KNOCKED DOWN: Braves Fall By 2 In Menominee

MENOMINEE---No matter how high you're flying, a trip to the Menominee High School Gym can knock you to the floor in a hurry.

And the Gladstone High School boys basketball team found that out the hard way Friday night, dropping a 63-61 contest to the Maroons. The Braves entered the game with just one loss, and the Maroons came in with just one victory.

But veteran Maroons Coach Pete Pericolosi knows how to motivate his guys, and he did a masterful job of changing the tempo of the game from slow to fast, and then back to slow again.

And Menominee shot the ball well early, jumping to a 12-point lead.

Gladstone did rally to take a brief lead late in the third quarter, but Menominee regained the lead quickly and stayed just one step ahead of the Braves throughout the fourth quarter.

The Maroons also took advantage of having very few fouls called against them, allowing them to foul freely in the final seconds when the Braves needed a three-pointer.

When it was over, Gladstone Coach Clayton Castor said that the officiating left his team feeling like it was "cheated". But Castor also took responsibility for the loss, telling his boys that "this one falls squarely on my shoulders". And, he added, "we will get better".

Hunter Hass came out as hot as a firecracker, nailing four three-pointers in the first half, scoring 17 points in total. Menominee led, 26-14, midway through the second quarter, and the Maroons led, 31-23, at halftime.

The Braves scored bthe first five points of the third quarter to get to within 31-28, and from there, it was a Battle Royal the rest of the way.

Gladstone's only lead came after a Ben Schwalbach steal and layup, making it 38-37, with 2:08 left in the third quarter.

It only lasted a few seconds, because the Maroons went on an 8-3 run to close that quarter, and carry a 45-41 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Reece Castor, who was frustrated by the Menominee defense all night long, attacked the basket for a lay-up with 1:45 left in the game to bring the Braves to within 52-51. But Hass made four free throws on the next two trips down the court for Menominee, sandwiched around a Gladstone turnover.

Gladstone again climbed to within one point at 59-58 when Brad Spindler attacked the basket for a reverse lay-up with 8.3 seconds left. But the Braves fouled Hass again, and Hass made two more free throws with 3.4 seconds to play, making it 61-58.

After a timeout, the Braves tried a long length-of-the-court pass to try to set up a game-tying three, but Schwalbach's pass was too far, and the ball went over to Menominee.

Jonathon Antilla made both free throws to ice the game at 63-58. Spindler made a three at the buzzer to bring Gladstone to within two points, but it was too late.

Gladstone made 12 three-point baskets in a losing effort. Sophomore Rudy Peterson made five of them, and he led the Braves in scoring with 17 points. Spindler scored 13 points and Castor added 12. Joe Gibbs added eight points.

For Menominee, Hass led the way with 28 points.

No other Maroon players reached double figures, as Tanner Mathias, Levi Kempka, and Antilla all scored nine points. Marcus McKenney scored eight points.

In the junior varsity game, Gladstone posted a 65-36 victory.

Gladstone hosts Ishpeming Tuesday night. The game will be broadcast live Tuesday night at 7:15 on WCHT-AM (NewsTalk 600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see video highlights, and to see photos from both the varsity and JV games, taken by Brenda Crow.