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Detroit Western Wins Class A Championship, Finishes 26-0

EAST LANSING (AP) — A twisted ankle couldn't keep Josh McFolley out of his last game or Detroit Western from its first state championship.

McFolley scored 19 points and had six steals, and Gerald Blackshear added 16 points and 12 rebounds, as unbeaten Western won the Class A crown Saturday with a 62-59 victory over Saginaw Arthur Hill.

Arthur Hill cut the lead to 47-43 on Eric Davis' 3-pointer with 2:39 to play, but Western answered with a layup from McFolley. The Cowboys simply let the clock run out after a basket by the Lumberjacks with three seconds left.

McFolley, who winced and sat on the court after turning his ankle just before the halftime buzzer, scored eight points during a 10-2 third-quarter run that gave the Cowboys the lead for good. Blackshear had the first six points of the final period to give Western a 13-point advantage.

"I wasn't going to let something like a little pain get to me. My team needed me," said McFolley, who will join Blackshear at Detroit Mercy next season.

He delivered with a pair of 3-pointers during the crucial run.

"He stepped up when they needed him," Arthur Hill coach Greg McMath said.

Western coach Derrick McDowell didn't mind that a few of McFolley's 3-point tries — he was 4 of 9 — had a long way to travel to the basket.

"We need that," McDowell said. "It keeps teams honest. You've got to be able to guard him from anywhere on the floor."

Brian Bowen had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Davis scored 15 before fouling out for the Lumberjacks (24-4). Arthur Hill had a four-point lead after closing the second quarter with a 9-2 run.

Western hit just 30 percent of its shots in the first half but stayed close by taking care of the ball. The Cowboys (26-0) committed just eight turnovers — four in each half — and scored 21 points off the Lumberjacks' 17 giveaways.

"We played hard, we played tough," McMath said. "We just let a couple of opportunities go."

Karim Maxwell scored 10 points for Western. It is McDowell's first state championship after he took Detroit Redford to a pair of runner-up finishes.

"It means a lot with this team to finally get it," McDowell said.

 

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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