East Lansing - After a scintillating start to the day at the Breslin Center for the state basketball championships, the Class C final proved the rims were still scorching hot. Cedarville set a state finals record in game one with 11 made three-point attempts. In game two, Bath took dead aim at that newly set record and nearly bested it in their 65-60 victory over Saginaw Nouvel.

"We've never shot that well," stated Bath head coach Jeff Wonch after his team made 10 of their 15 three-point attempts.

Known for the inside combo of 6-6 senior Kody Kokx and 6-7 junior Eli Redman, the Bees used the three-point shooting of 5-9 junior Mike Schneider and 6-2 senior Brett Monroe to propel them to victory. Both Schneider and Monroe went 5-of-7 from three-point territory on the day.

Trailing 47-46 after three quarters, Bath came out firing with Schneider and Monroe. The senior's triple at the 6:20 mark of the final quarter finally gave Bath the lead and the Bees would hold onto it despite a nearly three-minute scoring drought. Mitch Mulcahy's three-pointer with just over two minutes to play was the last time Saginaw Nouvel saw the lead, and the last time they would score in the game.

Outside of Redman's five second half points, Bath got almost all of their offensive production in that stanza from players other than their two inside stars. Kokx was in foul trouble for much of the game and relegated to the bench for large portions. He finally picked up his fifth and final foul at the 3:06 mark of the fourth quarter and watched the rest of the game from the bench.

Wonch said he promised Kokx as he came out after his fifth foul that the guys would hold on and win this one for him. That they did. While Nouvel was preoccupied with Redman in the paint, Wonch set up plays to go to Bath's two hot hands.

"Sometimes you look at your players and you just know," said Wonch. "I looked at Brett and saw it in his eyes."

Monore noted that confidence was the key to making the shots he was able to hit on the day. It was also the key to stopping a Nouvel team who may have appeared to have a date with destiny.

This past fall, Nouvel's football team won the Division 6 football state finals at Ford Field. That season their girls' basketball team won their own state title in Class C. With all that karma, many wondered if there was a way to beat a Nouvel team in the finals.

"Everything was so perfect," said Nouvel senior Tim Ryan. "This will motivate everyone in the spring sports even more."

The 6-3 Ryan did what he could to keep the Nouvel mystique alive. The senior guard poured in 18 points and 14 rebounds, prompting Wonch to call him the scrappiest player his team has faced all year. Ryan had help, too. Senior forward John McColgan scored 10 points and added nine rebounds while Mulcahy had 14 points and dished out a team high three assists. Altogether, they were unable to stop a Bath team that learned how to win even when their stars were contained.