Ishpeming, Michigan – February 16th, 2016 – Mike Plourde and Bob Nadeau were in Ishpeming, MI for the Ishpeming Hematites boys game against the Marquette Redmen on 98.3 WRUP and streaming live at WRUP.com. The Hematites looked to keep their season going strong, and Mike and Bob brought you their stats and predictions during the Honor Credit Union pregame show!
The Marquette Redmen took the draw to start the game, and they immediately made a three-point shot. Nick Comment scored the Ishpeming Hematites first two points, and he was fouled, which allowed the Hematites to even the score at 3-3. All but one of the Redmen’s points in the first three minutes of the game was from three-point shots, and Ishpeming quickly found themselves trailing Marquette. It continued to be a tough game for the Hematites, and Marquette continued to pull away. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 9-19 on 98.3 WRUP.
The three-pointers just kept coming from the Marquette Redmen, and less than one minute into the second quarter, they had a total of six threes as a team. The Ishpeming Hematites‘ Thomas Finegan did his best to lead Ishpeming to some offense, but Marquette’s full-court press gave them a great deal of trouble. Hart Holmgren had a great play when he knocked a rebound away from a Marquette player, which forced them to foul Jaren Kipling and give two shots to Ishpeming. However, Ishpeming was unable to make up the ground they lost in the first quarter, and at the end of the first half, trailed by 11 points.
First Half Score:
Ishpeming Hematites: 20
Marquette Redmen: 31
The Ishpeming Hematites were in for a tough game as they started the second half against the Marquette Redmen. In the first quarter, Marquette had five three-pointers alone, and Ishpeming was having some trouble dealing with Marquette’s full-court press. Marquette started having some troubles of their own, with several players approaching foul trouble, and with under two minutes left to play in the third, this gave Ishpeming a ray of hope. At the end of the third quarter, Marquette maintained their lead over Ishpeming 34-42.
Marquette was shooting an impressive 41% in the first three quarters, but Nick Comment had another great defensive play for the Ishpeming Hematites when he again knocked away a Marquette rebound, giving control to the Hematites. Ishpeming made up some significant ground early in the fourth, and they found themselves trailing by only four points with six minutes left to play. The Redmen continued to have foul trouble, and that made Ishpeming’s comeback all the more possible. Thomas Finegan drained a long three pointer that put the Hematites within three points of Marquette, but they answered right back with two of their own. Ishpeming trailed by just two points with just over one minute left in the game, and Marquette’s foul trouble seemed to come back to haunt them. At the one minute mark, Ishpeming was able to tie the game, overcoming an 11-point deficit at one part of the game. The fourth quarter ended with a tie score of 52-52 on 98.3 WRUP!
Marquette brought the ball in to start OT, but the Ishpeming Hematites quickly took control of the ball but were unable to score. Ishpeming held a two point lead after two minutes of play, but the game could still have gone in either direction. Luke Kuliu put a cap on the game when he scored the last six points of the game (and the game-winning jump shot) for Ishpeming, and they took home the win.
Final Game Score:
Ishpeming Hematites: 59
Marquette Redmen: 57
Join us 02/18/2016 as the Ishpeming Hematite girls battle the Escanaba Eskimos in Ishpeming, MI. Mike Plourde and Bob Nadeau will have the Honor Credit Union Pregame Show for you along with all the exciting action, only on 98.3 WRUP and WRUP.com! Don’t miss a beat!