Marquette, MI – March 13, 2023 – The Ishpeming Boys battled hard against the Menominee Maroons for the Regional Semifinals on Monday night. Tyler Young and Bob Nadeau were on the scene for WRUP 98.3!
The Hematites got the game started and scored the first basket of the night. The Maroons came out with high energy and quickly made the score 12-2. Caden Luma was determined to get back in the game and completed a three point play. Menominee shot the ball very well and remained on top at the end of the quarter. The Hematites trailed by 11 going into the second quarter.
Ishpeming: 7 Menominee: 18
Menominee ran a fast paced offense and continued to push their lead in the second quarter. The Hematites hit a three and gained some momentum. Ishpeming cut Menominees lead down to six with 30 second left in the quarter. In attempt to close the gap, the Hematites maintained possession of the ball until the end of the quarter. They sunk a buzzer beater and cut the lead to four going into halftime.
Ishpeming: 20 Menominee: 24
Right out of the half, Ishpeming hit a three and trailed by one. The boys tied up the game 26-26 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Quickly after, Ishpeming took back the lead with an easy lay-up. Ryan Maki hit a big three pointer in attempt to continue pushing the teams lead. The Hematites held on to their lead going into the fourth quarter.
Ishpeming: 37 Menominee: 33
The Hematites scored another two points to start off the fourth quarter. A great effort from both teams kept the game close. The Maroons trailed by six with four minutes left in the game. Ishpeming didn’t back down, they pushed their lead to nine points. The boys played smart defense and did not let the Maroons comeback. It was an intense game, but the Hematites fought hard and walked away with a victory. Ishpeming will move on to play in the Regional Finals on Wednesday night.
FINAL SCORE 56-50