Big Bay Gets Big OT Basketball Win Over Gladstone

GARDEN CORNERS----They just wouldn't give up.

No matter what adversity faced the Big Bay deNoc High School basketball team Thursday night, the boys managed to keep fighting long enough to stay close to the Gladstone Braves on the scoreboard. And in the end, that hard work paid off in a 56-55 overtime victory that turned the Class D school and the Garden Peninsula onto its ears.

Bryce Thompson's two free throws with 2.3 seconds left in overtime won it.

"I'm speechless," Big Bay Coach Angie LaLonde said. "I don't have much of a voice left. The boys are so excited. I told the boys that we always count our wins, and we haven't been winning much lately. But now we've got two. I let them celebrate in there. They wanted this one bad."

And they did it with leading scorer Cole Potvin and 6-foot-6 forward Loren Swayer both on the bench after fouling out of the game. But Thompson stepped up in the clutch.

"Bryce has really come through for us," LaLonde said. "You can tell that he's a little timid at times. He wants to dribble to that sideline a lot, and I'm like 'Bryce, hit the middle, hit the middle'. He just took it upon himself to drive to the middle and dropped a few free throws. Huge free throws for him."

Max Mahoney sinks two free throws to put his team in the lead in OT

Max Mahoney had just calmly sank two free throws with 8.6 seconds left to put Gladstone in front, 55-54. But Thompson pushed the tempo, going coast-to-coast, and crashed into Andy Olesak for a blocking foul and two shots.

"I was hoping to just get him in the air and see if I could draw a foul," Thompson said. "And I did, so I got some free throws."

What was Thompson thinking when he went to the line with the game on the line?

Bryce Thompson drains winning free throw

"Just don't miss," he said. "Just try to tie it up. Get the first one in, and that takes the pressure off the second one."

With the game tied, Gladstone Coach Dale Hongisto called time out to try to "ice" Thompson on the second foul shot. It didn't work.

"That helped me," Thompson said. "It calmed me. We kept the team together in the huddle. I calmed down. We already tied it up. The worst I could do is go to a second overtime."

Justin Jurek, who was held scoreless in the game, tried a desperation heave from beyond half court. It hit the backboard, and Big Bay celebrated a huge win.

Hongisto credited a defensive adjustment made by LaLonde for the turnaroud.

"If they played 'man' the whole game, we'd probably win by 18," Hongisto said. "But she made a big switch and went pretty much solely 'zone' in the second half. "

"We shot 13 free throws in the first half. But then we just didn't get to the line enough, and that was the result of them being in a zone. It kind of stops your running game a bit."

Gladstone jumped to an 8-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Black Bears hung around, getting nine points from Potvin. Big Bay trailed just 25-21 at the half.

Gladstone, however, went on a 9-2 run to start the third quarter, and it looked like the Braves were pulling away to a win with a 34-23 lead.

Gladstone's Jared Hunter makes it 53-50 with a three

But those Black Bears players did not throw in the towel. They scored 13 straight points over the next four minutes, and took an improbable 36-34 lead.

"Most teams, when you get them down by, say, 15, they just kind of shut it down," Hongisto said. "We had them by eleven, but I remember them scoring five points in about eight seconds (by Zach Pomeroy). And they were right back in the game."

The Black Bears scored the final seven points of the third quarter and trailed just 34-30. Then in the fourth quarter, Big Bay scored six straight points, the last two by Tyler DeMars to cap off a 13-0 run and give the Black Bears a 36-34 lead.

Last Play of the game. Big Bay wins.

From there, the game was played on a see-saw. Max Mahoney scored off of a steal to take a 38-36 lead.

Then, came the fireworks. Potvin hit the "old-fashioned" three to give the Black Bears a 39-38 lead. From here, it was pure fun, as each side cashed in on three-pointers in a dizzying one minute of back-and-forth basketball.

When it was over, nothing was settled until overtime. Mahoney and Olesak each scored, and Hunter split two free throws. That gave Gladstone a 50-46 lead. But Big Bay's Zach Pomeroy came up with a pair of baskets to retie the game at 50-50.

Hunter nailed a three to give the Braves a 53-50 lead with 1:06 left. Then Poneroy stepped up and drained a three to tie the game at 53-53 with 44 seconds left.

Gladstone (0-2) turned the ball over on its own possession, and Big Bay took advantage, as Thompson played the role of hero at the line.

It was a big week for Big Bay, having already knocked off Superior Central earlier in the week. It was the first time the Black Bears had beaten the Cougars in several years, and it got the team prepared for the battle against the Braves.

Hunter led the Braves with 22 points. Wells had 11 points and Mahoney scored ten points and added eleven rebounds. Olesak had four points and 12 rebounds.

Big Bay got 16 points from Potvin before he fouled out early in the overtime session. Pomeroy had 13 points, including seven points in overtime.

Late action. Hoops by Tyler Wells, Cole Potvin, Jared Hunter, Alex Ranguette

"They got too many offensive rebounds, and that hurt us," Hongisto said. "This one stings. I just got done telling the guys that you can either tank it because you came to Big Bay and are expected to win and didn't, or you come back stronger. I work out here (as a state trooper) and I know some of these kids. I knew coming in here that this was not going to be an easy night."

And the night belonged to the Black Bears. And a signature win for LaLonde.

"Huge for Big Bay basketball," she said. "Now we just need to play with the same intensity against teams that maybe aren't as talented as Gladstone."

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see more photos and videos from the game, taken by Mike Dagenais. You can also hear radio replays there, and interviews with Thompson and the coaches.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

12/12	7:30 PM	at Big Bay deNoc Black Bears	55 - 56 (L)	0-1

12/17	7:20 PM	at Marquette Redmen	33 - 60 (L)	0-2

12/20	7:15 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	44 - 67 (L)	0-3

12/23	7:30 PM	at Mid Peninsula Wolverines	71 - 44 (W)	1-3

12/30	5:30 PM	Ishpeming Hematites	44 - 68 (L)	1-4

1/2	7:30 PM	Mid Peninsula Wolverines	56 - 48 (W)	2-4

1/9	8:00 PM	at Kingsford Flivvers	61 - 52 (W)	3-4

1/14	7:30 PM	at Gwinn Model Towners	49 - 47 (W)	4-4

1/17	7:30 PM	Menominee Maroons	52 - 54 (L)	4-5

1/21	7:30 PM	at Ishpeming Hematites	47 - 57 (L)	4-6

1/24	7:30 PM	at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	PPD - PPD (T)	PPD

1/29	7:00 PM	Big Bay deNoc Black Bears	56 - 41 (W)	5-6

2/4	7:30 PM	Marquette Redmen	39 - 70 (L)	5-7

2/7	7:15 PM	Kingsford Flivvers	36 - 51 (L)	5-8

2/11	7:30 PM	at Negaunee Miners	57 - 71 (L)	5-9

2/14	8:00 PM	at Menominee Maroons	52 - 47 (W)	6-9

2/17	7:15 PM	Westwood Patriots	63 - 44 (W)	7-9

2/19	6:30 PM	St. Ignace Saints	52 - 59 (L)	7-10

2/21	7:30 PM	at Escanaba Eskymos	52 - 58 (L)	7-11

2/25	7:30 PM	Manistique Emeralds	60 - 41 (W)	8-11

3/5	7:00 PM	at Escanaba Eskymos	48 - 60 (L)	8-12