ESCANABA — A basketball game which appeared to have the makings of a blowout early in the fourth quarter turned into a burn-barner here Friday night as the Bark River-Harris boys hung on for a 53-50 triumph over the Escanaba Eskymos.

Senior Brayden Derouin drained a pair of free throws with .6 second remaining to seal the deal for the Broncos, who led by 18 points in the beginning of the fourth stanza of this non-conference contest.

“We hadn’t been in a situation like that against a good basketball team,” BR-H coach Nick Lippens said. “The kids felt the pressure a little, but made enough plays in the end. It has been a very, very long time since we’ve beaten Escanaba, if ever. I think I felt more stressed when we were up by 18 than I did in the end. I was kind of expecting them to make a comeback, and in a way I’m kind of glad they did because our guys needed to experience that. They had to see what that was like.”

The Broncos gained their largest lead when junior Gabe Spear hit a layup on a pass from Derouin before hitting a free throw to complete a three-point play 51 seconds into the fourth frame.

Esky responded with five unanswered points, shaving its deficit to 46-33 with 5½ minutes left to play.

A layup by junior Andrew Johnson put the Broncos up 48-33 at 5:20.

The Eskymos then reeled off 13 unanswered points and got within 48-46 on a floater from the lane by senior Taylor Asgaard with 48.2 seconds remaining, forcing the Broncos to use a time-out.

With 16.2 seconds remaining, Derouin split a pair of free throws to put BR-H up 51-47.

Junior Beau Racine drained a 20-foot jump shot from the right baseline to bring Esky within 51-50 with one second left.

The Eskymos were forced to foul, however, setting the stage for Derouin’s game-clinching gifters with .6 second remaining.

“We missed a couple layups and finished 9-of-17 from the line, which didn’t help us,” Esky coach Jake Berlinski said. “Kudos to them. They played really hard. We didn’t match their intensity until the middle of the fourth quarter. You don’t win in varsity ball unless you play hard for four quarters.”

Esky led 18-17 early in the second quarter when freshman Connor Asgaard sank a pair of free throws.

BR-H answered with an 8-0 run, surging to a 25-18 lead on Spear’s layup midway through the second.

The Eskymos were within 29-24 before Spear split a pair of gifters, then converted a layup and free throw to give the Broncos a nine-point cushion 2.7 seconds before halftime.

BR-H outscored Esky 10-4 in the third frame, gaining a 43-28 advantage on Derouin’s one-handed, off-balanced jumper from downtown at the buzzer.

“We played very well in the third quarter,” Lippens said. “Both teams played hard. Although, I think we rushed a little too much in the fourth.”

Johnson led the Broncos (4-5) with 17 points, including a dozen in the opening frame. Spear finished with 13 and Derouin contributed 10.

Senior Taylor Asgaard scored 18 points and junior Hayven Sandoval-Nolde added 13 for the Eskymos (3-7), who won the jayvee game.

BR-H committed 13 turnovers and Esky finished with 10.

“We went cold in the third quarter,” Berlinski said. “We look great in practice then sometimes struggle in the games. Although, that’ll change at some point. I’m proud of the way the guys battled back.”

The Broncos travel to Norway Monday and the Eskymos visit Marquette Tuesday.

BR-Harris 14 19 10 10 — 53

Escanaba 16 8 4 22 — 50

Bark River-Harris — McDonough 7, Derouin 10, Steele 3, Spear 13, Knauf 3, Johnson 17. FT: 10-17; F: 15; Fouled out: McDonough; 3-point field goals: Johnson 4, Derouin, Steele, Knauf.

Escanaba — Sandoval-Nolde 13. Hejmej 2, T. Asgaard 18, Peacock 5, C. Asgaard 2, Racine 4, Cooper 3, Starr 2. FT: 9-16; F: 19; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goal: Racine.