A last-second shot in regulation to tie the game and a go-ahead layup in overtime kept the Onsted boys basketball team from reaching the Division 3 state semifinals.

Flint Elite, also known as Flint New Standard Academy, earned a 55-53 win against Onsted in the Division 3 quarterfinals at Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti on March 10.

It was not the ending that Onsted coach Brad Maska envisioned, but the Wildcats still surpassed expectations this season.

Onsted graduated its entire starting lineup last year, so Maska did not know what to expect from his Wildcats, but those players not only stepped up, but also moved forward. 

“Our 2025–26 season was a special one for our program,” Maska said. “From the start of November, the group set high expectations for themselves, and they worked every day to live up to those goals.”

Onsted set a school record for most wins in a season with 24 wins in 27 games. The athletes also captured their fifth straight Lenawee County Athletic Association championship, a new league record, and managed their third Division 3 district title in five years. 

“Early in the season, we were still figuring out roles, but by the end, we were playing our best basketball defensively and sharing the ball offensively,” said Maska, noting his players’ growth throughout the year as key to their year-end success.

“This group showed toughness and resilience all season long,” Maska said. “They bought into playing defense, rebounding, and trusting one another.”

Mason Chesser showed consistency throughout the season, scoring and rebounding, and played a huge role in our success, Maska said. Cole Wells provided leadership and scoring. Bryson Sutherland impacted games with his defense, rebounding, and rim protection, while Rylan Henagan ran the offense and kept the team organized throughout the season.

“We had several players step up in big ways this season, but our seniors were the guys that led this group,” Maska said.

Maska said younger players had their moments, and he expects them to take on more leadership roles next season. 

“We also saw great growth from younger players like Bryce Adams, Sean Symington, Jacob Hill, Carter Gillean, Trey Wagner, and Justus Cunningham,” Maska said.

“It was a special moment for our players, our school, and our community because it was the program’s first regional title since 1983,” Maska said of Onsted’s 42-40 win over Ecorse in the regional final. 

“Seeing the players celebrate together after all the work they put in throughout the season is something I’ll never forget,” Maska said. “I’m extremely proud of how our players developed both individually and as a team.”

Addison grows in camaraderie: Regardless of a 2-21 record, Addison fared much better toward the end of the season than at the beginning.

“The camaraderie for this year’s team was special,” Addison coach Sam Wozniak said. “These young men played for each other night in and night out. 

“By the end of the season, we played some of the best teams in the Cascades Conference down to the wire,” Wozniak added. “This speaks to their characters because we got whooped by most of the good teams earlier in the season.”

Senior Quincy Smith averaged nearly 20 points per game, and members of the team hit big shots all year, Wozniak said. As for next season, he said he expects Logan Jewell, Andrew Pratt, and Andrew Huston to take over the leadership roles.

Seniors Smith, Braylin Klein, Austin Wilson, and Blake Newman were exceptional leaders, Wozniak said.

Maples rack up some big wins: Adrian recorded huge wins during the season over state-ranked opponents at the time. The Maples defeated New Haven (71-49), Onsted (50-46), and Battle Creek Pennfield (75-65), where Jaxson Francis had a career-high 38 points, and Calvin Polley set a school record with 15 assists in the Pennfield win. 

The team finished 16-8 and fourth in the Southeastern Conference White Division.

“We had some big wins this year,” said coach Jordan Kelly. 

“We didn’t accomplish all of our goals, but we went 16-8 with a team that only had three returners from last year’s team,” said Kelly, whose team dropped a 60-53 decision to Michigan Center in the Division 2 district final. “I was proud of how the team improved throughout the season, and a lot of young players got valuable experience for next year.”

Francis averaged 26.7 points per game and received first-team all-SEC honors for the second year in a row, while Polley and Lamont McKinney were all-SEC honorable mention.

“This year’s seniors really stepped up to the challenge of leading a brand new team,” said Kelley, whose team will return nine players next season. “They were our emotional and our statistical leaders pretty much every game. I am proud of what they did this year. We had four sophomores who were in our main rotation, and they had great years.”

