Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Escanaba’s Connor Smale (4) makes a jumping pass over Gladstone defenders to teammate Trevor Brown (40) in Gladstone Friday.

GLADSTONE — Full-court pressure defense helped second-ranked Escanaba pick up the pace in the end here Friday night in a 63-61 basketball triumph over Gladstone.

Esky trailed 57-46 with six minutes left in this Great Northern Conference match-up, then forced a few turnovers which led to a 7-0 run.

Senior guard Connor Smale drained a jump shot from top of the key which enabled the Eskymos to slice their deficit to 57-53 with less than five minutes remaining.

Sophomore forward Elliot Vitito gave the Braves a 59-53 lead with a pair of free throws at 4:28.

Esky pulled within 59-57 on a pair of gifters by junior guard Casey Bray with 3:09 left.

Sophomore forward Drake Johnson then sank a 15-foot jumper from the right baseline to put Gladstone up 61-57 at 1:58.

The Eskymos finished with a 6-0 run, making it 63-61 with 1.7 seconds left in the contest when senior center Trevor Brown split a pair of free throws.

“When one team comes in heavily favored in a rivalry game, you can throw out the record books,” said Esky coach Tracy Hudson. “We went after them. We were trying to fend off a team that was very hungry. We were able to make enough plays and hit enough free throws to pull this one out.”

Smale gave the Eskymos a 62-61 lead on a fast break layup with 24 seconds remaining.

Hudson split a pair of gifters with 57.6 seconds left, and Smale hit two 11 1/2 seconds later to bring Esky within 61-60.

“We subbed offense for defense and Casey, Connor and Colin (Hudson) stepped up the pace,” said coach Hudson. “Kaden (Gibbs) shot the lights out. We didn’t have an answer for him all night. One thing about Gladstone is they’re good off the dribble. They showed a lot of hustle and determination and gave us some problems. We wanted to press in the beginning but had to stay in a zone because of foul trouble.”

Gladstone led 32-22 late in the second stanza.

Esky answered with a 7-2 run, trimming its deficit to 34-29 on a layup by Colin Hudson six seconds before halftime.

Hudson opened the third frame with a jumper from the lane and tied the score at 35 on a 10-foot jumper at 5:25.

The Braves regained the lead on a steal and layup by Gibbs, who drained a pair of gifters to make it 44-37 with 2:57 left in the third.

A 3-point play by Colin Hudson brought the Eskymos within 44-42 at 2:22.

Gladstone, however, gained a 52-44 cushion on two free throws by Gibbs with 52 seconds left in the third.

Gibbs then sank a 22-foot jumper for a 55-44 advantage early in the fourth.

The Braves hit 10 trifectas, including six in the first half.

“We knew it was going to be loud in here,” said Colin Hudson, who led the Eskymos with 30 points. “It’s always like this at an Escanaba-Gladstone game. We’ve been down before. We just had to keep our heads in the game. They’re obviously improving fast. They’re going to be a good team, but we got some turnovers off our press, got our fast break going and turned those into points.”

Smale added 11 points. Bray collected 10 points, four assists and three steals. Brown also scored 10 points, and senior forward Jared Hanson had six assists.

“I thought Colin did a good job around the basket, and Connor had a solid game, and Adam (Willette) gave us some good minutes,” said coach Hudson. “We put four in double digits, which is what we like to see.”

For Gladstone, three sophomores combined for 52 points.

Gibbs sank four 3-point shots and finished with 27. Vitito drained five triples and scored 19, and Johnson hit six.

The Braves, who controlled the pace for more than three quarters, committed 14 turnovers. The Eskymos had 11.

“Turnovers hurt us down the stretch,” said Braves coach Colin Immel. “We knew they were going to press sooner or later. I think their experience got to us in the end. I think we’re playing good basketball right now. We play a tough schedule, which I think will help us in the (Division 3) district. Hopefully, everyone can stay healthy.”

Gladstone won the JV game 69-39, and Esky took the freshman contest 44-40.

The Braves host Iron Mountain Monday and Esky travels to St. Ignace Tuesday.

Escanaba 14 15 13 21 — 63

Gladstone 16 18 18 9 — 61

Escanaba — Smale 11, Bray 10, Hudson 30, T. Brown 10, K. Brown 2. FT: 16-22; F: 16; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Hudson 2, Smale.

Gladstone — Roman 3, Gibbs 27, Downey 2, Vitito 19, Johnson 6, Bracket 4. FT: 9-12; F: 19; Fouled out: Johnson; 3-point field goals Vitito 5, Gibbs 4, Roman.