Brighton will be fielding two teams – the Orange team and the Black team - in the State Unified Basketball Finals. About 450 athletes and 125 coaches and chaperones will gather for the finals.

This will be the second year the Brighton Unified teams have participated in the State Unified Basketball Finals. Jody Renicker - a special education teacher at Brighton High School and one of three Brighton Unified coaches – tells WHMI the kids will get a police escort, and they’re asking the community to come out and support the Brighton students.

The students will leave in their chartered bus shortly after 10 a.m. and proceed from the high school down Main Street to the downtown andon to Kalamazoo. Some 50 Brighton students – both with and without disabilities – will be taking the trip. Renicker says the Brighton teams are 8-2 on the season and unbeaten in the KLAA Unified League, with their only defeats being two losses to Grand Blanc.

Renicker says Grand Blanc is in a different division than Brighton, however, and the two teams will not meet in the tournament. As a result, she says the Brighton squads have a good chance at a state title. Gold, silver, and bronze medals will be awarded to the first, second and third-place teams – just as in the regular Olympics. (TT)