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Eskymos make a statement

Esky uses balance to stun Braves

Mike Mattson | Daily Press Escanaba’s Austin Willette, left and Ben Willis celebrate at game’s end after the Eskymos’ 75-57 win against Gladstone.

GLADSTONE — Football has been a hot topic at Escanaba High School this school year with the Eskymos’ run to the state semifinals.

But there’s a little buzz starting about boys’ basketball in this young season as the Eskymos are off to a 4-0 start. It helps when you hop on the bus, head to rival Gladstone and stun the Braves 75-57 like the Eskymos did Friday night.

“We had this one circled for sure,” Esky senior point guard Ryan Robinette said after Esky improved to 4-0 and 1-0 in the Great Northern Conference. “We wanted to make a statement and we came in here and did just that. We’re trying to be as good as we can be. I think we have a lot of potential this year.”

Esky definitely made a statement as five players scored in double figures, led by Robinette’s 25 points and six assists. The Eskymos made 23-of-34 free thows, shot 50 percent from the field, had just eight turnovers and played with poise that maybe shouldn’t come from a team that started so late due to football.

Esky trailed 3-0 after the opening tip on Rudy Peterson’s 3-point shot, but after that the Eskymos were in control most of the way.

Mike Mattson | Daily Press Brad Spindler (24) puts up a soft shot over Willis (22) in the first half.

Esky led 16-10 after the first quarter and built the margin to 39-25 at the half.

Gladstone (2-1, 0-1) made its best surge in the third quarter with a 13-3 run that cut the lead to 47-43.

The Braves trailed 50-45 after three quarters, but Esky’s 1-3-1 trapping defense seemed to wear down the Braves and the the Eskymos ran away, making 15-of-17 free throws in the final 5 minutes.

“We are happy,” Esky coach Tracy Hudson said. “We came in here and wanted to master-lock the perimeter a little bit. I think we made them uncomfortable on the perimeter. I thought we did a decent job rebounding and we wanted to share the ball and just make plays. We wanted to put four in double figures.”

Robinette received plenty of help as sophomore Peyton Fedell scored 12 points and juniors Craig Kamin, Jared Nash (seven rebounds) and Austin Willette chipped in with 11 points apiece.

“I felt like, Gladstone has star power in (Brad) Spindler and (Reece) Castor,” Hudson said. “We wanted to keep them away from the basket. They got their points. But I thought from one to 12, we outplayed them. We wanted to be the better team tonight.”

Gladstone’s Big Three led the way again as Spindler (24 points, 14 rebounds, three assists), Castor (15 points) and Peterson (12 points) reached double figures. But the Braves didn’t shoot well overall (20-of-52 for 38 percent) and were outplayed for most of the game.

“Obviously, Reece and Rudy and Brad have done this before, but some of the other guys haven’t been in this moment before,” Gladstone coach Dane Quigley said. “It’s a tough environment. We didn’t execute our game plan well in the first half. We let them dictate the pace. And we had some composure issues there for a little while. That is something I talked to the boys about. We’ll get that fixed.”

Gladstone’s game with Marquette was postponed due to weather and Quigley said it may have been helpful for the Braves to have played this week instead of practicing. The Braves knew the 1-3-1 trap was coming, but had some problems with it.

“They have some length and height and size,” Quigley said. “I have been hearing all year that at some point that is going to overmatch us and it did. They played that 1-3-1 really well. We had a hard time keeping the ball out of the corners. They really ate it up when we moved the ball to the corners.”

Esky also won the freshman game 49-37 and the JV game 65-64 in overtime.

In Tuesday games, the Eskymos host Marquette and Gladstone hosts Iron Mountain.

The summary:

Escanaba 16 23 11 25 — 75

Gladstone 10 15 20 12 — 57

Escanaba — Robinette 25, LaMarche 1, Fedell 12, Kamin 11, Willis 4, Nash 11, Willette 11. FT: 23-34; F: 19; Fouled out: Willette. 3-point field goals: Robinette 2, Fedell 2.

Gladstone — Shea 6, Peterson 12, Spindler 22, Hanson 2, Castor 15. FT: 11-18; F: 19; Fouled out: Spindler; Castor. Technicals: Spindler; 3-point field goals: Shea 2, Peterson, Spindler, Castor 2.

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