Gwinn, MI – March 10, 2017 – The Ishpeming Hematites boys basketball team took the floor against their cross-town rival Negaunee Miners in Gwinn Friday night with a district championship on the line. The Hematites, who lost both of their meetings with the Miners this season, were looking to avenge those regular season losses.
The Hematites got the ball going early. Gavin Sundberg scored the opening bucket wich was followed by a Hart Holmgren 3-pointer to give the Hematites an early 5-0 lead. Negaunee countered the Hematites’ opening punch when freshman Jason Waterman knocked down a triple and Mid Peninsula Conference Player of the Year, Dre Tuominen, scored to tie things up at 5-5. Ishpeming then looked to gain control again. Sundberg added another basket and teammate Dondre Yohe followed that up with a basket to put the Hematites up 4. The Hematites lead most of the first quarter. Negaunee got their first lead late in the first quarter on a Trent Bell bucket. Evan Gravedoni was able to get a layup just before the buzzer sounded to tie things up at 15 at the end of the first quarter.
The Miners grabbed control of the game in the 2nd quarter. Negaunee began the quarter on a 16-0 run lead by a handful of players. Waterman, Bell, and Jake Ennett all got in on the action to pull away from the Hematites. Ishpeming finally stopped the bleeding when Evan Gravedoni scored to make it 31-17. But Negaunee scored 7 of the final 9 points of the quarter. Negaunee outscored Ishpeming 23-4 in the 2nd quarter to take a 38-19 lead into halftime.
The Hematites came out in the 2nd half looking to fight their way back into the game. Gavin Sundberg had 2 triples to begin things for the Hematites. But no matter what Ishpeming did, Negaunee did not let them creep within striking range. The Hematites were able to outscore the Miners in the quarter, but still found themselves trailing 50-34 going into the final 8 minutes.
After Tuominen began the 4th quarter hitting a pair of free throws, Hart Holmgren answered with a 3-pointer for the Hematites. Unfortunately for the Hematites, that would be the last time they would score for the game. Negaunee scored the final 15 points of the game en route to a 67-37 victory over Ishpeming.
The Hematites finish their season with a 9-13 record. Thank you for joining us for a great Hematite basketball season. Relive the entire year with the game recaps and full archived games on WRUP.com. Tune into 98.3 WRUP and WRUP.com for updates on upcoming coverage of Ishpeming Hematites athletics.
LISTEN – FULL GAME – Ishpeming Hematites defeated by Negaunee Miners 67-37