Center Line basketball eyeing district championship

CENTER LINE — The momentum was building for Center Line boys basketball last season when they finished with a winning record and a shot at making it to the district finals.

A loss to Detroit Pershing in the district semifinals closed the book on their season, but five losses decided by five points or less, and a second-place finish in the Macomb Area Conference Bronze division showed Center Line’s competitiveness.

“We finished second (in the MAC Bronze), but there were games we should’ve won,” Center Line coach Derrick Walton said. “I keep putting it in my head that we should’ve won, but it’s growing pains.”

Returning six seniors and a chip on their shoulder, Center Line took the MAC Bronze by storm this season, leading the division with an 8-0 record against MAC Bronze opponents and a 12-2 record overall.

A 3-2 start to the year was a cause for concern at first, but Center Line’s nine-game winning streak has set the record straight.

“They’ve shocked a lot of people over what they think they can’t do,” Walton said.

Led by senior guards Cody Boling and Keymon Wade, Center Line’s offense has averaged just under 69 points per game, scoring 70 or more points in half of their games.

Wade currently averages 17 points per game on the season, and said his aggressiveness has been a key factor in his offensive progression.

“I feel like I’m more dominant than I was last year,” Wade said. “I was more hesitant my sophomore year because we had a lot of people who could score the ball. I was kind of the caboose of the team.”

Boling, who averages 18 points per game, had not only been effective on the offensive end, but has been a spark plug for the defensive side as well.

Allowing three points per game less than they did in 2022, Wade said Boling’s leadership for the defensive unit is contagious with the team.

“I feel like Cody (Boling) brings most of the energy to just steal the ball when he wants to, and we feed off that energy,” Wade said. “When we get into that mode, we all just lock in from that moment on.”

Center Line has also received contributions from freshman Kameren Broughton, sophomore Terez Holmes, and senior Dante Davis.

Holmes has been an imposing force on the glass for Center Line this season, and Walton said he hasn’t even scratched the surface of his potential.

“I expect great things out of him, but I just have to get it out of him,” Walton said.

With a solid three-game lead over second-place Madison Heights Lamphere, Center Line looks to win its first league title since the 2016-2017 season.

Boling said both he and the rest of the team emphasize bringing home the league title to Center Line.

“We take a lot of pride to be honest,” Boling said. “I can’t remember the last time they came in first, and I remember watching my brother play and I don’t think he made it either. We take a lot of pride.”

While Center Line controls their own destiny in the league, their path to the district finals is a different story.

Behind their senior leaders and a slew of young talent, Wade said there’s one expectation for the team moving forward.

“We are aiming for a district championship because we haven’t won one in a great while,” Wade said. “We’re not too cocky, but we know that we can bring it home if we wanted to.”