“A ton of growth” for Blissfield squad: Blissfield finished its season with a 14-10 record and placed fourth in the always tough LCAA with an 8-6 mark. 

“I thought there was a ton of growth by our players this season,” said Blissfield coach David DeVantier, whose team fell to Manchester in the Division 3 district semifinals, 65-56. “Having underclassmen play against juniors and seniors each night can be challenging, but the guys were up to the task and worked hard. We had some seniors that really stepped up and helped. We improved as the year went on, which is most important.”

DeVantier cited a week in February where the Royals excelled against two quality league opponents, posting a 79-71 win over Hillsdale on Feb. 10 and a 109-61 Senior Night win over Hudson on Feb. 13. “That is when I thought we really started playing our best basketball,” DeVantier said.

Senior Skyler Kimple earned first-team all-LCAA honors and scored a team-best 15.8 points per game. Sophomore Noah Sills received all-LCAA honorable mention. Junior Kaleb Stutzman and freshman Cezar Casanova each made 52 three-pointers for the Royals.

A building year for Patriots: Britton Deerfield capped a 10-14 season with a fifth-place showing in the Tri-County Conference under first-year coach Robert Burciaga.

“Our expectations are to make good basketball players and great young men. Do I think that we accomplished that? Yes,” said Burciaga, whose team fell to Lenawee Christian in the Division 4 district semifinals. “That is the standard, and we plan to build from that with league and district titles.”

A thrilling 65-64 win over East Jackson highlighted the Patriots’ season as assistant coach Austin Burciaga drew up a great play, Burciaga said. Senior Liem Roe hit Alex Anspach for the game-winning shot at the buzzer. 

Anspach set a school record with 26 rebounds in a single game and 331 rebounds in a season for.

“Our seniors led the way and adapted very well to a different coaching style,” Burciaga said of Anspach, Roe, Adam Scheurer, and Julyan Day. 

Clinton copes with adversity: Coach Andrew Davis knew his Clinton team would be young as he led them into the 2025-26 season, but in addition, significant injuries forced him into constant lineup changes.

“We knew that we were very young coming into the season and that we really only had two athletes that had significant varsity experience,” Davis said. “Most of our athletes were incoming freshmen or sophomores that played JV last year.”

Clinton, which finished 3-21 and eighth in the LCAA, ousted Sand Creek in the first round of the Division 3 districts, 57-48, but fell to Onsted in the semifinals, 40-28.

“This was a defining moment for our players and community because it was a representation of the perseverance and grit that our boys had,” said Davis, who felt the tournament games and a regular-season win over Hudson stood out. “They could have allowed their record to define them, but they didn’t, and they competed as hard as they could and gave Onsted everything they had.”

Louie Della Badia, Zeke Turner, and Noah Reid contributed valuable minutes on the court throughout the season for Davis, and their performances did not go unnoticed.

“Despite our record, I do think that we got significantly better as a team throughout the season,” Davis said.

Tigers fight despite injuries: Injuries slowed Hudson through much of the regular season, but the Tigers found their rhythm as they entered postseason play.

“We battled injuries this year, which really hurt us from finding any kind of consistency for the season,” said Jeff Webster, whose team finished 10-14 and sixth in the LCAA. “We finally had our full lineup going into districts.”

After a Division 3 opening round win over Addison, Hudson dropped a heartbreaker to Jonesville in triple overtime, 89-84.

“Even though we lost that game, I was proud of how the kids battled to the very end,” Webster said, citing strong play from junior Qwaden Wallace, who led Hudson in scoring and assists, along with second- and third-leading scorers Carter Kirkland and Jackson Kast, both juniors. “All three of those players will be back for us next year.”

Salenbien sets new scoring record during strong LCS season: Lenawee Christian senior Jaxon Salenbien concluded his stellar four-year career as Lenawee County’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Adrian’s Stevie Elam and scoring a county-best 2,128 points. He also set new Cougar records in career points and assists.

