys were boxing out, they would just reach out over the top and get the rebound."

The Rockets’ size advantage and athleticism paid dividends from the opening tap, as they got numerous offensive rebounds and putbacks in the opening quarter, racing to a 21-12 lead after eight minutes. Dmonta Harris led the way with eight points, while Austin Sherrell added five points.

New Haven continued its dominance in the second quarter, outscoring the Stallions 20-6 in the period, extending its lead to 41-18 at halftime. Josh Harris led the charge with six points in the period.

"We knew Sterling Heights could shoot the ball and they hit some three-point shots," France said. "We wanted to contest shots and get better with our defensive rotations. We wanted to play a solid, complete game."

The Rockets put the game away in the third quarter, going on a 23-14 spurt, pushing their advantage to 64-32.

Dmonta Harris led New Haven with 26 points, while Sherrell added 19 points, and Innocent Nwoko contributed 10 points off the bench.

"Dmonta's been having a great year for us," France said. "He's a guard, but he rebounds like a post player. He's a smart player who is the first player in the gym and the last one to leave. He's a great talent and great kid to coach."

The win improved New Haven's record to 10-0 overall, 5-0 league. France said he's not taking anything for granted in terms of capturing the division title.

"The MAC Gold the last three or four years has been very good," France said. "It's a tough league and it's very competitive. We just have to prepare ourselves each day for the teams we play."

Sterling Heights was led by Raymond Hermez and Jordan Peoples with 12 points each, while Malot Dushaj contributed seven points.

"Raymond's only a junior and he got cut from the JV team last year," Kay said. "He's always hustling and keeps going. He has one of the best types of attitude that you could look for. We're looking for leaders and he showed that tonight."

Sterling Heights fell to 1-7 overall, 0-3 in the league with the loss.

"We did shoot the ball well tonight," Kay said. "I keep telling people we're young, but we're improving."

Austin Sherrell

New Haven, De La Salle lead county rankings PHOTO GALLERY 1-21-15

1/21/2015

The Macomb Daily Sports Staff
@MIPrepZoneMD

Jan. 21

TIER 1

1. De La Salle (7-3)

2. Dakota (6-2)

3. Chippewa Valley (8-1)

4. Stevenson (6-3)

5. Eisenhower (5-3)

TIER 2

1. New Haven (9-0)

2. Michigan Collegiate (8-2)

3. Mount Clemens (6-2)

4. Richmond (8-2)

5. Lake Shore (6-3)

Tier 1 schools have enrollments of 1,200 or more. Tier 2 schools have enrollments of less than 1,200.

Coach Tedaro France

New Haven Ranks in at 5th in Class B in the latest Associated Press (AP) State Boys Basketball Rankings 1-20-15

1/20/2015

Innocent Nwoko

The top 10 teams in the Michigan Associated Press high school basketball poll, with records in parentheses. Totals are based on 15 points for a first-place vote, 14 for second,etc.:

Class A
School (First-place votes) (Record) Points
1. Detroit Western International (5) (9-0) 75
2. East Kentwood (8-0) 70
3. Muskegon (8-1) 64
4. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (7-0) 59
5. Saginaw Arthur Hill (7-2) 53
6. Clarkston (9-0) 52
7. Detroit U-D Jesuit (6-1) 46
8. North Farmington (9-0) 36
9. Kalamazoo Central (9-0) 31
10. Grand Ledge (7-0) 22
Others receiving 12 or more votes: Romulus (6-3) 22, Ann Arbor Huron (9-1) 15, Lansing Everett (7-2) 14.

CLASS B
School (First-place votes) (Record) Points
1. Milan (4) (7-1) 74
2. Wyoming Godwin Heights (1) (6-0) 62
3. Yale (9-0) 57
4. Detroit Henry Ford (10-1) 56
5. New Haven (9-0) 48
6. Flint Northwestern (6-0) 45
7. Wayland Union (6-1) 38
8. Battle Creek Harper Creek (8-0) 36
T-9. Goodrich (8-1) 30
T-9. Alma (6-0) 30
Others receiving 12 or more votes: Benton Harbor (6-3) 25, Otsego (7-2) 21, Lakeview (8-0) 13, Frankenmuth (6-1) 13.

Class C
School (First-place votes) (Record) Points
1. Beaverton (1) (7-0) 66
2. Flint Beecher (2) (7-1) 64
3. Laingsburg (7-0) 63
4. Millington (9-0) 60
5. East Jordan (2) (5-0) 55
6. Shelby (7-0) 51
7. Iron Mountain (6-0) 46
8. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (8-0) 44
9. Hillsdale (9-0) 31
10. Ironwood Luther L Wright (9-0) 18
Others receiving votes: McBain (6-1) 14.

Class D
School (First-place votes) (Record) Points
T-1. Cedarville (3) (7-0) 72
T-1. Powers North Central (2) (6-0) 72
3. Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (10-0) 66
4. Munising (5-0) 50
5. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (7-1) 46
6. Climax-Scotts (8-0) 44
T-7. Crystal Falls Forest Park (7-1) 40
T-7. Allen Park Inter-City Baptist (4-2) 40
9. Frankfort (5-1) 36
10. Muskegon Catholic Central (6-0) 25
Others receiving votes: Fulton-Middleton (7-1) 22, Peck (6-2) 18, Hillman (8-1) 17, Mio Au Sable (7-0) 15.

