MAKING A STATEMENT: Gladstone Rolls Past Soo

GLADSTONE---The Gladstone Braves began the most difficult portion of their schedule on Saturday with an impressive 74-47 win over the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils. The Blue Devils came to town with an impressive 14-1 record, but the Braves dominated in every phase of the game to improve their season record to 12-2.

"We have a lot of respect for Sault Ste. Marie, their coach, and their program," Gladstone Coach Clayton Castor said. "We knew we had to come out early, and go right at their big guy (Brandon Paul). I was really proud of all five our kids for accomplishing that."

After Sault High's Ryley Alaspa nailed three triples to help his team stay in a 12-12 tie, the Braves closed the first quarter on a 9-0 run to go up, 21-12. Gladstone essentially put the game away with a 27-point second quarter to go into halftime ahead, 48-29.

The Blue Devils, who played Friday night in Cheboygan, simply couldn't keep up with the pace set by the Braves at both ends of the court.

Gladstone implemented a full-court press defense and constantly pushed the ball up the court on offense.

Castor's son, Reece, had a big afternoon, throwing down 31 points. Reece Castor had six different "old-fashioned" three-point plays, with a basket and a foul. Castor was lights-out at the free throw line, sinking 13 of his 14 opportunities. The team overall was 17-of-24.

Besides Castor's 31 points, Brad Spindler scored 13 points and Joe Gibbs contrubuted eight for the Braves, who had ten different players score in the game. Alaspa scored 14 points, Paul added 11, and Tristan Johnston chipped in nine for Sault High.

Gladstone also won the JV game, 78-38, as Quinn Downey scored 20 points.

For Gladstone, this was the biggest win of the season. The Braves have a 12-2 record, but four of the wins came against Class D teams and three others have come against Stephenson and Kingsford, both of whom have just one win this season. So that's why this one was huge.

"It was a signature win," Clayton Castor said. "I hear out in the community that we beat up on smaller schools, and this and that. People forget that we played Escanaba, and we played Marquette close here. This was definitely a signature win for us."

Gladstone has a chance for another "signature" win on Tuesday as the Negaunee Miners come to town. Game time is 7:15. It will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600).

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see videos taken by Ron Jurek, hear interviews with both Castors and Owen Hanson, and see photos from both the JV and varsity games taken by Brenda Crow.