Cedarville obviously doesn't read MichiganPreps and Wind's notes on Tri Unity. Andy Venema wasn't beyond the three-line but he was really close to it. Nine for 12 from the field, mostly face up jumpers, and 18 points for the 6-7 senior was enough to help lead Wyoming Tri Unity Christian to a 77-45 romp over Cedarville in the first game of the Class D MHSAA semis in East Lansing.

Venema had help, though. Senior point guard Jon Visser scored 17 points and freshman guard Jared Mysliwiec added 19 points for Mark Keeler's Defenders who did some nice scoring but more defending according to their coach.

"We played great defense," said Keeler. "They shoot a lot of treys and we were determined not to let them drive and penetrate and kick and shoot treys."

It was a total team effort with 15 different players seeing playing time and seven of them getting double digits minutes. Visser recorded a triple double for the winning team with 11 rebounds and 11 assists for Tri Unity to go along with his 17 points.

"That was my first triple-double in my career," said Visser. "All I can say is that it's an honor to play on this team and it was an honor to play on the MSU floor. We are excited."

The Grand Rapids Storm AAU star played extremely well and so did his teammates. Word of wisdom to Tri Unity's upcoming opponent – go guard Venema. He can shoot it out on the floor!

Now it's onward and forward to the Class D finals on Saturday morning at 10:00 am to play Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart. The Fighting Irish defeated Detroit City 45-31 in the second semi of the evening. It was a defensive struggle with many a missed shot opportunity by both squads. Detroit City shot 27.9 percent from the floor for the game.

Junior post player Caleb Simons, a 6-5 junior, was particularly crafty around the basket and led Sacred Heart with with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Shawntez Patterson was excellent for Detroit City. The 6-6 sophomore forward scored 11 points for the Bears; over a third of his team's points.

Sacred Heart is a very disciplined and deliberate half court team, coached by perhaps the first ever woman in the state finals in Michigan history I would imagine. Keisha Brown does a marvelous job teaching the game to her boys.

How does she do it, boys?

"Coach just adds so much intensity to our practices and our games," said point guard John Roberts. "She's awesome."

For Coach Brown, it was all about her boys.

"I don't get in to that 'woman coach' thing", said Brown. "If you dwell on that, you miss the point that we have 12 tough and hard-working young men who put everything on the line every practice and every game and focus like champions. That's what it's all about."

I watched them come out on the court last night with a look on their collective faces that spoke of tunnel vision and focus and a single-minded purpose. I believe Coach Brown's boys. Their coach is a motivator. The Class D state championship game will be much, much closer and intense than anyone could have envisioned before this tournament started.

Wyoming Tri Unity Christian against Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart. Offense vs. Defense. Champion vs. Champion.

March Magic continues today as the Class A and B semis are hosted at the Breslin starting at 1:00 pm this afternoon.