‘Resilient’ Grand Rapids Christian advances to state finals

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — After Grand Rapids Christian’s Tyler Davis made layups on back-to-back possessions, Chelsea head coach Andrea Cabana was forced to take a timeout.

With just 5:39 remaining and a 10-point lead, the Eagle crowd and bench began to rise to their feet as it felt a victory was near.

Just over a minute later, after a pair of 3-pointers and a fast break layup from Chelsea, the GRC lead was cut to 2 points, just like that. All the momentum was suddenly against them, and the Eagles needed to stop it.

Like they’ve done time and time again this season, the Eagles leaned on the resilience that got them to East Lansing, closed the game on a 11-3 run and defeated Chelsea 50-41 Friday for a trip to Saturday’s Division 2 state championship game.

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“I talk a lot to these guys about being resilient,” GRC head coach Eric Taylor said. “Even when they had runs, we never wavered. When you’re able to do that, stay in the moment and stay focused and don’t get down on yourself when a team makes a run because basketball is a game of runs. I’m so proud of the way we responded.”

Waiting for them will be Warren Lincoln, a team the Eagles lost to back in January, 49-47.

It’s something the team hasn’t forgotten, but the Eagles also know that Saturday will be a completely new ball game.

“(Warren Lincoln) told us, ‘See you at the Breslin,’ so it’s kind of meant to be,” Davis said. “It feels like one versus two, we’re going to be ready, they are going to be ready. So it should be a really good game.”

But before that Division 2 state final matchup became reality, the Eagles needed to beat a Chelsea team that just wouldn’t go away.

In fact, the Bulldogs had plenty of confidence that they could be the team who would play on Saturday. At halftime, Chelsea led 21-19, playing strong defense and forcing turnovers for easy buckets.

In the middle of the third quarter, the Eagles offense finally began to find its footing. Following a pair of layups from Carter Goodyke and Quintin Willis, the Eagles had their first lead since the first half. They would continue on a 14-2 run that put them up 36-28 and forced a Chelsea timeout.

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It led to the 10-point lead in the fourth that Chelsea would eventually erase down to 2 points. For the Eagles, they leaned on their resilience — an ability that their head coach has breathed into them following a stroke last summer that almost caused him to miss coaching this 2024 campaign.

Now, the Eagles are playing for a shot at their first state title since 1966.

“Resilience is a big part of what we stand by, knowing what E.T. went through this summer going into the fall, just seeing him set the example by fighting through was something we really leaned on,” GRC forward Nate Johnson said. “It’s something we acquired, knowing we are capable of the same thing. In this game, we stayed resilient by keeping our head in the game and overcoming the small mistakes.”

The last time GRC made the state championship game was 2017, when they lost with Xavier Tillman and Duane Washington Jr. on their team. The two went on to play at the professional level.

It will be a tall task playing against Warren Lincoln, who downed Flint Powers Catholic 60-48 right before the Eagles played.

With less than 24 hours until tip, Taylor and his guys will have to be ready in a short amount of time. But so far, no challenge has been too tall for a team that knows what it’s like to be battle-tested.

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