Gladstone senior Nick Matthews (middle, in white) battles for a loos ball during the second quarter of a game against Marinette in the 2023 Border Battle Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29, 2023 at Menominee High School. Matthews led the Braves with 16 points in the win.

MENOMINEE — There was no SportsCenter worthy dunk. There wasn’t a flash flood warning in Menominee County due to the pouring of 3-point shots.

Instead, Gladstone’s defensive effort locked down Marinette in the opening game of the 2023 Border Battle Holiday Tournament. Paired with 16 points from senior Nick Matthews, the Braves clamped down the Marines for a 43-37 victory.

“It was a great defensive effort,” Braves coach Jake Kiesby said. “We did what we needed to do defensively, that we preached and that we practiced. We were able to box out, we corrected that from our last game.”

Carrying an 18-14 lead into the second half, Matthews started the Braves offensive output. He drove to the basket, drew a foul, made his contested shot and drained the ensuing free throw to complete the and-1 play and push the lead to 21-14.

Then the Marines began to find their rhythm. In a matter of moments, Marinette tied the game at 21 and had intense pressure on Gladstone’s in-bounds pass attempt after the tying basket.

Kiesby burned a timeout to avoid a foul while also attempting to slow down the Marines 7-0 spurt.

The Braves avoided the foul with the timeout. And they also slowed down the Marine’s attack.

Senior Kaden Gibbs found Matthews for two points. Senior Drake Johnson connected with a jump shot. Matthews made 1-of-2 free throws. Johnson connected in the paint. Senior Thomas Tackamn earned a steal and drove to the hole for a layup.

It was a 9-2 run which put the Braves ahead 30-23 entering the fourth quarter.

The Marines didn’t go away silently in the game’s final eight minutes of action. Gladstone’s lead shrank to 32-27 with 4:17 to go.

Coming out of a Braves timeout, Gibbs drove to the hole. It was him against one Marinette defender.

Gibbs lept for a lay-up. The Marinette lifted both hands in hopes of swatting the ball down like he was a middle blocker in volleyball. Instead, he swatted Gibbs out of mid-air, sending the Braves’ guard crashing to the floor.

The impromptu meeting between Gibbs’ body and the floor of the Menominee gymnasium floor proved to be worth the time when Gibbs’ shot was successful while drawing the foul. Although he missed the free throw, the Braves extended their lead to 34-27.

A 3-0 spurt put the Marines to within 34-30 with 2:30 left. They also hung around to get within 37-33 with 1:12 to go. But it would be as close as they got to the Braves, who improved to 2-5 with the win.

But more importantly, it was the third-straight game where Gladstone kept its foot on the gas in the second half. After letting second-half leads against Ishpeming and Negaunee slip through their fingers earlier in the month, the Braves maintained at least a two-possession lead throughout the fourth quarter.

In fact, they never trailed in Friday’s win.

“They’re getting better every day, and every game is an opportunity to get better,” Kiesby said. “We still had those lapses that we’ve seen early in the season, but we had less of them. That helped us continue to hold the lead and win the game.”

Matthews led the Braves with 16 points and finished 8-of-11 from the free-throw line.

“He’s a great player. He’s a hard worker,” Kiesby said of Matthews. “He always wants to get better, and he just works man, he works. He’s very physical, likes to get downhill and put his body on the line taking charges. It’s great to see.”

Senior Luke Bracket added nine points. Johnson totaled eight points. Gibbs and Tackman finished with five points each.

The Braves collide with Green Bay West at 2:30 p.m. EST on Saturday at Menominee High School. The 2023 Border Battle Holiday Tournament concludes at 4 p.m. EST with a matchup between Menominee and Marinette.