The championship celebrations continue, from Olivet to St. Johns to downtown in the capital city.
Three Pointer:
1. Boys: Eastern 86, East Lansing 57 -- Not a close game, but did give the Quakers their first league title, now outright, since 1991 -- before most of these guys were born.
2. Girls: St. Johns 64, Owosso 26 -- Two weeks after the CAAC Red seemed lost, it belongs to the comeback Redwings.
3. Girls: Olivet 62, Battle Creek Pennfield 48 -- The Eagles clinched the KVA outright and are 19-0.
Game ball: Eastern coach Rod Watts knew what he was getting when LaDontae Henton showed up after he was hired three years ago, and knew Cameron Sanchez would be special too. But the crazy decade that was Eastern basketball before 2007 is now almost forgotten -- thanks in large part to this league championship.
Upset alert: Saginaw Valley Lutheran boys 78, Ithaca 77 -- Not a big one, since Valley Lutheran is 15-3. But it was Ithaca's first TVC West loss, and pulled Valley Lutheran and Carrollton within a win of the lead.
WOW factor: Okemos girls 42, Everett 31 -- Not as wild as Monday's Grand Ledge and Everett boys' upsets of Eastern and East Lansing, respectively. But Okemos has won three straight despite a season-ending injury to standout Whitney Turner.
Three more that caught my eye:
1. Girls: Haslett 50, Lansing Catholic 44 -- A much-needed win for Haslett and a tough loss for Lansing Catholic heading into a league title-deciding game Friday against Portland.
2. Boys: Albion 48, Lansing Christian 44 -- No celebrating on the southeast side of the city, as Lansing Christian just missed moving into a first-place tie in the SMAA.
3. Girls: Mason 41, Sexton 40 -- The Bulldogs got a solid win on a last-second, double-overtime layup by Kelsey Pierce.
A few final thoughts from the game I covered tonight, Eastern boys 86, East Lansing 57
--It may seem like we're pumping up the Quakers a lot this season. But if you've followed Lansing basketball for the last 10-15 years -- or know anything about Eastern's statewide dominance of the 1980s -- you understand the significance of this success. Quakers faithful have been waiting a long time for this.
--East Lansing coach Doug Fleming gave four reasons why Eastern is a state contender in Class A, and here they are with some of my elaboration: 1. LaDontae Henton can score almost any time he wants. Few teams have that. It's fair to say he's the most reliable go-to scorer this area has seen since probably Marcus Taylor. 2. The Quakers have a shutdown (and versatile) defender in Cameron Sanchez. When Holt won the state title, Muhammad El-Amin shut down guards, forwards and centers -- and the Rams wouldn't have won without him. 3. Eastern's players have bought into their roles. This is a bigger deal than it probably sounds. But everyone knows his job. 4. They have a point guard who makes the thing go. Charles Tucker can get his points, but he does far more to get his teammates in successful situations.
--It was a neat coincidence that Eastern coach Rod Watts got this big win at the school where he was last a head coach -- he led the East Lansing girls program into last decade and also coached the boys junior varsity during the 1990s. And yet, with Okemos on Friday, he still has his team pretty calm and focused. Maybe some of that is a lesson off Monday's surprise loss to Grand Ledge (which Watts said he saw as inevitable over the last few weeks). But in the next month, they'll get to celebrate.
--Keep an eye on these Trojans: Sophomore 6-4 forward Efe Scott-Emuakpor and sophomore guard Tracy Edmond. Scott-Emuakpor had 14 points and nine rebounds and looked much-improved from when I saw East Lansing last month. Edmond is a recent call-up form the JV and provides a steadying hand at the point.
--Next for East Lansing is finding more scoring. Freshman Steve Haney is a threat from all over the court. But he needs consistent help. With that, the Trojans might put a scare into some unsuspecting district foes.
High school sports editor 
