OVERTIME BATTLE: Negaunee Outlasts Gladstone

GLADSTONE---It was a heavyweight match that went all 15 rounds...and then some.

The Gladstone Braves and Negaunee Miners battled tooth and nail for 32 minutes Tuesday night, and when that wasn't enough, they battled for four more minutes in an intense overtime period. In the end, the Miners left town with a 75-71 victory.

Senior guard Dre Tuominen scored 37 points, including 19 points from the free throw line, to lead the Miners.

Fellow senior center Trent Bell added 20 points.

Gladstone got 29 points from sophomore Reece Castor and 22 points from junior Brad Spindler, who fouled out early in the overtime period.

Rudy Peterson added ten points for Gladstone.

It was a game of streaks. Negaunee scored the first eight points of the game as the Braves were ice cold from downtown. But Castor caught fire, scoring five straight points as the Braves tied the game, 10-10 after one quarter.

Bell was tough in the second quarter, helping Negaunee take a 24-16 lead. But Castor scored five more points and Ben Schwalbach came off the bench for a three-pointer as the Braves closed to within 26-24 at halftime. And the streaks continued from there.

In the third quarter, sophomore Rudy Peterson buried a pair of triples and scored eight points overall, and Gladstone carried a 44-40 lead into the fourth quarter. Negaunee's Jacob Ennett sank a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter, but Gladstone senior Jack Stephenson answered with a three of his own to put the Braves up, 47-43.

But once again, Negaunee had the answer. And it was from the Big Two: first, Bell with two straight baskets, and then, Touminen with a hoop inside the paint. That 10-2 run gave the Miners a 53-49 lead, but then the Braves had the counter-punch.

After Jason Waterman made one of two free throws for the Miners to make it 59-57, the Braves ran a play for Spindler. He made a difficult basket from inside the paint with four seconds left to tie it, then Touminen's desperation three missed.

It was overtime.

The Miners won the opening tap, and dribbled more than a minute off of the clock. They set up Darius Provost for a three-pointer from the top of the key. He made it for his only points of the game.

And that would be Negaunee's only basket of overtime.

Spindler made a pretty reverse lay-up to cut Gladstone's deficit to 62-61, but moments later, he fouled out. That turned out to be huge as the next two trips down the court ended in turnovers for Gladstone.

And it was a parade of free throws for Negaunee, and they didn't miss many. Bell made two to put the Miners up, 66-61, and the Braves could not catch up. Tuominen went to the line repeatedly, and he made 11 of 12 of his foul shots in overime.

For Negaunee, the win was a big one. The Miners had lost three straight games to ranked teams (Iron Mountain, Norway, Marquette) but this win raised their record to 12-3.

Gladstone's record fell to 12-3, with the three losses (Marquette, Menominee, and now Negaunee) coming by a combined seven points.

The Braves have not won a tight game yet this season, with all twelve of their victories coming by 18 points or more. They host Menominee in a rematch this Friday night.

In Tuesday's junior varsity game, Gladstone rallied in the second half to beat Negaunee, 50-41. Quinn Downey scored 18 points and Carson Shea added 12 for the JV Braves.

The freshman game also went to overtime, with Negaunee pulling out a 45-40 win.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos taken by Eric Thompson and videos taken by Mike Dagenais.