NEGAUNEE — It was a tough night for the Gladstone boys here Tuesday as they dropped a 75-43 basketball decision to the second-ranked Negaunee Miners.

Negaunee led 29-13 after the first quarter and 47-22 at halftime of the Mid-Peninsula Conference contest.

“We ran into a buzzsaw,” said Braves’ coach Dane Quigley. “They shot well and I don’t think we played up to par. We had a lot of breakdowns. Offensively, we couldn’t get into a rhythm. We did a lot of dribbling and not much passing. We were out of sync. Not much good happened for us tonight.”

Jakson Sager led the Miners (15-1 overall, 9-1 league) with 24 points. Jason Waterman added 18 and Drew Lindberg had 12. Cam Ballard scored 11 and Rane Castor had 10 for the Braves (8-8 overall, 6-4 M-PC).

“They’re a very good team,” said Quigley. “They don’t turn the ball over much. We were real lethargic. We just needed more energy to compete with a team like Negaunee. We needed to give a championship effort and I just didn’t see that. It was not a good night. We pretty much got outplayed on both ends of the court.”

Gladstone won the jayvee game, but dropped the freshmen contest 53-46.

The Braves host Menominee Friday. The Miners visit third-ranked Marquette Thursday.

Gladstone 13 9 12 9 — 43

Negaunee 29 18 18 10 — 75

Gladstone — Alworden 5, St. John 3, Johnson 2, C. Ballard 11, N. Ballard 5, Castor 10, Hagebusch 5, Bernson 2. FT: 5-8; F: 13; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Castor 2, Hagebusch, St. John, C. Ballard, Alworden.

Negaunee — Waterman 18, Sager 24, Lindberg 12, DuShane 2, Kumpula 7, Swanson 2, Luke 4, Salminen 2, Brundage 2, Jacobetti 2. FT: 4-8; F: 8; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Waterman 4, Sager 4, Lindberg 2, Kumpula.