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DELTA TWP. — Repeating as state champions is the primary objective for Kingston Thomas and the East Lansing boys basketball team.
And the Trojans took a big step toward that mission on Friday, Feb. 27.
East Lansing got big games from KJ Torbert, DeQuarius Stewart and Thomas while capturing a Division 1 district championship with a 92-78 victory over Waverly.
The CAAC Blue champion Trojans (23-1) beat CAAC Blue runner-up Waverly for a third time this season while advancing to face Kalamazoo Loy Norrix in a regional semifinal Tuesday, March 3, at Loy Norrix.
"We're taking one game at a time and every game is our state championship game," Thomas said. "We're coming down and trying our hardest and just taking care of what we've got to do each game. Obviously, beating them, a rival, for a third time, it's great. It's great."
Torbert finished with 30 points and four steals, Thomas had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Stewart had 20 points and 10 rebounds while contributing to the Trojans winning a sixth straight district title. Tyree Anthony was also in double figures scoring for East Lansing with 13 points.
"We always set four goals and this was our second goal," East Lansing coach Ray Mitchell said. "We want to win the district, right? You've got to win your area first. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. We knew it was going to be a tight game. We're very excited for that. We want to win the conference and then the district and we've got a couple more things we want to try to accomplish."
The Trojans used a dominant opening half while capturing their latest district title. East Lansing made eight 3-pointers in the first half while owning a 51-24 lead at halftime.
"We had to come into their gym and just jump out on them early," Torbert said.
Waverly (18-6) made a push in the second half and pulled within 10 with 4:29 remaining. The Warriors never got any closer while having their season ended by East Lansing in the state tournament for a sixth straight year.
Derek Thomas II had 22 of his team-high 29 points in the second half and Cayden Ali finished with 13 points to lead Waverly.
Contact Brian Calloway at [email protected]. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: East Lansing basketball adds to district title streak, tops Waverly