Click the thumbnails to hear post-game comments from both Braves seniors, Owen Gereau and Teagan Reynolds, sophomore Alex Prins, and Coach Jake Kiesby.
GLADSTONE---For much of the night, it looked like the Escanaba High School boys basketball team would spoil Senior Night for their rival Gladstone Braves.
The Eskymos had nothing to lose after an earlier lopsided loss to the Braves, a game in which Gladstone guard Lonnie Davey shot the lights out in scoring a career-high 36 points. But as is usually the case in this Delta County rivalry, the tables can turn quick.
And the Eskymos did a lot of things right, with Braden Cooper going downhill to the basket and Hayven Sandoval-Nolde shooting well from all over the court. Escanaba had a 51-40 lead late in the third quarter, making shots on offense, and playing lockdown defense. But then, things changed in the other direction, again.
Gladstone held Escanaba to no baskets and only one total point over the last part of the third and all of the fourth quarters, and the Braves rallied for a 56-52 victory.
The win allowed Gladstone, which has suffered multiple very close losses to top Upper Peninsula teams, to finish with a 12-10 record. Escanaba finishes with a 7-14 record.
“We knew we had to get stops,” Braves senior Owen Gereau said. “I mean, (Braden) Cooper, Hayven, attacking every single time, they were making every single shot, it felt like. So we knew we had to get stops and run the floor before they could set up in their zone.”
Fellow senior Teagan Reynolds was emotional after playing his final varsity basketball game on the home court.
“I'm enjoying these last couple moments with my buddies, my teammates, I mean, me and Owen go all the way back to third grade together, travel basketball,” Reynolds said. “What more could you ask for? A Friday night playing Escanaba in front of the fans, the home court. Records out the window, you know. It's gonna be a battle for the full 32 minutes and I think we put up a battle tonight.”
Gladstome was led by Will Inghram with 13 points and Alex Prins added 12 points.
For Escanaba, Sandoval-Nolde had a game-high 18 points, Cooper added 16 points, and Lenny Peacock chipped in eleven points.
“They got in foul trouble later in the third quarter,” Prins said. “We went on a little run, just trying to get to the rim. We got some steals and some turnovers and just more possessions to give us more chances.”
This tight win for Gladstone comes after down-to-the-wire losses to UP-ranked teams that include Ishpeming, Marquette, Kingsford, Menominee, and Westwood.
Now the Braves head to the post-season to face the Negaunee Miners, a team they went 1-1 against this season.
“We feel good about it,” Braves Coach Jake Kiesby said. “Going forward, we have film Sunday and three good days of practice. The guys have to be ready to go. It's one game to lay your body out, play your hardest, and if you do that, with our skill, it's going to put us into position to win. Possessions mean everything.”
The Gladstone-Negaunee game from the Lakeview Memorial Gym in Negaunee starts at 6:00 on Wednesday. It will be broadcast on FM-93.5, AM-600, and www.rrnsports.com. Escanaba, meanwhile, will open the districts at home against Houghton Monday night at 6:00. That game will also be broadcast on FM-93.5, AM-600, and www.rrnsports.com.
