03/21/2007

Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart's Chad Lilly (5) throws a pass through Bellaire defenders, from left, Anthony Garwood (20), Brad Guy (23), and Cody Bock (22) Tuesday night at Traverse City West.

It's back to the Breslin for Bellaire

Eagles rally from nine down to beat Sacred Heart

BY DENNIS CHASE

dchase@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — One goal down, but another remains.

Bellaire, trailing by nine in the second quarter, rallied to beat Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 57-49 in a Class D quarterfinal Tuesday night before a standing-room-only crowd at Traverse City West.

The Eagles (25-0) will play Cedarville (24-0) in a Thursday night semifinal at Michigan State's Breslin Center. This will be Bellaire's third trip to the Final Four in four years.

"That was one of our goals — to get to the Breslin — and we did it,” senior guard Cody Bock said. "Our ultimate goal is to win states, but we needed to accomplish this goal tonight to get there (Breslin). We knew we had to come out and play hard, and we did. This is a great feeling.”

Bock was a key reserve two years ago when the Eagles lost a heartbreaker in the state championship game to Detroit Rogers.

"They (players) got a good taste of it two years ago,” coach Stan Sexton said. "It's been a goal (to return to the Breslin Center). It hasn't been a big loud goal during the season, but as we moved into the tournament we talked about it.”

Bock led the Eagles' comeback. He scored 24 points — all in the final three quarters. Bock hit six 3-pointers. Center Mike McClary, who started on the state runner-up team in 2005, added 16 points.

"I really wanted this win tonight for all these guys (teammates),” McClary said. "I've experienced what it's like to play down there and I wanted them to have that experience, too.

"I'm excited that we're getting another shot at a state title.”

That shot looked bleak in the first half Tuesday. Led by Caleb Simons, Sacred Heart (21-4) had Bellaire on the ropes, leading by seven to nine points throughout the first half. But the Irish could not land the knockout punch. Bock, who missed his first four shots in the first quarter, started hitting — and the Eagles also started finding McClary inside. The two had nine points each at the break as Bellaire closed the gap to two, 26-24. The 6-5 Simons had 16 of Sacred Heart's 26.

The Irish, the Class D state runner-ups a year ago, scored the first four points of the second half to go up, 30-24. But the Eagles proved resilient again.

Anthony Garwood hit a key 3-pointer to spark an 11-0 run and Bellaire never trailed again. Bock scored the final eight points of the run, hitting two 3-pointers and pair of free throws.

"I knew I had to keep shooting,” Bock said, "and they started falling.”

The Eagles led by as many as seven early in the third quarter when Sacred Heart fought back, trimming the deficit to 43-42 on a basket by Chad Lilly. But baskets by McClary and Scott Mason and some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch kept the lead safe.

Bellaire was 13 of 15 at the foul line.

"I'm really happy for these kids because our backs were against the wall there for awhile,” Sexton said. "You take a team like Sacred Heart — a seven-point lead is almost like 14 because of their patience, their style of play, how they can pick you apart. Seven points (down) is huge in a game against them.”

Sexton, whose team edged Sacred Heart at the buzzer in a quarterfinal two years ago, said Bock gave the Eagles the lift they needed.

"You could just see the confidence bubble up in him after he hit a couple,” Sexton said.

Garwood, the senior point guard, scored nine points — all in the second half.

"This feels fantastic,” he said. "This is what we've been working for this all season. This is what we wanted. This is the most amazing feeling in the world.

"We knew coming into this that Sacred Heart was a great team. They had a good run (in the first half), but we knew if we stayed calm we could get back into it.”

Simons led the Irish with 22 points. He used his size to get inside on the smaller Mason in the first half. The Eagles made an adjustment at half, putting McClary behind Simons, to take away the lob and it proved effective.

"(Assistant) George Mason pointed that out,” Sexton said. "That made a big difference.”

Alex Wood chipped in 12 points for the Irish.

"We never really kicked it into gear like we should have,” Sacred Heart coach Keisha Brown said. "We had a good first half and we came out in the third quarter and played well, but we didn't turn it up like we should have.”

Brown said she didn't dwell on the loss in the locker room after the game.

"You talk to the kids in this situation not about the loss but about their character, about the season they had, how they played together as a team,” she said. "With any high school sport, especially boys, they want to win. But sometimes it's not about the win. It's about how you grow as a person throughout the year and these kids did that.”

The Irish lose three seniors starters, including Simons, to graduation.

"The kid played a heckuva game,” Brown said. "He's given me the best four years of my coaching career.”