Salenbien and fellow senior Dan Scrupsky led LCS to its third straight TCC championship, sharing it this season with Whiteford.

The Cougars (16-8) dropped a hard-fought 73-67 contest to Summerfield in the Division 4 district final. But that does not diminish the strong season, coach Matt Summer said.

“This year’s team showed incredible character and growth over the course of the season,” Summer said. 

Junior Drew Kirkendall and freshman Dante Mathews had important games for LCS throughout the year, and Summer said he expects good things from them next year.

“We had a mix of some talented youth and some experienced veterans,” Summer said. “It took some time to establish roles and build chemistry. We had some very tough games, and the guys bought into the process, embraced their roles, and played connected basketball.”

Madison finishes 14-9: Despite a 14-9 record and a second-place finish in the LCAA at 11-3, Madison did not meet the standards set by its coach, Erik Thompson.

“We performed below expectations this year,” admitted Thompson, whose team was challenged against tough non-league opponents early in the season. “We did see growth with some of our juniors and expect big things from them next year.”

Junior Elijah Hiatt led Madison in scoring and was second in steals and assists, and he earned first-team all-LCAA honors. Junior Derrell Tillman led the Trojans in rebounds and steals and was second in scoring, and he received second-team all-LCAA honors. 

The Trojans fell to Michigan Center in the Division 2 district semifinals, a 74-69 overtime loss.

A midseason transition for Morenci: Interim coach Chuck Harsh took over the Morenci program early in the 2025-26 season after a coaching change. 

“After I took over, I wanted to work on team chemistry and get the team to play as one solid unit,” said Harsh, who feels he accomplished that goal. “We had some really good moments and showed steady growth throughout the season.”

The Bulldogs finished 4-17 and placed sixth in the TCC. They fell to Britton Deerfield 69-49 in the opening round of Division 4 district play.

Morenci had a challenging season, but beating TCC rival Sand Creek twice highlighted the regular season, Harsh said.

Senior Talan Kruse stood out as the team’s leading scorer and rebounder during the season. Harsh expects juniors Jonas Castillo and Landon Wilkins to lead the Bulldogs and become huge parts of the team next season.

Strong growth for Sand Creek:  Injuries and lineup changes throughout the season hindered Sand Creek, but coach Josh Sutherland said once players returned, the team showed improvement.

“We really clicked in February and started passing the ball well, rebounding much better, and playing stiffer defense,” Sutherland said. “We fell short of expectations, but our growth was exponential.”

The Aggies ended their season with a 4-18 record, finishing seventh in the TCC and dropping a 57-48 decision to Clinton in the opening round of the Division 3 district. 

But there were positives through the season, including a comeback win over Summerfield on Homecoming en route to a 62-60 win. The Aggies scored 12 points in under a minute to earn a 2-point win. Andon Sutherland netted seven of the final points. He recorded a game-saving steal to secure the win, while Parker Strahan, Grady Hazelwood, Gavin Eack, and Landon Carmody contributed to the comeback effort.

“It’s the tenacity I promised the community that we would bring back.  The guys have bought into that and won’t stop playing until the buzzer has gone off, no matter what the score looks like,” Sutherland said. 

Andon Sutherland, a senior, earned second-team all-TCC honors and hit 37 three-pointers, while the junior Eack added 30 three-pointers and earned all-TCC honorable mention.

Tecumseh grows over course of the season: Tecumseh finished with an 11-12 record and took fifth in the SEC, but coach Jamison Webster praised his team for its growth, especially among the young players. 

“We grew as the season went on,” Webster said. “We had a ton of young kids playing meaningful minutes early in the year. As we got later in the year, you could see them play with more poise and confidence, resulting in some big wins for us down the stretch.”

Despite a season-ending 39-28 loss to Madison in the Division 2 opening round of the tournament, Webster said he hopes this season motivates the younger players to get even better as they prepare for next season. 

Seniors Charlie Palmer and Lamar Longabaugh played well and were consistent all year long for Tecumseh. “They scored the ball at an efficient rate and were two guys we really leaned on to score the ball for us all season,” Webster said.