That was Dollar Bay when it came to Southfield Christian. Harlond Beverley and Bryce Washington are Division I prospects? OK, let’s see how good they are. 

It took all but 1:01 for Dollar Bay’s skepticism to die. Beverly brought the ball down, passed to the wing, ran off a back screen and caught an alley-oop from Caleb Hunter for a reverse dunk. It was something out of an NBA game and served as the defining moment that highlighted the athletic discrepancies between the Blue Bolts and Eagles. It was just too much. Dollar Bay found out SC lives up to the hype in a 71-32 loss Thursday in the state semifinals at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

“We knew how good they were from the opening possession when Beverly threw the reverse dunk,” Dollar Bay coach Jesse Kentala said. “As a coach, I just smiled and said, ‘Welp, there’s that.’ The athleticism on that team, my God.”

And to think, Beverly’s highlight was an accident. The pass from Hunter was just a tad off the mark he’s accustomed to, but he still had the wherewithal and coordination to adjust his body in midair and slam it home. 

Dollar Bay’s Jaden Janke looks to drive to the basket against Southfield Christian during a Class D semifinal Thursday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. (James Cook/Traverse City Record-Eagle)

“We go over that play every day in practice,” Beverly said. “Usually it’s different, I don’t usually reverse it. That was an accident.”

Too fast, too big, too strong. Plug in any adjective describing one’s athleticism and SC has more of it. Way more. 

On offense, Dollar Bay’s Devin Schmitz could not create space off the dribble or get separation while running off screens, and Jaden Janke and Jacob Iacono were stifled by forwards with more length and speed than they’ve seen all year. 

“It was difficult because they always had a guy holding me back,” said Schmitz, who was held to five points and just five shot attempts. “It was hard to even get handoffs. They were just that up on me.”

The Blue Bolts fell down 16-0 and went scoreless until the 1:38 mark of the first quarter when Janke knocked down a midrange jumper. Dollar Bay made just 1 of 9 shots and turned it over eight times in the first quarter to put themselves in a hole that essentially sealed the outcome.

Dollar Bay’s Devin Schmitz makes a pass against Southfield Christian during a Class D semifinal Thursday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. (James Cook/Traverse City Record-Eagle)

“We haven’t seen that speed before. We usually count on Devin to go by guys, or me and Jake, and it opens up our shooters,” Janke said. “We couldn’t get by them, so we couldn’t get many good shots we’d like.”

Much was made of SC losing to North Central in last year’s state semifinals, 84-83 in double overtime. It was the last loss for SC against a Class D school and served as a heartbreaking defeat for a team with state championship aspirations. This season, that loss has propelled SC’s revenge season and has the Eagles playing with an edge this postseason, blowing teams out by an average of 39 points per contest.

“Coach brings the loss up every day in practice and how we have to give our hardest on every possession,” Washington said. “You see us defensively, we’ve just been a lot better in the playoffs and it’s just played into our daily game.”

For a moment, Dollar Bay (26-1) played with SC (22-5). It lasted just eight minutes, but when Schmitz hit a step-back 3 to cut the deficit to 27-15, the Dollar Bay faithful, for a brief second, could say, ‘OK, we’re in this thing.’

“We settled in and started doing some of the things we do,” Kentala said. “Kept the floor spaced and took care of the ball. The problem is we were trading baskets.”

But as quickly as Dollar Bay’s hope seemed to surge, Washington came down and swished a corner 3 to answer Schmitz.

Dollar Bay’s Brendan LeClaire once against cut SC’s lead to 12 with a 3, only to see Washington respond with another 3 on the next possession. In the rare instance Dollar Bay was making shots, the Blue Bolts couldn’t get a stop. 

“For the first time, a team was straight up faster than we were,” Kentala said. “Every time we’d get a (basket), we’d hope to get a stop, but they would pop a 3. Washington was just deadly from the corner.”

Janke led Dollar Bay with 12 points and created the one final moment to keep his team in the game when he came up with a steal near midcourt and finished a fast-break layup. Of course, SC had the answer, and Hunter knocked down a fadeaway jumper for a 35-20 halftime lead.

The second half lacked the highlight-reel start by Beverly, but it was just as dominant all the same. SC scored the first 14 points and capped the run with an easy transition layup from Jon Sanders for a 49-20 lead. 

“For whatever reason, our intensity just wasn’t there after halftime,” Kentala said. “I told the team, ‘Are they the better team? Yes, they’re the better team. But are they 40 better? No way they are 40 better.’ Nine out of 10 they beat us, maybe 10 out of 10, but it would be a better game than what we showed.”

It wasn’t the storybook ending Dollar Bay envisioned, and it may take some time, but eventually, this group will reflect on the deepest tournament run in school history. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap.

“I think the guys are proud,” Kentala said. “They’re not proud of that game and that performance, they wanted to end on a better note. But I think overall, they were proud of what they were able to accomplish. Just being here and seeing this place and Tom Izzo sitting in the stands, it was just a cool thing.

“I told them to use it as an opportunity for growth. Hard work does pay off, certainly, but sometimes in life, there’s a better team. That better team was Southfield Christian.”

Dollar Bay finished 13 of 42 from the field (31 percent) and had 22 turnovers. 

SC made 31 of 64 shot attempts (48 percent). Washington led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Hunter had 17 points and Beverly added 12. 

– – – 

Southfield Christian 16 19 24 12 — 71

Dollar Bay 2 18 7 5 — 32

Southfield Christian — Beverly 12, Hunter 17, Hicks 1, Washington 23, Scruggs 4, Sanders 10, Perry 2, Fergan 2. F: 13; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 5-6; 3-point field goals: Washington 3, Hunter.

Dollar Bay — LeClaire 3, Thompson 3, Schmitz 5, Janke 12, Iacono 9. F: 5; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 2-3; 3-point field goals: LeClaire, Schmitz, Janke, Iacono.