West Ishpeming, Michigan – December 9, 2016 – When the Ishpeming Hematites take on their cross-town rivals Westwood Patriots, you can bet on a wild game. That’s exactly what fans were treated to Friday night in West Ishpeming. The Hematites defeated the Patriots in a wild finish, 36-35.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle between two evenly-matched teams. Hart Holmgren got the scoring going for the Hematites. He got the Hematites out to an early 3-0 lead after a basket and later getting fouled, hitting one of his two free throw attempts. The Patriots battled back. With the game tied at 7, Westwood scored 6 unanswered for a 6 point lead late in the quarter. But Jaden Tucker hit a 3-pointer as time expired to cut the Hematites deficit to 3 points after 8 minutes.
The second quarter belonged mostly to the Patriots. The Hematites struggled to get anything going offensively and Westwood took control. The Patriots outscored the Hematites 13-7 in the frame to take a 26-17 lead into halftime.
The second half was a different story, as the Hematites dominated.
Junior Forward Dondre Yohe came out of the locker room ready to play. He scored the first two baskets
of the 3rd quarter to get the Hematites to within 5. Westwood tried to answer and got their lead back up to 8, but the Hematites registered the final 4 points of the quarter to go into the final quarter down just 4.
The final quarter was a wild one, just what you would expect from cross-town rivals. The Hematites leading scorer on the night, Hart Holmgren (12 points), got things going to start the 4th quarter. His basket cut the Patriots lead to 2. After a Westwood answer, Ishpeming went on a 5-0 run and took the lead on a pair of Yohe free throws.
The Hematites were up 2 when there was a loose ball and a Westwood player and Evan Gravedoni both got to it at the same time, and a jump ball was called. However, Evan Gravedoni was hit with a technical foul. This gave the patriots a chance to tie the game with two free throws and retain possession. Westwood sophomore, Nathan Beckman, stepped to the line but only hit one out of two. The Hematites still lead by one with 3 minutes to go.
Ishpeming got two big free throws down the stretch from Holmgren, who gave them a 3-point lead late. With Westwood down 2, Beckman stepped to the line again. He hit just one of two and the Hematites hung on for a 36-35 victory.
The Hematites look to build on their success when they host the Gwinn Modeltowners Wednesday, December 14th. Listen to all of the action live on 98.3 WRUP or online at WRUP.com. The Honor Credit Union Pregame Show will begin at 7:15pm with tip off set for 7:30pm.
LISTEN – FULL GAME – Ishpeming Hematites defeat Westwood Patriots 36-35
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