Gladstone senior Luke Bracket (3) and Escanaba junior Javon Stevenson battle in front of the basket on Dec. 22nd, 2023 at Escanaba High School.

ESCANABA — Despite leading by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, Escanaba boys basketball improved to 5-2 with a 62-58 home win over Gladstone on Friday night.

“We did just enough to win,” Esky coach Scott Hanson said. “Honestly, at this point, in a rivalry game one point is enough to win. I’ll take one point, even though it was four.”

A 3-pointer from Esky senior Shane Wallin opened the fourth quarter scoring to give Esky a 55-41 lead. Everything appeared to be going the home team’s way.

Then Gladstone seniors Kaden Gibbs and Luke Brackett knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, forcing an Esky timeout with six minutes remaining in regulation.

The pause in the action did not stop the bleeding for the orange and black.

Senior Nick Matthews knocked down a basket and drew a foul for an and-1 opportunity. He knocked down the free throw to cut the deficit 55-50.

Wallin fired an open look from 3-point land, but his shot rimmed in and out of the basket. Gibbs drove to the hole, pulling up short to settle for a floater in the paint. He connected for two points.

Gladstone called a timeout to re-assess the situation. It found itself down 55-52 with 3:57 to play.

Senior Drake Johnson connected with a jump shot to add fuel to the fire which was a 13-0 run by the purple and white to pull to 55-54.

Esky senior David Romps ended the bleeding for the Eskymos, burying a 3-point shot to reclaim a four-point advantage.

The Braves re-started the bleeding once again. And not by giving Esky senior Jackson Cousineau another second-half cut under his chin which created a slight delay earlier in the second half.

Matthews connected inside the paint to get back to 58-56. Esky fed junior Cody Noel in the paint on the ensuing possession, but the Eskymo center earned an offensive foul with 2:46 left. Johnson connected in the paint to tie the game at 58 with 2:14 to play.

With 1:14 to go Wallin drew a foul, committed by Bracket, to go to the line. Wallin drained the pair to put Esky up 60-58 with 1:27 left.

From there, it was the Braves attempting to tie the game while simultaneously walking the fine line between forcing a turnover and getting themselves to five team fouls to put the Eskymos in the bonus.

The Eskymos entered the bonus with 26 seconds left, sending Wallin back to the line. The senior once again drained both free throws to take a 62-58 lead.

The Braves drove the floor. Johnson had a look at the basket.

But Esky forward Javon Stevenson had another idea. The junior blocked Johnson’s attempt with 16 seconds to go.

“They told me to take a foul,” Stevenson said. “I had a chance on the ball. I just took it.”

Johnson drew a foul on the ensuing possession, going to the line with 7.7 seconds to go and a chance to pull within two points. The Gladstone senior missed both free throws. The Eskymos recovered the rebound on the second miss and hung on to the ball to bleed out the clock.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow. But once again, the kids played hard,” Gladstone coach Jake Kiesby said. “We were down 13 and came back to tie them up. I mean, that’s heart. That’s wanting to get better.”

Despite falling to 1-5 on the season, Kiesby saw flashes of what the Braves could be this season, especially after rallying from a 17-point deficit

“You have two options when you’re at that point; you can lay down and give up or you can fight and just keep working,” Kiesby said. “That’s what these guys do. And that’s what’s kept us in every game and gave us, for the most part, an opportunity to win every game. It’s because of their effort, their heart, their love to get better and their love to work hard. As long as we have that we’ll be in every game.”

Hanson sees it too.

“Give Gladstone all the credit in the world for battling back,” Hanson said of the Braves. “That was a good comeback by Gladstone. I was pretty nervous. They’re a dangerous team, too.”

Matthews led all scorers with 23 points. Gibbs added 17 points. Johnson finished with nine points.

The Braves return to action for the Border Battle Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29th and 30th.

Wallin led the Eskymos with 17 points, including a 6-of-6 performance from the free-throw line. Romps totaled 13 points. Noel finished with 12 points.

The Eskymos host Marquette on Jan. 2nd, 2024.