Gladstone senior Luke Bracket (right) hoists up a 3-pointer against Ishpeming on Dec. 5, 2023 at Gladstone High School.

GLADSTONE — A double-digit lead wasn’t enough for the Gladstone boys basketball team as they lost its home opener 55-50 to Ishpeming on Tuesday night.

The Braves held a 12-point lead halfway through the third quarter. Then the Hematites exploded with a 10-0 run to pull within a possession. Ishpeming senior Connor Gauthier hit a shot from long range with seconds left in the third quarter to tie the game at 38. ”

We let them hang around,” Braves coach Jake Kiesby said. “They are a gritty team. They grind out the game, and it got to us tonight.”

The Braves quickly took the lead back at 40-38 on a shot by senior Nick Matthews. Hematites junior Caden Luoma answered back with a pull-up jumper from downtown to put Ishpeming up 41-40. The Braves took the lead back at 44-43 on a corner three by senior Luke Bracket, who totaled 21 points on the night for the Braves.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Parker Gauthier and Hunter Smith gave the Hematites the lead back at 47-44. Smith had 11 points on the night with two shots from long range. The Hematites never looked back from there as they held on for the 55-50 win.

The Braves as they committed 16 turnovers which resulted in 11 Hematites points.

“Turnovers hurt us bad,” Kiesby said. “We can’t get our guys the ball. We can’t run our offense. But you have to give Ishpeming credit, they did a good job of putting pressure on us.”

The Braves scored the first five points of the contest and held the lead the entire first half outside of when the game was tied a five early on. Bracket hit five shots from downtown to lead the Braves with 21 points. Senior Drake Johnson had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Ishpeming 11 8 19 17 –55

Gladstone 13 11 14 12 — 50

Ishpeming — Louma 23, C. Gauthier 8, Smith 12, G. Gauthier 3, P. Gauthier 6, Corp 2, Rubick 1. FT: 11-21 F: 12 Fouled Out: None 3-point field goals: Louma 3, P. Gauthier 2, C. Gauthier 2, G. Gauthier, Smith.

Gladstone Bracket 21, Vitito 3, Tackman 4, Matthews 4, Johnson 18. FT: 9-10 F: 14 Fouled Out: None 3-point field goals Bracket 5.