The Lansing Everett Vikings will take on the Saginaw Arthur Hill Lumberjacks at the Breslin Center, home of the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing, Michigan. The Vikings and Lumberjacks will square off in the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Class A semi-final game. The winner will play in the championship on Saturday at 12:00 PM EST.
The Vikings come in hot with a 24-2 record and the Lumberjacks look just as good, with a 24-3 record. Both teams have dominant scorers, it will be interesting to see how they attack each other on the offensive side of things.
Lansing Everett is coached by Desmond Ferguson. He has been the head coach of the Vikings for three years and has a 35-33 overall record. Ferguson was 5-16 last season, but his team has made a huge improvement to reach the State Semi-Finals. He is an 11-year professional basketball player, but only played seven NBA games. The current coach scored 13 points over seven games with the Portland Trailblazers.
Arthur Hill is coached by Greg McMath, who has had the position for 13 years. He has a 250-52 overall record with the Lumberjacks. As a matter of fact, McMath has not lost more than seven games since he lost 13 in 2001, that was his first season.
Eric Davis is the Mr. Basketball runner-up and star player for the Lumberjacks. The senior has 25 offers, but has committed to the University of Texas. He averages 26 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals per game for the Lumberjacks. Arthur Hill is on the verge of playing for their first state championship since 2006.
Davis’ running-mate, Brian Bowen, is a five-star prospect with more than a dozen offers on the table but is just a sophomore. Bowen has a lot of time to mature and make an even bigger name for himself. The small forward is ranked number one in the state and number six overall for the Class of 2017.
As for the Vikings, they are led by Trevor Manuel who was the third-place finisher in the Mr. Basketball voting. Manuel averages 23.5 points, 11 rebounds and six assists per game during the season. He does a little bit of everything and is very versatile on both the offensive and defensive side of the game.