Second-Half Blitz Carries New Haven past Warren Woods-Tower PHOTO GALLERY & VIDEO

1/20/2015

John "Johnny Rocket" Galloway

The Macomb Daily Photo Gallery by Nicholas Barry

By Duff Tyler
@MIPrepZoneMD

It likely didn’t register on the Richter scale, but the response to New Haven senior D’Monta Harris’s dunk by the home crowd was enough to shake the gym floor.

The two-handed stuff came late in the fourth quarter of the Rockets’ 49-34 win over Warren Woods-Tower. New Haven moved to 9-0 for the season and retained first place in the MAC Gold.

“It’s amazing in front of a packed home crowd to get a slam,” Harris said. “With as hard as team worked, we needed a boost for our team and our fans in the stands.”

It put the finishing touches on a second half run that started midway through the third quarter. Trailing 26-25, the Rockets (4-0 MAC Gold) outscored the Titans 24-6 and held them to just four field goals in the second half.

“Coach always talks about how important defense is to the game,” New Haven senior John Galloway said.

And it was fitting that dunk from Harris came on a steal. He nabbed the ball with 1:20 to play and the New Haven fans knew what was coming.

“It was a great play and like I tell my team it starts on the defensive end and that came off a steal,” New Haven coach Tedaro France said.

Warren Woods-Tower (2-1, 4-3) lead 19-11 after one quarter as the Titans answered the Rockets’ height advantage with 3-pointers from Andrew Zanetti and Darius Jordan.

Along with Charles Frazier, the trio each had five points at the end of the quarter.

But the Titans were outscored the by Rockets 8-4 in the second frame and held a 22-19 lead at halftime.

“We want to play great team defense,” France said. “And that sparks us on offense. Today, we had a slow first half, but in the second half we came out and played great team defense and we held them to 12 points.”

Galloway scored eight of his 10 points in the second half.

Frazier ended up with a team-high 12 points for the Titans, but after scoring a combined 40 points in his last two games, Jordan was held scoreless from the second period on.

“We rushed in the second half and we didn’t get the looks we wanted,” WWT coach Nick Evola said. “Credit to their defense, they did a great job. We just gave up too many offensive rebounds and put-backs. They built a lead and we just couldn’t make our run.”

Marquis Perkins

Dolan Bonkowski

Austin Sherrell

New Haven beats Madison in MAC Gold opener....Video

1/8/2015

Jerry Ben

Three Rockets post double-doubles

By George Pohly
George.pohly@macombdaily.com; @GPohly on Twitter

Madison coach Matt Ferguson didn’t need a box score to break down New Haven’s one-sided victory over the Eagles.

Josh Harris had 15 points and 10 rebounds and two other Rockets had double figures in points and rebounds, but statistics didn’t tell the story of New Haven’s 72-45 triumph in both teams’ MAC Gold Division boys basketball opener on Thursday, Ferguson said.

“Bottom line is, it’s not about numbers and stats,” Ferguson said. “It’s about intensity. They wanted it more than we did today. Period. It’s all about coming out and wanting it, and they wanted it.”

“They punched us, and we didn’t respond the way we needed to.”

New Haven answered Madison’s best surge of the game, an 8-2 run to start the second half, with a 16-10 run that closed the quarter.

The taller Rockets scored their final three field goals of the third quarter as the 6-foot-6 Harris, junior guard Alante Stevens and junior forward Jerry Ben put back offensive rebounds.

That reestablished the Rockets’ dominance that showed first in the opening quarter as New Haven built leads of 9-3, 14-7 and, finally, 20-10.

“We needed to be ready mentally from the start,” Ferguson said. “They came out with some intensity and got up on us.

“It was like we were in a daze. We didn’t mentally match their intensity.”

Austin Sherrell, a 6-6 senior wing whose role includes bringing the ball upcourt, had 13 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals for New Haven. He also had one of the Rockets’ crowd-pleasing dunks in the second quarter.

Ben had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Dmonta Harris, a 6-4 senior, added 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

New Haven is 6-0 overall.

“It feels great,” Josh Harris said of posting the division-opening victory. “It’s something we’ve worked toward every day.

“It was a real tough game. They came out and played hard, and I appreciated that. They got after it.”

Daniel Feagin scored 14 points and Michael Floyd nine for Madison, which fell to 3-2 overall.

“The MAC Gold is always tough,” Rockets coach Tedaro France said. “Each time you can win a game it’s great. And you’ve got to win your home games.

“We knew this team was scrappy, and that they could play. We’re as hungry as the teams that are going to play us.”

Feagin scored six points in Madison’s third-quarter surge.

“You can win games and lose games by how you start the second half,” France said. “We’ve got to limit teams’ runs.

“The more games we play, the better I think we’ll get at that.”

Innocent Nwoko, a 6-11 junior, had three points and Ben scored off a pass from Stevens as New Haven took a 44-29 lead after Madison had cut the Rockets’ 37-21 halftime lead to 39-29.

The Rockets continued to pull away in the fourth quarter.

Ben’s field goal gave New Haven a 60-40 lead with about six minutes to play, and Josh Harris’ dunk with 4:31 to go put the home team ahead by 22.

New Haven plays at St. Clair and Madison plays host to Lincoln in MAC Gold games Tuesday.