Gladstone, MI – January 23, 2020 – After a battle in the first half, the Negaunee Miners Boys Basketball team controlled the game in the second half and pulled away with a 78-61 victory over the Gladstone Braves. The Miners are now 10-0 on the season, and have been rolling as of late. Jesse Anderson was live in Gladstone with the call on Sunny 101.9.
1st Half:
The Braves came out on fire to start the game, and led Negaunee 8-0 within the first few minutes after 3-pointers from Kyle Polley and Cam Ballard. Drew Lindberg scored a basket to get the Miners on the board, but they trailed 8-2. Negaunee began to find its offense, and they trailed 10-6 after an and-one by Drew DuShane. Gladstone was doing a nice job countering the Negaunee full court pressure, resulting in multiple layups by Raine Castor and Cam Ballard. Both squads began to trade baskets, and Gladstone led 14-12 in a close game with one minute remaining in the quarter. Neither offense could be stopped, as Jarret St. John drove in for a layup in the final seconds to give the Braves a 18-14 at the end of the first quarter.
End of 1st: Gladstone Braves 18, Negaunee Miners 14
Gladstone continued right where they left off, as Caden Alworden made the and-one layup to give the Braves a 20-14 advantage. The scoring began to slow down a bit, but the Miners cut the lead to only three points after a DuShane free throw, and a bucket by Jason Waterman. The Braves had more answers once again from layups by Alworden and Lucas Hughes after breaking the press. Jason Waterman started to get going, as he made back-to-back 3-pointers. Sager capped off the next possession with a layup, and Negaunee now only trailed by one point. The Miners’ offense was stellar, but they couldn’t stop Gladstone as Cam Ballard made another deep 3-point shot. Waterman scored five more points in a row, he was on fire, and the Miners were in a war. Chas Kumpala made a 3-point shot to give Negaunee its first lead of the game 33-31 with one minute left in the half. On the other end, the Braves tied it up, and it was from none other than Cam Ballard. At halftime, Negaunee and Gladstone were tied at 33-33.
Halftime: Negaunee Miners 33, Gladstone Braves 33
2nd Half:
Although it was a new half, it was still the same game. Both offenses were clicking, but the Miners used a run to take a 43-38 lead. Waterman knocked another shot down, and Negaunee’s lead was up to seven points with five minutes left in the third quarter. The Miners pushed the lead up to double digits after a nice finish in the paint by Alex Munson, and another bucket from Waterman. Gladstone wasn’t going away peacefully, as they kept bringing the lead back down to single digits. Waterman added two big free throws in the final seconds of the quarter, his scoring total was up to 25 points. Negaunee was trying to pull away, as they took a 53-43 lead into the final quarter of play.
End of 3rd: Negaunee Miners 53, Gladstone Braves 43
The Miners came out of the timeout with a huge 3-pointer from Lindberg, and they led 56-43. Negaunee couldn’t get it any higher, as Gladstone kept around 10 points for the next few minutes. The Braves cut it down to seven points after a St. John layup after a turnover by Sager, forcing a Negaunee timeout with under five minutes left. The Miners responded with two Waterman free throws and a Lindberg basket to take an 11-point lead. After making three free throws after a basket from Gladstone’s Noah Ballard, the Miners led by 13 points. The Braves kept scoring to keep it interesting, but Lindberg broke through the Gladstone press for a wide open layup. The Braves kept pushing the issue until the final buzzer, as Cam Ballard had a career shooting night with 20 points. In the end, the Miners pulled away for a 78-61 victory over Gladstone. After surviving a tough road test, Negaunee improved to 10-0 on the season! Waterman had an incredible night for the Miners, leading the game with 31 points just in time for the big showdown with Iron Mountain next week.
Final Score: Negaunee Miners 78, Gladstone Braves 61
NEXT GAME: The next game for the Negaunee Miners Boys Basketball team is on Tuesday, Jan. 28, and it is a can’t-miss game as the Miners host the Iron Mountain Mountaineers in a battle of undefeated teams! Jesse Anderson will have the game live from Negaunee’s Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium on Sunny 101.9, beginning with the Elder Agency Pregame Show at 7 p.m. The great match-up will tip-off shortly after at 7:15 p.m. Go Miners!
LISTEN – FULL GAME – MINERS VS MODELTOWNERS ON SUNNY101.9
