Braves snap losing skid
ISHPEMING — The Gladstone Braves awoke during the intermission and snapped out of a two-game losing streak by holding off Westwood 59-51 here Monday in a non-conference boys’ basketball game.
“We had our worst half of basketball all season. We had a hard time getting our offense rolling,” Gladstone coach Clayton Castor said of trailing 26-15 at the break. “At halftime we really challenged the kids to show their character and come out and play our brand of basketball. They responded with a huge effort on defense.”
He said the Braves (13-4) adjusted defensively at halftime. “We responded and played much harder,” he said. “We were able to get stops we were not able to get in the first half. The second half we stepped it up.”
The Braves held a 44-25 scoring advantage in the second half, with Castor noting “we were firing on all cylinders.”
Castor said Westwood is a deceiving team. “Westwood’s record (4-13) doesn’t reflect how good they are. (Coach) Chad (Hewitt) had them ready to play.”
Brad Spindler continued his sterling play for the Braves, scoring 20 points. “He showed tonight why he should be an All-U.P. player,” said Castor. “Brad was the best player on the floor tonight.”
eece Castor, averaging 25 points over his previous four games, was limited to 10 points by the Patriots.
Castor said Owen Hanson came off the bench and made a major contribution after the break.
David Delarye had 21 points for the Patriots.
Gladstone resumes action Wednesday with a makeup game at top-ranked Marquette.
Gladstone 8 7 18 26 — 59
Westwood 12 14 13 12 — 51
Gladstone –Gibbs 6, Botruff 8, Peterson 8, Spindler 20, Hanson 4, Schwalbach 3, Castor 10. FT: 27-36. F: 19; Fouled out: none; 3-point field goals: Peterson, Schwalbach.
Westwood — Pierpont 11, Burke 3, Anttila 4, Beckman 7, Laakso 2, Hewitt 4, Delarye 21. FT: 10-19; F: 18; Fouled out: Beckman, Hewitt. 3-point field goals: Pierpont 3.