FRANKFORT - The Frankfort boys basketball team’s improbable postseason run has reached the Breslin Center. The Panthers will face the defending state champions, Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian, in the MHSAA Div. 4 State Semifinals on Thursday.
Frankfort finished 13-8 in the regular season but has caught fire in the postseason. Their run to the Breslin has included victories over a top 10 team in the state in the final AP rankings (No. 6 Lake Leelanau St. Mary) and over two teams that earned Honorable Mention in the final rankings (Gaylord St. Mary and Hillman).
The Panthers have gotten accustomed to close games as they won all three of those games by six points or fewer.
Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian will provide another top 10 test. The Defenders were ranked No. 4 in the final rankings.
But at this point, there isn’t a team in the state Frankfort feels it can’t compete with.
“I would say we’re battle-tested at this point,” said head coach Dan Loney. “A lot of close games, we’ve been down and we’ve been up. We’ve hit free throws down the stretch, that’s the big thing, when kids are hitting free throws down the stretch to seal games. That’s the difference in winning and losing is the free throw line. I don’t know about you guys but that’s not easy to do in an atmosphere like this and you’re asked to hit the game-sealing free throws? That’s a big role. So kudos to the kids again.”
Frankfort senior Nick Stevenson said a big factor in the team’s postseason success is the team chemistry the Panthers have built over the course of the season.
“At the beginning of the season we had no chemistry, guys would be bickering back-and-forth,” said Stevenson. “We’ve come so far and we’ve become so close that we think we can go against anyone.”
Frankfort (18-8) and Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian (21-6) tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
