Hot Shooting Propels Braves Past Wolverines, 81-56

GLADSTONE---The Gladstone High School boys basketball team made 14 three-point baskets and cruised to an 81-56 win over the Mid Peninsula Wolverines Thursday night in Gladstone. It was the Braves' second win over the Wolverines this season.

Braves Coach Clayton Castor liked his team's intensity, especially on the defensive end, in the wake of last Monday's disappointing loss to Ishpeming.

"I put up on the (locker room) board at halftime of the JV game: redemption," Castor said. "We wanted to play off of that. We lost in front of our home crowd earlier this week, and we really wanted to come out and redeem ourselves, and show our hometown crowd the style of basketball that we can play."

The first quarter was played at a brake-neck pace, with the teams trading baskets. It was tied at 23-23 after the first eight minutes, as Wolverine senior Damian Richmond scored twelve points and Brandon Stone scored eight.

The Braves had five guys score in that first quarter, with Ben Schwalbach scoring on a three-pointer, and on a basket plus foul.

The game turned in the second quarter. The Wolverines went ice cold, missing every shot they took for six minutes. The Braves scored 16 straight points to lead 39-23.

It was a 45-29 lead at halftime. Mid Pen never got closer than 12 the rest of the way.

"The shots that weren't going in were open shots and good shots," Mid Peninsula Coach Mark Branstrom said. "We missed two major lay-ups. We had open jump shots left and right. Blame the basketball Gods? No. You have to have confidence. Confidence makes your shot and we have good shooters. That should never have happened."

The second half saw Castor substutute freely, and the three-pointers kept raining down. Jack Stephenson came off the bench to drain a pair off three's, and Brad Spindler also came on in relief to hit three three-pointers and score a total of twelve points.

"I just wanted to get it done," Stephenson said. "Coach needed some points, so just go out there and shoot some three's. We were way more intense than we were last game."

"My teammates were just passing the ball real well and setting up a lot of screens," Spindler said. "We were shooting pretty well."

Reece Castor and Schwlabach both scored 19 points to lead Gladstone. It was a relief for Schwalbach, who has struggled with his shot in the early part of this season.

"I was hoping for a better game (earlier) in the season," Schwalbach said. "Better late than never, I guess. It's just all mental. I've been kind of playing with my head up my butt."

Joe Gibbs had 13 points and Spindler 12 to make four Braves in double figures.

Richmond and Stone both scored 18 for Mid Pen. Dooner Englund added 11 points. The Wolverines had just eight players to rotate, but Richmond says that's OK.

"We all play hard for all the minutes that we get," Richmond said. "We know that if we had more people on the team, we wouldn't get as many minutes. That's why we work so hard. We always go into the game knowing that everyone's going to be a good opponent."

BRAVES GAME NOTES: There was also some action at halftime, when one person was ghiven the chance to make a half-court shot to earn a year's supply of Sprite. Gladstone High School student Nathan Hardwick made the shot, earning 16 cases, or 384 cans, of that soda....In the junior varsity game, Gladstone beat Mid Pen on the running clock, 61-18....Gladstone's varsity team also beat Mid Peninsula, 62-49, in Perkins on Dec. 21....The Braves welcome another Class D school, Rapid River, to Gladstone next Tuesday. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600) and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

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