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Round 2 to Redmen

Gladstone falls to GNC champ Marquette

Spindler

By Julie Goldberg

Journal Sports Writer

MARQUETTE — The Marquette Senior High School boys basketball team overcame an early nine-point deficit Wednesday night to defeat the Gladstone Braves, 54-47, in a matchup of top-five Upper Peninsula Class ABC teams.

The Redmen began their comeback in the second quarter after falling behind by nine points at the end of the first period.

“We used our depth to our advantage in the second quarter,” Marquette head coach Brad Nelson said. “We always had fresh legs out on the court and that kept the game close.”

MSHS got the deficit down to one point, 27-26, by halftime before taking the lead for good in the third quarter.

“I think we caught them by surprise,” Gladstone head coach Clayton Castor said about his team’s quick start. “We came out strong and made a statement in the first quarter.”

Just past the midpoint of the opening period, sophomore Reece Castor made a 3-pointer to increase Gladstone’s lead to six, 13-7. He hit another triple at the first-quarter buzzer to make it 22-13.

The Redmen started the second quarter with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to two. Gladstone didn’t score in the quarter until 3:20 was left when senior Hunter Botruff hit a triple to work their lead back to 25-20.

And with less than a second left, sophomore Bryce Brazeau made a pair of free throws to cut the Marquette halftime deficit to one point.

About two minutes into the second half, senior Ian Ogea sank a triple to give the Redmen their first lead since early in the game.

Sophomore Ethan Martysz made a layup at the third-quarter buzzer to put Marquette’s lead at 43-39.

“We were too relaxed in the third quarter,” Castor said. “We continued to be aggressive, but we were too slow on defense.”

While MSHS continued to lead in the fourth quarter, Gladstone wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t until Marquette senior Alex DuVall made a steal with 29 seconds left, was fouled and sank one free throw that the Redmen put away the game.

Nelson said that is the type of play he expects from a senior.

Marquette improved to 17-1 overall while finishing a perfect 8-0 in the Great Northern Conference. Gladstone fell to 13-5 and 3-4.

Freshman Luke Ogea led Marquette scorers with 11 points, all in the first half.

“Luke had a feel for the game tonight,” Nelson said.

“We know what kind of player he is and he showed that in the first half.”

DuVall added 10 points while teammate Ian Ogea grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

Gladstone junior Brad Spindler led all scorers with 21 points while also nabbing six rebounds. Reece Castor had 12 points.

“Brad did a really nice job tonight,” Castor said.

“Marquette did a good job of shutting down Reece during the game. Brad and Reece take turns leading the team and Brad did that tonight for us.

“Ben Schwalbach was a spark off the bench while Hunter Botruff did a really good job at guarding Joe Ostrowsky throughout the game.”

Up next for the Redmen is a game at Gwinn on Tuesday. Gladstone plays Friday at home against Escanaba.

“It was a total team effort tonight and nobody was selfish,” said Nelson, whose team won the first meeting in double overtime. “We have a few days to rest, but we still have work to do this season.”

Marquette won the JV game, 55-47.

Gladstone 22 5 12 8 — 47

Marquette 13 13 17 11 — 54

Gladstone — Gibbs 5; Stephenson 4; Botruff 3; Peterson 2; Spindler 21; Castor 12. FT: 7-9;

Marquette — McFerrin 4; Joe Ostrowsky 5; I. Ogea 7; Martysz 2; Jackson Ostrowsky 4; Brazeau 4; DuVall 10; Finkbeiner 7; L. Ogea 11. FT: 14-18.

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