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Gladstone Basketball Rolls Past Westwood, 63-44
 GLADSTONE---He's back in the saddle, and is ready to make a long playoff push. Gladstone High School basketball coach Dale Hongisto missed ten days earlier this month because of health problems. But he returned to the sidelines last Friday night as the Braves rallied past the Menominee Maroons in Menominee. 
Justin Jurek (32) drives on Trevor Burke.
Nine Gladstone players scored as the Braves beat Westwood, 63-44, in Gladstone. Hongisto says that he's rejuvenated after his hiatus, and is ready for "March Madness" to begin. "We all came together last Friday when I came back and we said, 'we don't want to go down like this'," Hongisto said. "If we go down, we're gonna go down fighting. And right now, I'm real proud of my guys. We''ve got a little win streak going." "We're actually coming together as a team," Braves senior Max Mahoney said. "We've been motivated lately. We did our best to stay together, and we're glad he's back." On Monday, the Braves led almost the entire way, gradually adding to their lead throughout the game. Gladstone led, 14-9, after the first quarter, and 32-19 at halftime.  
Riley Ballard scores off the pass from Jake Peterson
"We didn't want to take them lightly," Mahoney said. "We needed to play like it was a Great Northern Conference game. If we just keep doing what we're doing, I think things should come together. If we keep working hard, and treat every game like we're 0-0." 
Jake Peterson (34) goes in for a lay-up.
"We had 17 offensive rebounds and one turnover in the first half," Hongisto said. "I went with a small line-up to begin with to counter-act their smaller line-up. And we did OK with it. But once we got our big guys in there, we really dominated. "With Max (Mahoney) and Dave (Dykowski) and Jalen (Stenson) and Andrew (Olesak). They really did a great job. We did a lot of good stuff. I liked how hard we competed." Gladstone won the junior varsity game over Westwood, 61-47, as four players scored in double figures. Ben Schwalbach and Kyle Pouliot each scored 14 points, while Joe Gibbs and Hunter Garling each scored 13 points. 
Gladstone's Tyler Wells with the put-back hoop
The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), starting at 6:15. The game will also be broadcast live on-line at www.rrnsports.com. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos taken by Lori Jurek, videos taken by Nate Bellville, and listen to radio replays and interviews from the game.  |
| Date | Time | Opponent | Score | Record |
12/12 |
7:30 PM |
at Big Bay deNoc Black Bears
|
55 - 56 (L)
|
0-1
|
12/17 |
7:20 PM |
at Marquette Redmen
|
33 - 60 (L)
|
0-2
|
12/20 |
7:15 PM |
Escanaba Eskymos
|
44 - 67 (L)
|
0-3
|
12/23 |
7:30 PM |
at Mid Peninsula Wolverines
|
71 - 44 (W)
|
1-3
|
12/30 |
5:30 PM |
Ishpeming Hematites
|
44 - 68 (L)
|
1-4
|
1/2 |
7:30 PM |
Mid Peninsula Wolverines
|
56 - 48 (W)
|
2-4
|
1/9 |
8:00 PM |
at Kingsford Flivvers
|
61 - 52 (W)
|
3-4
|
1/14 |
7:30 PM |
at Gwinn Model Towners
|
49 - 47 (W)
|
4-4
|
1/17 |
7:30 PM |
Menominee Maroons
|
52 - 54 (L)
|
4-5
|
1/21 |
7:30 PM |
at Ishpeming Hematites
|
47 - 57 (L)
|
4-6
|
1/24 |
7:30 PM |
at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils
|
PPD - PPD (T)
|
PPD
|
1/29 |
7:00 PM |
Big Bay deNoc Black Bears
|
56 - 41 (W)
|
5-6
|
2/4 |
7:30 PM |
Marquette Redmen
|
39 - 70 (L)
|
5-7
|
2/7 |
7:15 PM |
Kingsford Flivvers
|
36 - 51 (L)
|
5-8
|
2/11 |
7:30 PM |
at Negaunee Miners
|
57 - 71 (L)
|
5-9
|
2/14 |
8:00 PM |
at Menominee Maroons
|
52 - 47 (W)
|
6-9
|
2/17 |
7:15 PM |
Westwood Patriots
|
63 - 44 (W)
|
7-9
|
2/19 |
6:30 PM |
St. Ignace Saints
|
52 - 59 (L)
|
7-10
|
2/21 |
7:30 PM |
at Escanaba Eskymos
|
52 - 58 (L)
|
7-11
|
2/25 |
7:30 PM |
Manistique Emeralds
|
60 - 41 (W)
|
8-11
|
3/5 |
7:00 PM |
at Escanaba Eskymos
|
48 - 60 (L)
|
8-12
|
