What a great story the Benton Harbor boys basketball team was this past weekend.

The Tigers won their first state championship since going back-to-back in 1964-65.

It is a great story not because they are the best team in Class B, but for the fact that the community of Benton Harbor has a chance to pull together under a common cause and start rebuilding that once proud school district.

We all have heard the stories coming out of Benton Harbor, of which most are negative.

The city was taken over by the state and the school district has been in the same boat.

Crime is a constant problem, not unlike most of our communities these days, but it is magnified by the fact that the city and school district are already facing issues.

Nothing brings a community together like a successful sports team.

For years, Benton Harbor has been known for its boys and girls basketball teams.

The Tigers delivered a girls state championship in 2009 and now the boys team has brought home the gold following a thrilling 65-64 overtime victory against Grand Rapids Catholic Central.

The Benton Harbor football program earned a national spotlight when it went from 0-9 to earning a spot in the state playoffs in 2015.

The Tigers defeated Dowagiac in the opening round of the playoffs before falling to Zeeland West, but under new coach Elliot Uzelac, Benton Harbor captured the attention of the state and the national news media, including ESPN.

But as much excitement as that brought to Benton Harbor, it is just not the same as when the Tigers are good in basketball.

Benton Harbor has a rich basketball history that includes sending players on to college and even the NBA.

Chet Walker is an NBA Hall of Fame player, who was a seven-time league all-star, while Anthony “Pig” Miller played for the Los Angeles Lakers and Wilson Chandler is currently with the Denver Nuggets.

This edition of the Tigers is led by sophomore sensation Carlos Johnson, who is ranked as one of the top players in the state of Michigan as well as in the nation.

He too may follow in the footsteps of Walker, Miller and Chandler. Of course, only time will tell.

Benton Harbor coach Corey Sterling had a powerful and emotional message following his team’s victory on Saturday night.

“Our city is struggling, taken over by the state,” he said. “The school is about to be taken over by the state. We need to come together as a community and I think this right here is going to start it.”

I could not agree more with Sterling.

Benton Harbor sits at a crossroads. It needs some positive things to happen in the community and rallying around the state championship basketball team may just be the right place to start.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com.