Photo by Philip Southern Mount Clemens senior Kyle Capps heads toward the basket during the Battling Bathers’ 56-43 win over Richmond High March 12 at home in the district final. It was the Bathers’ first district title since 2002.

Mount Clemens boys hoops wraps up successful season

By Jon Malavolti
C & G Sports Writer

Mount Clemens High’s impressive boys basketball season came to an end March 15 when the Battling Bathers fell to Detroit Crockett 66-56 in a Class B regional semifinal at Imlay City High.

Coach Kurt Wilson was proud of his team, as it won the program’s first division and district title in eight years.

“We came out and played tough. We played under the radar the whole year — and played so well,” Wilson said a couple of days after the season ended.

The Bathers dominated district play before entering the regional round for the first time since 2002. They soundly defeated their first three playoff opponents by an average of 21 points in the Class B district they hosted.

Mount Clemens, which had lost in four district finals the past eight postseasons, began the playoffs by topping Marine City High 70-43 in a district opening-round game March 8. The Bathers then beat St. Clair High 61-38 in a March 10 semifinal before besting Richmond High 56-43 in the March 12 district final.

The Bathers ended up 18-6 overall, including an 11-1 finish in the Macomb Area Conference Gold Division, which left them tied for the division title with Warren Mott.
Wilson was especially happy with how his squad approached its tough schedule with maturity and focus.

“We could have went 6-18,” the coach said. “So you’ve got to be appreciative — you’ve got to be humble — because we went that far.

“We showed a lot of will.”

Because of the success this season, the coach expects it will be harder for the program to fly under the radar in the future. To combat that, he wants to make the schedule even tougher.

And while the Bathers should return the talented and experienced junior guard trio of Darius Wilson, Dwight Sanders and Thomas Hannah, they’ll lose a lot of size and contributions from the frontcourt, including standout senior James McDougle.

“Next year, everyone’s going to be scheming against us, and we won’t be as big,” the coach said. “But I think we’re going to be extremely quick — quicker than I’ve ever had. So we’re going to have to capitalize on that.”

Check out our Web site at www.candgnews.com for more local coverage and photos from throughout the season.

You can reach Sports Writer Jon Malavolti at jmalavolti@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1040.