Houghton, MI – January 9, 2020 – After a close first half, the Negaunee Miners Boys Basketball team pulled away from the Houghton Gremlins with a 49-32 win to improve to 6-0 on the season. Jesse Anderson was live from Houghton with the call on Sunny 101.9.
1st Half:
Both teams started off slow, but the Miners took an early 5-0 lead after a 3-pointer from Drew Lindberg. Negaunee tried to force turnovers in its full court defense, but the Gremlins did a nice job of getting the ball up the court. Michigan Tech commit Brad Simonsen made his presence known with a couple of baskets to put the Gremlins in front 6-5. The game of runs continued as the Miners scored five straight points once again, capped off by a layup from Alex Munson. Simonsen responded with a 3-point shot to cut the deficit to 10-9. A late basket by Jason Waterman gave the Miners a three-point lead after the opening quarter.
End of 1st: Negaunee Miners 12, Houghton Gremlins 9
Negaunee was executing on offense, but the play of Simonsen and Pablo Salgado was keeping the Gremlins in it. The Miners led 20-14 halfway through the quarter after baskets from Munson and Drew DuShane. Both squads began to go back and forth, and Negaunee led 24-18 with less than one minute remaining in the half. A late basket by the Gremlins brought the score back down to four points, and that’s how the half would end.
Halftime: Negaunee Miners 24, Houghton Gremlins 20
2nd Half:
The Miners scored the first six points of the quarter, and led 30-20 with six minutes left. After a bucket from Simonsen, Jakson Sager responded on the other end for Negaunee to bring the lead back up to 10. After doing a good job in the first half of defeating Negaunee’s press, the Gremlins started to wear down. Sager began to get more involved in the offense, as him and Lindberg brought Negaunee’s lead up to a commanding 41-25 advantage. Lindberg ended the third quarter with a huge buzzer beating 3-point shot to give Negaunee a 21-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
End of 3rd: Negaunee Miners 46, Houghton Gremlins 25
Negaunee had one goal in the final quarter with a 21-point advantage: bleed out the clock. The Miners were doing a good job with its motion offense, and they didn’t score a single point in the fourth quarter until less than two minutes remaining. With Negaunee controlling the ball, the Gremlins couldn’t score much either, and they trailed 49-31 with one minute left. Both teams put its substitutes into the game, and that would be it. Negaunee had a battle for a half, but wound up taking a huge lead in the second half and picked up a big 49-32 win over the Houghton Gremlins.
Final Score: Negaunee Miners 49, Houghton Gremlins 32
NEXT GAME: The Negaunee Miners Boys Basketball team travels back up to Houghton County for its next game on Monday, Dec. 13 against the Calumet Copper Kings! Join Jesse Anderson on Sunny 101.9, as he will have all of the action live from Calumet. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. with the Elder Agency Pregame Show, and tip-off will take place shortly after at 7:15 p.m. Go Miners!
