GLADSTONE---After the Gladstone Braves finished off a 62-46 win over the Big Bay deNoc Black Bears Tuesday night, it was hard to tell that they had won the game. Nobody seemed to be happy about the performance, in which the Braves built a 33-point lead and then cruised to the victory.
 

Why? Well, shooting 14-for-40 from the free throw line is not very encouraging. And a slew of turnovers and missed lay-ups didn't exactly excite the guys, or a glum Coach Phil Griebel after the game.
 

"I was disappointed with our sloppiness," Griebel said. "It's not the way that we wanted to play. We didn't do very many good things tonight to be happy about. We'll have to play a lot better to beat Mid Pen on Thursday."
 

It was a real rough night for some of the Braves players. Jason Thompson missed all eight of his free throw attempts. Jared Vuksan was in foul trouble all night and scored just two points.
 

Peyton Jurek had a nice steal and three-point hoop, but he missed eight of his twelve free throws. And Cody Frazer managed to get only one basket and one free throw.

One man who was on his game, though, was Michael Cretens. The junior sank five three-pointers and scored 21 points, in three quarters.
 

"My shot was going down and we were playing some tough 'D'," Cretens said. "I played a lot in the off-season and worked on my shot. (But) we were bad at free throws. We've got to work on that."
 

"He hit a couple three's there for us, and he's been carrying us with his shooting all year," Griebel said of Cretens.
 

Gladstone led, 13-7, after one quarter, and outscored the Black Bears, 20-7, in the second quarter to take a 33-14 halftime lead.
 

Gladstone's lead ballooned to 51-18 entering the fourth quarter, and so Griebel pulled his starters off the court, and the second and third-team guys on his 15-player roster took over from there.
 

The Black Bears outscored the Braves, 28-11, in the fourth quarter to make the score appear closer. But that was fine with Griebel.
 

"I don't like to run it up on anybody," Griebel said. "I've been in that position before and I had that happen to me, and that's no fun. I like Pete (Big Bay Coach Schlenvogt). He's a good guy and he's working his team, trying to get better, just like we are."
 

One guy who came off the bench made a solid contribution: Josh DeVet. The senior guard who rarely plays was not shy about taking a shot, throwing up four three-pointers in the fourth quarter. He made two.
 

"It felt great," DeVet said. "I was just 'feeling it' tonight. I think I was a little bit cold at first, and I had to warm up. That was my first points all season! We (bench players) don't get a lot of playing time, so you've got to make the most of it when you're out there."

Cole Potvin had 15 points and Clayton Bradshaw nine for Big Bay (0-5).