Conklin's Performance Not Enough for L'Anse Creuse North in State Semifinals

EAST LANSING – Tyler Conklin needed a Robin to his Batman in the Class A semifinals on Friday afternoon.

The junior guard tried to provide the heroics for his team against Saginaw at the Breslin Center, scoring nearly half of the Crusaders’ points in a 59-46 loss.

“I was able to get my shot, but it just wasn’t enough,” Conklin said of his 22-point performance.

Ramone Griffin was the only other L’Anse Creuse North player to finish with more than four points. The junior forward finished the game with 10 points.

Junior guard Robert Hopkins, who led L’Anse Creuse North with 17 points in the quarterfinals, didn’t score until the fourth quarter.

Both times the Trojans went up double-digits prior to the fourth quarter, it was Conklin who kept L’Anse Creuse North (22-5) within striking distance.

Saginaw’s first big run came in the second quarter. They used an 11-0 run to take a 20-10 lead when the Crusaders went nearly four minutes without a basket.

Crusaders sophomore Frank DeVos scored 30 seconds into the quarter, but L’Anse Creuse didn’t score again until Griffin hit a layup with 3:29 left in the half.

After Griffin’s bucket, Conklin scored seven points in the final 90 seconds of the quarter. He hit a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left in the second to bring his team within two at 23-21. The Crusaders went into halftime down 25-21.

Saginaw (25-2) came out of the break looking sharp, quickly pushing its lead back up to 10 points.

Senior guard Travontis Richardson hit a 3-pointer to put his team up 32-27. Julian Henderson scored his team’s next seven points to put the Trojans up 41-31 with 2:53 to go in the third.

Conklin ended the Trojans 7-0 run with a key three-point play. He was fouled on a layup by Davario Gaines and nailed the free throw.

After a Saginaw turnover, Kyle Deschaepmeester made a layup with 2:33 to go in the second to make it 41-36, but that’s the closest L’Anse Creuse would get for the rest of the game.

The Crusaders turned the ball over 11 times over the final 10 minutes, their comeback hopes fading away with every missed opportunity.

Outside of a slow start, the Trojans didn’t have many problems on the offensive end of the floor.

“It was a real big floor so we were just getting the feel of the court in the first quarter,” Saginaw guard Travontis Richardson said, jokingly after the game.

The Trojans balanced offensive attack was able to generate points from anyone and anywhere on the court. The Trojans had seven players with more than six points.

“With the team right here, we have a bunch of players that can step up; could be Travontis (Richardson), could be Julian (Henderson), at any time,” Saginaw coach Julian Taylor said. “We have a lot of interchangeable kids that have accepted the team concept.”

Henderson had a team-high 11 points for the Trojans while Richardson had eight points. Teammate Davario Gaines was a beast in the middle. He missed a double-double by a point, scoring nine and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Saginaw will play Rockford in the Class A finals on Saturday at the Breslin Center with a 4 p.m. tipoff.